When we planned our trip – first cross-country in the US and then around the world – we had to stay within our budget, so we relied heavily on AirBnB. We just couldn’t afford hotels every night (except in SE Asia). We wanted to cook most of our own meals for an add-on savings and for fewer calories. Hostels might be OK for a night or two, but we wanted to stay for 2 weeks to a month in many of our locations, much longer than a hostel stay.
We discovered that AirBnBs offered us many choices of great stays at a price we could afford. Has it worked? In a word, yes. We’ve now stayed 200 nights at AirBnBs on this trip, and, by the time we get back to the US, we will have stayed 315 nights at locations all around the world. How has it been? See for yourself – with our last (great!) stays.
Sydney, Australia
We always wanted to live in a massive warehouse loft apartment and got our chance in Sydney. This is an AirBnB with truly great hosts; a relaxing roomy place to spread out and enjoy ourselves; set in an ethnic neighborhood with terrific food shops. Click for the AirBnB listing.
Massive warehouse loft apartment in Marrickville – Sydney, Australia
The kitchen was well-equipped and the savings from doing our own meals added more days to our stay.
Whangaparaoa, New Zealand
Beth was teary when we said farewell to Barbara and Rod, our hosts at the spectacular apartment with views out to Arkles Bay. We’ll remember their beach house as our home-away-from home. Imagine waking up every day to a view of the beautiful sea. Click for the AirBnB listing.
Living room at the Golden Beach Paradise of Whangaparaoa, New Zealand
View from the living room and our bed
Melbourne, Australia
Kudos also goes to the very funky retro pad in St Kilda. Alas, we were so busy checking out all the fun decorative pieces we forgot to take any photos. Dallas, our host, was warm and welcoming and the location couldn’t have been better. Click for the AirBnB listing.
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Judith, our host, had the best-equipped AirBnB we’ve ever stayed in. Her decoration alone made the cottage worth the stay. Click for the AirBnB listing.
Sweet bedroom with lamps that come on with just a touch to the base.
Judith took care of us with foods to tide us over.
For success finding a place on AirBnB, we studied the listings carefully. We eliminated at the very beginning all listings that didn’t have the highest ratings, weren’t in a great location for us, didn’t have wifi, and were over the top end of our price range. Then we analyzed them for amenities. Laundry included? TV? Breakfast? Shops nearby?
We know our around the world trip would have been shorter and certainly not as good without AirBnB. We enjoyed meeting wonderful hosts, staying in interesting neighborhoods, and sleeping well in our little homes-away-from-home.
April 2014
simpletravelourway 
We’ve started using AirBnB and all good so far. It’s definitely nice to have that homely touch – for the food, good hosts, and just the more personal feel.
I would agree with you. We stayed in three airbnb places during our trip to Belgium last year. We were very careful in our selections and made sure they were in walking distance of the city centres as we didn’t have a car. All three were in amazing locations. Only one was a little disappointing because it wasn’t as clean as it should have been, but its location right in the centre of Brussels made up for that. The other two were immaculate and the one in Bruges was absolutely beautiful and luxurious. We will definitely be using airbnb in the future.
Good to know someone else is having the same experience. Thanks.