Why I Love Airbnb + $20 Off Your First Stay!

Back in the days when I ran my cruise business, I would almost always book a pre-cruise hotel stay for my clients since nobody ever wanted to miss the boat…literally! And many clients also booked a stay after the sailing to explore the port city before heading home.

Back then, a hotel/motel was the ONLY choice for overnight stays. Nowadays, there are many other options, and today I want to share one of my favorites: Airbnb.

For those new to Airbnb, it is website for people to list, find, and rent lodging. It has over 1,500,000 listings in 34,000 cities and 190 countries. And it is my go-to place for lodging for one simple reason: I love to support those mom and pops. And I consider each Airbnb host a pop-up small business, opening their homes to weary travelers like me.

New to Airbnb? Here’s how it works:

You set up a profile on the Airbnb site. For $20 off (!!!) your first stay, >>> click here to set up a profile <<< It’s quick and easy…all you have to do is sign-up for an account using the link, and the first time you book (it doesn’t have to be today!), you’ll get 20 buckeroos off your very first stay. Woohoo! I love free money! Go ahead and sign-up through that link, I’ll wait. 🙂
Search by your destination, dates, and number of people staying. This is the fun part! I love to browse what’s available in some of my favorite locales, and when Peepaw and I are ready to book travel, this is the first place we look. Note: you can choose to rent the entire place, a private room, or a shared space. Since Peepaw and I like our privacy, I always select ‘Entire home/apt.’ but you may be a little more adventurous.
Look for the highest rated places in your price range. Airbnb uses a feedback system so guests can share their experiences and “pay it forward” to other travelers. Personally, I only book places rated AT LEAST 4 stars (out of 5) and only those which have AT LEAST 10 reviews. This gives me peace of mind that others have had great experiences with their stay. (And I make sure to leave my own review after I’ve stayed, too.)
Narrow it down to 3-4 places. After I’ve narrowed it down to a few contenders, based on where in the city I want to be and the amenities, I read the most recent reviews for each place. Almost always, the clear “winner” is pretty apparent based on what I’m seeing in the reviews.
Book it! A couple of things to note, you will generally see two additional fees on top of the nightly rate: the cleaning fee and the service fee. The cleaning fee is the fee charged by the host to clean the place after your stay. Usually, the bigger the place the more this costs. For example, a two-night rental in New Orleans for a one-bedroom apartment is $50 for cleaning and this 6-bedroom is $200. The service fee is a fee charged by Airbnb, and it helps them cover the cost of doing business plus the 24/7 support they provide guests. In our New Orleans example, the one-bedroom’s service fee is $36 and the mansion’s service fee is $131. I think of these costs equivalent to the extra charges hotels charge for resort fees, internet, parking, taxes, etc……except when you do the math, in most cases Airbnb will come out ahead (sometimes by a lot!) when compared to most hotels.