Quote from @Nathan Gesner:
Have you stayed in a few AirBnB rentals? VRBO? Have you stayed in the big city and then compared that to a place in the country near a tourist attraction? What was your experience?
I've stayed in a dozen or more AirBnB rentals, all of them in major cities (Austin, Dallas, Riverside, LA, Denver, Nashville, Orlando, etc.). Over half of them were illegally operated (in violation of HOA rules, city/county zoning, etc.). One of them was shut down the day before I arrived to check in (two days before Christmas in LA). Every single one of them, without exception, was poorly set up. One was a 3bed/2bath unit set up for ten guests, but it had a small 3.8 cubic foot dorm fridge that couldn't hold fit a gallon of milk and they didn't have a single picture, clock, or other decoration on any of the walls. They're usually filled with low-quality furniture that is uncomfortable and sometimes even unusable, like my latest that had four wicker chairs with no cushions so the broken pieces of wicker stabbed my backside every time I sat down. No guest book or welcome instructions. Terrible amenities (e.g. record table and classic records prominently featured in the advertising of a Nashville condo, but no speakers!). Just $300 could have made all these locations much more comfortable and welcoming, but the hosts just don't seem to care. They they all have 5-star reviews as if they've gone above and beyond.
I've also stayed in a few rentals found on VRBO or through private owners. Every single one of them, without exception, has been been legally operated, well furnished, and the owner goes above and beyond to make the stay special.
Am I just unlucky with AirBnB? Do big-city guests just not care? What has your experience been?
Hi Nathan! We regularly stay in both Airbnb's and VRBO listed properties (more-so Airbnb due to the markets we look in primarily). I unfortunately have had poor experiences in properties using both platforms, but I will say it does appear to be more prevalent on Airbnb listed properties than VRBO. From my experience, most of the time but definitely not all of the time, Airbnb's seem to be more of the niche market, shorter 1 or 2 night stay kind of places, whereas VRBO listed properties seem to be more true vacation rentals that owners have invested deeply in. That being said I have stayed in some really crummy VRBO's and some absolutely killer Airbnb's.
I agree with your statement, on Airbnb, it does appear to be more of a "I watched 3 episodes of Robuilt on YouTube so I can Airbnb too!" kind of mentality rather than a "This is MY business, and I need to genially invest my time, money and efforts deeply into the property to make it work long-term" kind of mentality.
Full transparency, I got most of my initiative for my STR's also from YouTube individuals such as Rob Abasolo and Tony J. Robinson which has then led me to BiggerPockets but, I believe the key difference is the individual deciding whether or not the want to make this a genuine lifestyle shift and run it like a true business or if they are, like you stated, only wanting and hoping for some fast cash. The market I'm in, Smoky Mountains TN, I get 10 to 1 bookings on Airbnb versus VRBO. Unlike the properties you have mentioned though, we have invested quite a bit to make them well furnished/decorated/stocked vacation type rentals, so it is working out very well for us on both platforms.
I hope this helps and made sense, also thanks for all the value you bring to the forums!
