People often book hotels, hostels, resorts, and guesthouses while traveling. The concept of renting out a bedroom to strangers can be a little scary. The concept of living in someone else’s home as a guest can make some feel uncomfortable as well.
Airbnb has created a revolutionary product offering alternatives to people. People do not have to book hotels, hostels, resorts, and guesthouses.
They can stay with locals. They can have an entire home or just a private room while sharing with their local guest.
My First Encounter:
Honestly, I had never thought about Airbnb until recently. The company has been around since 2008, but all of a sudden it is starting to hit big. I would dog sit for a couple that rented out their guest bedrooms as Airbnb rooms, and it made me wonder, what is this?
A Frisbee teammate of mine, recently back from his thirteen month adventure around the world, shared with me how Airbnb was often times cheaper than hostels. He mentioned staying in Tokyo for $14 a night. I was purely amazed.
The Simple Concept:
Let me briefly share with you Airbnb’s concept. It is a shared economy like Uber or Lyft. Airbnb does not own any lodging. They are merely a broker for the hosts. It can accessed by mobile applications via IOS, Apple watch, and Android. On the app, you can look up reviews on lodging, and the hosts can also create reviews about their guests as well.
Individuals are able to rent out their house, guest bedroom, or even basement apartment as a site for Airbnb. It is easy and convenient.
One of my Experiences:
I want to share with you my experience at an Airbnb. Recently, I stayed at one for an entire month. I lived in someone’s Airbnb room in a neighborhood called North Center in Chicago.
The place was all I could ask for. A nice bed, a desk, a dresser, two dogs with great personalities, and a host that made sure that I was enjoying myself, even though I was locked in my room for countless hours writing lesson plans. Yes, my time was very joyful.
It was cheaper and better service than any hotel I have stayed at. It has a personal touch and feel to it. I felt like it was my home.
The dogs welcomed me with open arms and wagging tails, the neighbors talked to me as I walked down the street, and my host even made some strawberry shortcake and shared it with me.
It was truly a great experience I had enjoying my stay in Chicago. I could not ask for more.
My Give-Away to you
If you would like to sign-up for Airbnb you can use my link. It will give you $40 travel credit for signing up. If you have never used it before, you should sign-up, grab the $40 credit, and use it for a short weekend.
Trust me, it is a well worth service to try out. I have friends in Greenville that regularly rent their guest bedrooms out, and it has been a blast for them meeting and greeting new and interesting people. Just click on the Airbnb and take yourself on an adventure.
- Looking for good flight deals, check out momondo. They are a great search engine to help with cheap flights.
- Looking for good accommodation, check out booking.com. They can help you find good rates.
- Need travel insurance check out World Nomads to help you travel with peace of mind.
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