“Airbnbust,” a term coined recently, was created to summarize the lower occupancy rates and slower bookings Airbnb hosts are experiencing due to short-term rental saturation in the market.
More people returning to the office is also increasing available listings in the short-term rental industry.
But, with the platform charging steep cleaning fees and picky short-term rental hosts leaving vacationers doing chores, is there something else to blame for Airbnb’s downturn, aka Airbnbust?
Here’s why the internet is cheering for Airbnb’s collapse.
1. Fees and taxes make it more expensive than a hotel
“I can hardly believe the fees and taxes Airbnb charges these days. It makes it more expensive than a hotel,” wrote one person.
Another jokingly chimed in, “AirFeeandFee.”
See also: Basking in Elegance: The World of Luxury Resorts and Hotels in America
2. Unreachable hosts
Hotels always have reliable front desk service, but Airbnb rental hosts can be, well, ghosts. “I’ve had friends show up on check-in day only to be ghosted by hosts entirely,” said one user cheering for the Airbnbust.
A user frustrated with a property owner added, “I told a host once that I’ll be reaching at 2 am-ish and asked multiple times if that’s okay. If that wasn’t ok, I’ll look for another place.
“Host kept saying that it’s no issue with the timing…on the day itself, the host MIA-ed on us.”
3. Risk of being canceled on last-minute
“My mom once booked a place in Lisbon for a month, 6 months ahead. The host canceled a week before giving a [bad] reason.
“She was already in Europe by then and had to spend a couple of days of her vacation trying to find a place that could charge at least a little less than double what she was going to in the first place, with no help at all from Airbnb customer service.”
4. Being bait-and-switched
“We rented a super cute house in Liverpool in early Jan for my friend’s birthday, and it was DISGUSTING.
“For starters the house was totally different, they just outright lied and posted photos of a different house, but on top of that there was no hot water or electricity, and the floor was sticky from what looked like juice/alcohol so they didn’t clean after the last party, etc.”
5. Vacationers don’t want to do chores on their time off
“The last Airbnb I had, we had to take the bins out, throw all sheets and towels into the wash, bleach them, hang them out to dry, and then fold them. Plus a $380 cleaning fee.”
6. Airbnbs have restrictive rules that hotels don’t
Airbnb hosts are allowed to make their own rules for their listings in addition to ground rules outlined by Airbnb, allowing some to have some rather, erm, restrictive requirements, and further rallying support for an Airbnb bust.
One user upset with short-term rental hosts parodied how overbearing Airbnb house rules can be writing, “Eye-tracking software detects each time you look in a mirror and charges you an automatic fee of 50 cents with each look, you’re not allowed to watch Channel 5 on the TV, the refrigerator must not be used for chilling things. Enjoy your stay!”
7. Lack of customer support
Both hosts and Airbnb customer support have been known to provide less-than-excellent solutions for guests in a crisis.
“Hotel = 24-hour front desk and being able to change rooms if you have an issue. AirBnB = Hope and pray nothing goes wrong,” succinctly summarized one user.
See also: Paradise Found: Discover The 5 Best All-Inclusive Resorts in The Caribbean for Vacation Bliss
8. Unsafe conditions
“Hotels have to meet safety requirements that individual houses don’t. A hotel has fire alarms, sprinklers, deadbolts on every room door, and at least one attendant on duty at all hours.
“We’ve all heard of Airbnb nightmare stories where there are no security locks on the home or bedrooms and cameras in intimate places. It’s honestly terrifying.”
9. Airbnb is causing locals to be evicted
Cries for Airbnbs demised aren’t just reserved for those who book vacation rentals when they travel. “I was evicted twice so they could cut my home in half and make two micro suite Airbnbs out of it.
“Now like 30%+ of my city is vacant at any given time, homelessness is rampant, and rent for even studios is above $2000, and people’s entire lifestyle revolves around buying rental property with a bank loan and skating off the profits,” wrote an individual strongly in favor of an Airbnbust.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only eviction taking place. “The new owner of our apartment building is some rich California (person) who evicted 80% of the tenants. He posted eviction notices for a number of people on Christmas day,” added another person slamming short-term rental business owners.
10. Neighborhoods are sitting empty
“So, I have many 10% neighbors left. The rest of the houses are Airbnb and sit mostly empty. Maybe even always empty.”
11. Airbnb’s implications on the affordable housing crisis
Airbnb supply and demand is also making affordable housing for locals harder to find.
Described one user, “Airbnbs have basically wiped out accessible housing in my neighborhood and caused such an inflation in price that even with combined incomes, my SO and I still can’t land a place.
“Every time a property comes up for something close to reasonable, these wanna-be mini tyrants start a bidding war and drive the number through the roof while waiving inspections and appraisals.”
This article was written and syndicated by What the Fab.
Avoid these overrated National Parks
Let’s admit it: some National Parks in the United States just don’t live up to the hype. Believe it or not, the Department of the Interior agrees.
These are the eight worst National Parks in the United States.
These declining US cities are so dangerous, that they’re practically lawless
Unfortunately, the economic downturn of recent years has caused some cities in the United States to rapidly deteriorate in safety, infrastructure, and population.
Locals think these US cities have been declining the most.
Absolutely iconic destinations you need on your bucketlist
From the intricate facade of the Taj Mahal to England’s perplexing Stonehenge, these international destinations are what travel bucket lists are made of.
Discover the international destinations you need to see in your lifetime.
Elise Armitage is an entrepreneur and founder of What The Fab, a travel + lifestyle blog based in California. At the beginning of 2019, Elise left her corporate job at Google to chase her dreams: being an entrepreneur and helping women find fabulous in the everyday. Since then, she’s launched her SEO course Six-Figure SEO, where she teaches bloggers how to create a passive revenue stream from their website using SEO. Featured in publications like Forbes, Elle, HerMoney, and Real Simple, Elise is a firm believer that you can be of both substance and style.
