How to Choose the Right Airbnb for You?

One thing for sure that I’m grateful about nowadays technology is Airbnb, another alternative for tourists to book accommodation. Since 2016, I’ve been staying at 13 different Airbnb hosts and I think it’s an appropriate number to give advices/tips for you who wants to book Airbnb in the future. Either you’re a first timer in booking Airbnb, or a second timer but still want to know how I choose great airbnb accommodation, well here it is.

But first, I want to put a disclaimer first before you’re reading on how to choose the right Airbnb for you. My definition of great, safe and right Airbnb might be different with you. I’m a solo female traveler that have my own personal preferences that might not be the same with yours.

Anyway, here are 6 steps that you need to go through before booking an airbnb:

1. Know your priority
2. Filter based on your preferences
3. Check the review of the listing
4. Learn about your neighbourhood
5. Get to know your Airbnb host
6. Create a list to compare and contrast

Know your priority

What I mean by priority is you know what you’re looking for. Know where you’re going (or the destination) and the dates. Date is quite important because just like hotels or any other accommodation, this is how Airbnb charge you (per night) and know if they are available or not. If you set the dates, you automatically filter out all the unavailable accommodations, so you don’t get high hope (or PHP in Indonesian) before you check the Airbnb itself.

Inserting the “location” and “dates” is basically the very first step to give you list of Airbnb properties that are available. Usually the first several properties is what Airbnb think is the most suitable for you.

Filter based on your preferences

Even though I’m a budget traveler, I still have my own preference that I cannot cross when it comes to accommodation. I want my Airbnb experience to be comfortable enough for me while I’m traveling. Some of my must-have preference/filter is:

• Entire house or at least private room for the type of place (shared room is a big no-no for me)
• Wifi (if I don’t rent pocket wifi, this can be good to have)
• Self check-in (not necessary but it’s good to have)
• Price (I usually set it on my budget)
• Clean bathroom (this you cannot filter, but you can see it from the photos)
• Air conditioning (if I’m traveling in summer season or it’s a tropical country)
• Aesthetically pleasing (this also you cannot filter, but you can see it from the photos)
• Bathroom amenities, washing machine, and kitchen (if I’m traveling for more than one week)

After looking at the list above, I actually don’t use the filter part that much 😅. Nonetheless, if you’re traveling with you family and kids, or if you have mobility needs, or if you want to bring your pets, you can check the filter. You can even filter out the Airbnb property with the language you speak such as English, Chinese, French.

If you want to enhance your trip with Airbnb, you can filter out in the “Unique Stays”, so you can stay in unique accommodation such as barn, camper, boat, igloo, lighthouse, plane, ryokan, or even castle. I think this is what makes Airbnb so special and you definitely cannot get it from booking a hotel room. If the price is similar, might as well book it in a unique accommodation, right?

Check the review of the listing

Reviews is like the modern word-of-mouth. I prefer i stay in airbnb that have a lot of great reviews. I will less likely to book a new airbnb property because Apart from anything they put in their page, there’s no other people’s opinion about it. They might be lying about the info or the photos. I rather have other people try the place first, if it bad, then they will for sure review it. If it good, i’ll also know how many people at least stayed there. Although i dont know those reviewer people (they might be friends of the host) but if it already more than 100 reviews, for sure it’s a legit thing right?

Learn about your neighbourhood

Neighbourhood is also something I look upon at nowadays. What I mean by neighbourhood is to know the vibe of the area and if it suitable for me. Is it a financial district, or a sketchy area, or a touristy spot, or it’s where locals live? I’m not sure if this Neighbourhood thingy is available on each country and city though. But I think you can do your Airbnb search based on the neighbourhood in big, touristic city (Paris, Rome, LA, etc).

What I try to play around is the cost of the accommodation and the cost of transport. So this may be a tips for you. I either spend a lot on accommodation and spend little on transport because where I stay will be a strategic place and walkable to other places, or vice versa. Usually, I also check if the neighbourhood is a red light district area (often times, it’s cheaper) and search more if the area is safe or not. Because I’ve stayed in red light district area (Geneva, Tokyo, Paris) and I got no problem with it. So as long as the area is safe for female traveler, then I don’t mind to save up on accommodation.

Sometimes, I also check the neighbourhood after I’ve done with my itinerary and from there I can see the obvious clustering based on the places I will go. Then, I know where I should stay so I can do my travel well based on my itinerary. Airbnb have the “map” part when searching for an Airbnb property, so it’s easier to search the suitable airbnb based on the location.

Get to know your Airbnb host

I want to know if my host is responsive, experienced and friendly. How? By using the chat in Airbnb. I usually start the chat with asking simple questions like, “is your neighbourhood safe for solo traveler?”. Or “how can I get to your place from the airport?”. “Is it easy to get around from your Airbnb?”. And sometimes I wanna to be clear on the towels and bathroom amenities, because just like hotels, sometimes they provide it too, so you can save up on ur baggage and amenities cost. If you’re still not sure, usually in the Review part, people who stayed at the Airbnb review’s include some bits about the host (such as “they’re friendly”, “very accommodating”, “responsive host”, etc it can be anything tbh).

Create a list to compare and contrast

The price of the accommodation is quite crucial for me because I want to make sure that I’m get the value from what I’m paying for. I usually shortlisted all the airbnbs that I prefer by clicking “love”, it will automatically create a list based on the location. You can make accommodations for your trip with different location. Then, I will compare the shortlisted airbnbs to decide which one I should go for. If I happen to go back to the destination, I can easily look back and try the other shortlisted airbnb.

My past Airbnb hosts from around the world

 Here’s my past airbnb from around the world. I had a great time in their airbnb and had no problem at all. All of them are clean and cozy for me.

• Budapest, Hungary – living like locals, the stairs to the airbnb might be kinda creepy (but that’s how all old European buildings looks like) but aside from that, the interior is amazing and feels like home.
• Rome, Italy – super duper close to Vatican City, and it’s more like a hotel with the very nice touch of interior details.
• Porto, Portugal – in the city, and near the library that inspires JK Rowling on Harry Potter series.
• Lisboa, Portugal – in the city, among the locals, and it’s small but super cozy, also near the nightlife.
• Strasbourg, France – super cozy apartment, and very spacious. Although there’s no lift, the host helped us bringing our super big luggage.
• Montreux, Switzerland – nearby the Lake Geneva, very spacious.
• Montreux, Switzerland – in the historical area, living among the locals, self check-in.
• Salzburg, Austria – Simple and near the city centre.
• Vienna, Austria – Super huge place and an old European type of home, and in the city centre.
• Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea – Small and backpacker kind-of-accommodation, very helpful host and very local.
• Osaka, Japan – capsule hotel (but it’s container instead of capsule), very clean and this airbnb listing is female only (so like the whole floor is for female)
• George Town, Penang, Malaysia – probably my ultimate favourite Airbnb place so far, it’s very rustic but feels at home. Love the friendly and accommodating host!
• Gangnam, Seoul, South Korea – literally in Gangnam, just couple blocks away from the main street of Gangnam. Very small space but clean and comfortable.
• Itaewon, Seoul – cozy and simple, nearby the bus stop and able to do self check-in. Friendly and Nice hosts.

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