Does anyone have experience of staying at any place in India with Airbnb? I am looking to travel somewhere in India next year, and might book through Airbnb as it seems a little cheaper than other methods.
I haven't but I was similarly curious and asked about it a little while back on here -- a few people suggested that hotels are a better option, and aren't really too pricey, just from a safety perspective. I had some super helpful replies - the original thread is on the hotels subforum just a few links down
I know people that have used airbnb but not in India, and they've all said it's something that they wouldn't do again. That puts me off straight away and especially if it's a country that you've never been to before, I wouldn't want the stress to be honest.
I had a pretty good experience when I used it in Hong Kong, but I will say that the place looked bigger and more modern than it really was. I think that's the risky thing - it's a lot easier to find reviews on a specific hotel in a specific spot than it is to get more information about an Air BNB location.
That was the main issues for them I think. What they thought they where staying in, and where they ended up was two entirely different things, and its the uncertainty that they hated the most. Like you say with an hotel your almost gaurenteed it will be up to standard, airbnb your definitely not it seems.
Hi Devilkid, I honestly wouldn't recommend an Airbnb. I would suggest you go to a hotel. Their are many hotels in New Delhi (if you decide to visit this city) that are very safe and affordable (US$30 to US$60 the night, sometimes less). Although going to an Airbnb can give you the experience of submerging into the culture, they are not always located in the best neighborhoods. Below are some options that you can look into that are cheap and the neighborhoods range from average to good. Have a great trip. -Bloomrooms @New Delhi Railway Station -Bloomrooms @Link Rd -The Prime Balaji Deluxe @New Delhi Railway Station Hotel -WelcomHotel Dwarka -Hotel Rupam
I think a lot of people will originally try airbnb because they think it's a budget option, but as you say @MichelleVL there are many other options that are more reliable I think, and competitively priced. I wouldn't go as far as to say that airbnb is a last resort, but it's not an option I'd consider unless I really had to.
Thanks for sharing the names of those hotels, @MichelleVL ! Have you stayed at any particular ones of those personally that you can vouch for? I love personal recommendations - always makes it so much easier when it comes to booking accommodation!
I haven't tried Airbnb yet and I don't know anyone who have tried using it, but from what I've heard Agoda is a much better option for booking places. It's a booking app that focuses on the Asian region so there's more options, and I believe it's the most popular of it's kind. You can check it for yourself on Agoda.com, or you can just look up the application on the Playstore: 'Agoda'. A friend of mine who have tried it to book her hotel in Bangkok seem to be satisfied by the app.
I also prefer to go off personal recommendations as well to be honest. While a lot of the reviews tiu read in the internet for example are genuine, I think these days more and more aren't to be trusted as paid reviews seem to be the hot topic at the moment, especially with Amazon in the headlines these days. I'm sure these paid reviews are also on the travel sites as well and that could be a major concern when your booking and holiday.
I have tried Airbnb in America and that was hard to regulate. I am not sure if I would be willing to try Airbnb in India. You might like it if you are on the adventurous side.
I stayed at Bloomrooms @Link Rd , and the service was great, and everything was clean as a whistle. I had picked The Prime Balaji Deluxe @New Delhi Railway Station Hotel originally, (and it's beautiful) but at the time Bloorooms @Link Rd was cheaper, so I picked that one instead. The others were referrals from friends and their visits. They are very picky, so if they recommend a place, restaurant or the like, then they are usually right.
Personal recommendations are so much better than something left on a website. Anymore, people are paid to write glowing reviews of places that are absolutely horrible. I never trust reviews on travel websites anymore. I love it when people share their own experiences!
There does seem to be more and more paid reviews on sites these days, and its getting to the point were the ratings and reviews are becoming worthless. Even some of the so called bigger sites are falling foul of these reviews now and unless somthong is done, the sites might have to just remove the comments and review section altogether.
I never even thought about the possibility of people giving paid reviews for accommodation. I see it sometimes when I buy things off Amazon - certain products will have disclaimers on people's reviews like "I was given this product in exchange for an honest review" but it does make you wonder really how honest that review is! When there are these paid reviews for hotels, how are you made aware that they are paid reviews? Is there a disclaimer or anything? I'm curious now!
That's the problem, the hotels or travel companies don't want you the prospective customer to know they're paid reviews so it won't be mentioned anywhere. You'll just read them on the site like you would any other reviews. The only way you can tell I've found, is that sometimes they look very generic and don't have a lot of detail of the actual place the review is of.
That seems to be the case for a lot of the other product reviews I see when they're paid reviews. A lot of detail to the point of almost sounding like an advertisement - and no negative points whatsoever. It was all glowing, shining reviews. Usually when you see real reviews, even when it's positive it sounds a lot more natural and less like something straight from a brochure.
Most genuine reviews are balanced, like you say, and the person writing the article may have had the best holiday of their life but they point out any negatives whereas the paid for reviews are sickly sweet sometimes. If a review of a place sounds too good to be true then it probably is, and it's definitely worth checking other sites just for reference if ever your not sure.
Yup, that's exactly right! I put reviews on Trip Advisor myself from places I've stayed, and they usually are like "the location was close to the beach which was wonderful but transport options to other places were limited except for taxis which were more expensive than public transport would have been"...you know? Things that highlight both the positives but any potential downsides so that other travellers can be aware of them for their bookings. It's a bit weird and sends off those red flags when people are like "this was THE most AMAAAAAZING place ever and it was perfect in every single way, nothing could top this" sort of reviews!
The one sentancr reviews are also a sign that something isn't quite right also...I love India and it the best place I've been...that kind of review. Really? India is a big place, would you not like to tell us a little more about the trip? I wouldn't be booking anything to anywhere solely based on a review of that nature.
