AirBnB has officially worn me out...the time it takes to read each different person's rules, email them ahead of booking to make sure they're actually available, then book, then wait for an acceptance while they hold your money is a problematic system...
The whole reason you use AirBnB is to save money! On average it takes about an hour each time you bid on a place and then you have to wait, charge up your credit card only to find the host declined because they're waiting for someone to book for more days so they can make more money... If you're in this scheduling loop with hosts, it eats up your time and you're not really saving money because jumping through hoops eats up time and time is money... Here's what's really brillant: you have to pay upfront to reserve a booking you may not get, even if AirBnB immediately returns your money, it's take a 5-7 day turnaround. So, if you request a reservation for several different apts, you can conceivably spend a thousands of dollars on your credit card that won't be refunded for a least a week...WTF... They need to work out a better a system...because it's really not saving anyone any money in the long run...perhaps for longer stays like a week...but here's the funny catch...people don't feel safe leaving their homes with strangers for long stays... Either you're run it like a business with standard rates and standard booking policies or not...but the in between shit is a soul eating, exhausting process... And this is even better, oh, boy....you also, have homeowners trying to hustle and change rates every five minutes to make a buck or charging you $2000 security deposits...the structure leaves too many opportunites for inconsistency in the way folks do business...and this means the possibility for a traveler to get screwed is really high... Pensiones in Europe have done this effectively for years without all of these problems...even before we had the internet...why can't Americans figure this out without grinding people into the ground..oh, right, greed... Time is money...and ur not saving me money if i'm wasting time just trying to establish whether or not you actually want to rent a place you've listed as available... I tried to help small businesses...but they didn't help me... I found a hotel...and they'll bring me pancakes in bed and not care what color I am, not want to ask me questions about why I'm visiting and won't cancel my fucking reservation after I've spent hours looking for a place that feels beautiful and safe... all they want is my credit card....thank u, jesus...
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AprilUnPlugged
April Yvette Thompson is a Tony-winning producer, actor, writer, thinker, dreamer in search of beauty, truth, love & flights of serendipitous grace. Archives
August 2020
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