How I look for great Airbnbs

Posted on April 27, 2020

Here are my "rules" for finding good Airbnb rentals:

1. Look for hosts with only 1 or 2 listings

Hosts with only a few listings are more likely to be the actual owner of a piece of private property that is actually a home versus a cookie cutter apartment full of Ikea furniture that's meant for short term rentals exclusively. Also they're more likely to meet you in person and communicate with you directly as a local expert in that city, hence they can give you better local recommendations.

2. Look for listings with a rating above 4.90

Almost all properties have a 4.7 star rating or better, so pretty much every Airbnb listing is technically above-average, which is ridiculous.

Thankfully, when you open up a listing page the rating is shown as a decimal to the hundredths place. In my experience, few listings that have a significant number of reviews also manage to have a rating above 4.90.

3. Look in outer districts that are well connected to transportation

One of the biggest value sells for Airbnb is the opportunity to stay somewhere more authentic, so why would you look for an apartment in the city center where all the hotels are?

A lot of cities have outer districts where tourists don't typically stay, but are still well connected by public transportation. These are also the areas where you're more likely to find small independent hosts.

4. Negotiate

Sadly because of the "Instant Book" feature, combined with language designed to create a sense of urgency, most people end up booking at face value with all the added fees.

If you have time on your side, you can instead use the "Contact Host" button to input your dates and politely ask for a better rate, especially if you're looking for a longer stay (4-5 days or more).

Many hosts will also waive the cleaning fee if you ask. I often mention that I don't drink or smoke, and I keep things organized and tidy out of habit.

5. Book shorter stays and extend in person to save on fees

Airbnb's service fees can be a bit greedy. For longer stays, the Airbnb service fee itself can reach into the hundreds. Once you make a booking, you're able to share contact info with the host, at which point you can ask to extend and pay in cash or by bank transfer. I also usually keep the hosts contact information in case I want to book directly again in the future.

Note: booking outside of Airbnb is against their terms of service and strictly speaking your account could be deleted. Use discretion and keep in mind your host may not be willing to take the risk.

Bonus: My favorite Airbnbs

Last updated April 27, 2020

I've been using Airbnb basically since it existed. Here's a list of my favorite / most memorable stays: