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By being thrifty about the way I spend and strategic about long weekends, I find myself traveling about once every four to eight weeks. My friends often ask me how to save money while traveling and AirBnB comes up a lot. Of course, it depends on what kind of traveler you are and your travel objectives. If you are leisure traveler group of five or more, need the venue for social activities, or going somewhere so off the beaten track that there aren’t any hotels then AirBnB can sometimes be the only choice you have. But in most instances, staying at a hotel makes more sense than a short-term home rental.
Price
Let’s say you want to go to Toronto with a day’s notice and staying in Mississauga, about a half-hour drive west of Union Station, makes the most financial sense. You could get a basement one-bedroom AirBnB unit with an access code to check in anytime for $190 including fees and taxes or you could stay at a Best Western-branded business hotel’s junior suite for $185. If you’re feeling thrifty, a decent Super 8 with two queen-seize beds only cost $140. All three options include free parking and internet, but only the hotels include a free breakfast.
Within 500 meters of Toronto City Hall, business travellers could either stay in a one-bedroom condo through AirBnB for $568 or the upscale DoubleTree by Hilton’s one-bedroom with kitchen deluxe suite for $526 with a nice buffet breakfast thrown in for free if you’re a member. If not, the breakfast-included rate is still only $552. Neither the budget nor the upscale options are cheaper than equivalent hotel rooms.
Hotels have a consistent and transparent pricing structure. If you see a $150 rate, it’s only going to be that plus taxes. However, there are often additional fees on AirBnB. Cleaning and service fees can add up to hundreds of dollars per stay pricing an otherwise attractive offer out of your budget.
If you are also a frequent traveler, you will likely have the benefit of using corporate discount codes through work or partner organizations and member-exclusive discounts as a frequent customer of the hotel. All the prices listed include those discounts. Some would say it’s unfair to include special pricing, but one of the benefits of staying at a hotel is its perks for loyal customers, something AirBnB has never offered. If you only travel twice a year, a $20 difference isn’t going to impact you as much anyways.
Perks
Loyalty at a hotel is rewarded. As a frequent traveler you can earn status by the number of nights stayed and status matches with competing brands. You can also get elevated status offers by simply holding an eligible credit card or the hotel’s own branded credit card. I have earned Diamond level with Wyndham to status match to Diamond with Caesar’s and Diamond Select with Best Western. My premium credit cards matched me to Gold with Hilton and Marriott and Platinum with Sandman Hotels.
Not only do I get free upgrades to junior suites at scenic locations like Niagara Falls or executive rooms with views in urban locations like Detroit, I also get accelerated points earning and exclusive member offers. Over the past two years, I have stayed in a hotel for 60 nights and only paid for 45 nights, bringing my average nightly rate to less than $90 including taxes. Often, members get free breakfast, bottled water, and access to in-property lounges tat offer free food around the clock, bringing down the total cost of travel.
If I have any questions about my booking, I can call a dedicated member services hotline with no waiting time 24 hours a day to get reservation issues resolved. As a member, I can request early check in and late check out if I had odd-hour flights to make sure my room is available and matches my schedule.
Convenience
You never know when you flight might be delayed or when you might want to make an extra stop during your road trip. The last thing you want to be doing when you’re jet-lagged and lost in an unfamiliar city is to figure out how to use a lock box or when to meet your host. Hotels have 24-hour front desks and you can check in and out any time of the day, leave luggage for safekeeping if you arrive early, or ask for help reserving a table at a restaurant or booking theatre tickets.
Most hotels offer parking and breakfast options, some even for free. But even if you had to pay separately for these services, you know they are available on the property. There’s no need to hunt for street parking or walk several blocks to a cafe for breakfast, saving you time and trouble looking for these things.
If you travel often, you’ll find yourself in the position of trying to book last-minute trips or cancelling trips a day or two before you’re about to depart. While some AirBnB hosts could be slow in approving last-minute booking requests, many will charge last-minute cancellation fees or even have an inflexible cancellation policy in place. Hotels allow you to cancel on them last-minute without penalty and allow you to make instant las-minute bookings without waiting for a response from the host.
AirBnB hosts are also known to cancel on guests last-minute, ruining a trip. While the host may provide you with a full refund, you’re stressed about fining another place to stay and could face higher prices. Hotels do not cancel on you, and if they are full when you check in, reputable chains usually find you another place to stay at no cost to you, taking the stress out of unexpected situations.
Amenities
Most mid to upscale hotels in urban areas have a restaurant, gym, pool, and business centre available for guests. The nicer ones may offer spas and massages, but even budget motels like Super 8 or Best Western have swimming pools in many locations.
People usually travel on holidays and being able to eat dinner at a hotel restaurant that is open every day is a major convenience on days like Christmas or New Year’s when many businesses are closed. You can also keep your morning workout routine at the gym, print museum tickets you reserved online at the business centre, and ask for things you may have left at home. Whether its toothpaste that got confiscated at airport security or an adapter for your laptop charger, a hotel front desk is likely able to help with small requests.
Imagine staying at an AirBnB only to realize that you have no toothpaste and no way to charge your phone. Now you have to spend additional time that you could’ve used for sightseeing looking for those items at a local supermarket.
Consistency and Safety
Hotels are regulated in most countries, guaranteeing minimum level of fire safety, hygiene, and legal protection for guests. In Ontario, items left with the “innkeeper” for safekeeping are guaranteed up to a certain dollar amount. You also have recourse with government agents if you have a bad experience with a dirty hotel.
But even before you need to seek legal recourse for a bad experience, hotels are often willing to rectify mistakes. You could get a room change for a ventilation system that smells funny or a clogged drain, the front desk could help with internet access issues, and you can request daily housekeeping and toiletries refills at no additional cost. If your AirBnB turns out not to be as advertised to has plumbing issues, you could be stuck with that room for the duration of your stay.
Reputable hotel chains all set quality standards that their franchisees have to meet. Whether you’re staying at a Motel 6 or a Marriott, you’re going to enjoy a similar experience everywhere in the world. No unexpected surprises, low English language barriers, and comfortable rooms. This factor especially important for travellers who need to work while traveling for leisure. I need to know that there is high-speed internet, a comfortable chair, and a desk for me to blog, edit photos, and update travel plans as I go.
Conclusion
The novelty factor for staying at a local home is strong for people looking for that type of experience. But for people who travel often, value the ability to work at a moment’s notice, and need flexibility and price competitiveness, a hotel is objectively the better way to go. Make the things you pay for fit your travel plans, not the other way around.
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