Hotel VS. Airbnb

I recently went away to Switzerland for about 5 days and I added all the highlights of the trip to my Instagram story, one of which was the beautiful place we stayed in. Once I put that up, questions started pouring in about our Airbnb, how we chose it, where it was located, and why we picked it over staying at a hotel. I thought it would be best to get all that information down in a blogpost for anyone else that was curious! If there is any information I missed out on, or anything you would like to know, then just ask away in the comment section!

To give you some background information, I have stayed in an Airbnb 5 times now. The first time was for my bachelorette trip in New York, three times in Italy (Pompei, Rome & Sorrento) and the most recent; last week in Chexbres, Switzerland. Staying at hotels was definitely more frequent back in the day when I would holiday with my family and even now when Irfan and I want to treat ourselves. They both have their pro's and con's. 

Lets start with the familiar vacation accommodation; the HOTEL. 

A "Hotel" is usually the immediate thought when talking about holiday due to its popularity and familiarity with most of us as it is a familiar place to stay during holiday. We already know what can be expected from a hotel and if you do your research on the hotel you stay at, you will feel a sense of security, you know that it will be serviced and you will have someone there once you arrive to greet you and show you around. Everyday there is a cleaning service available and you'll go to bed in fresh sheets and get clean towels. You will have your necessities around (soaps, shampoo, toothbrush etc). There are other amenities offered by most hotels for an extra fee such as breakfast, spa, mini bar, room service, pick up service from an airport etc. Depending on what country you are in & the weather, there will most likely also be a shared pool. One of the most important pro's in terms of customer service at a hotel would be the ease of issuing a complaint, you can easily locate someone at the hotel who will be willing to help (for instance, if your room isn't to your liking you might be given a different room, need new sheets, need a cab etc). You can generally find a hotel that has disabled access, or a child minding service, these things are more challenging to find in an Airbnb rental. 

Moving on to the new, very well loved and sometimes controversial accommodation service; the AIRBNB

*there are many instances of Hotels putting up their rooms on Airbnb but I will only be speaking about private home listings! 

Staying at an Airbnb is definitely a change from the usual hotel experience. You will feel more like a local and be better immersed into the culture when staying at a locals home. You will have more privacy at an Airbnb as nobody will come into your room when you aren't there (no mid day cleaning service), you don't need to greet someone on your way in or out, nobody will really know when you are in or when you aren't. Someone isn't watching at all times. This definitely can offer peace of mind. One thing I highly advise is to read all the reviews and go with a super host, this means they have hosted many times and have high average rating. This way you wont be apprehensive about staying at the Airbnb since you know other travellers like you have had a good experience. You can find great places at amazing locations, that may not have hotels nearby and wont be overrun by tourists. You can also adjust the filters to find what it is you are looking for, and generally you will find it at a cheaper rate than the average hotel. Things a hotel can offer, an Airbnb can usually offer too e.g. Breakfast, a pool, parking, hot tub etc. A useful feature for travellers that most Airbnbs offer is a kitchen. One of my favourite things about staying at an Airbnb is that we can have a home cooked meal at any time, if you wake up late you don't miss breakfast time and can just make a little something at home! From the experience we've had with Airbnb we've used the same sheets and towels our entire stay. Speaking to your host is generally easy to manage online, and can be positive if you have a good host. Depending on where you go there could be a potential language barrier, this we experienced in Italy. You might still be apprehensive before arriving to the Airbnb about what the place will actually look like, will there be security at the place and the extra worry of how to get the keys. Additionally, the exact address of the place isn't given to you until you book but they inform you of where it is within a 500m radius of the area. 

Why an Airbnb was the perfect choice for us in Switzerland 

The Airbnb was in the perfect location, central to all the landmarks we wanted to see. The area we stayed in is a world heritage sight, known for the beautiful vineyards surrounding it. There wasn't a large selection of hotels in this area, but we knew we may want to cook in the Airbnb as there aren't many halal options around the town. When we saw this Airbnb we were just in love with the minimal style of it and how unique it looked, there were beautiful windows throughout the loft and the views were incredible. We could see the vineyards, the lake and mountains from the windows, just the best thing to wake up to! There was a big kitchen, living room area (with a tv and netflix, score!) and a dining table. It could also sleep up to 4 people with everyone having their own space as opposed to a hotel room. Our host was really lovely, always responsive and the loft was super clean. 

Here is the link to the Airbnb we stayed at for some more information!

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/17674763

	Hotel	Airbnb
Security	CCTV, security guards, staff	Varies
Amenities	Breakfast, shared pool, daily refresh of towels, sheets, soaps, coffee	Sometimes pool, breakfast, kitchen, washer, dryer One set of towels and sheets
Extras	At an extra cost; spa, private pool, room service, airport pickup	Kitchen
Privacy	Cleaners coming in and out of the room when you aren't there,    staff keeps an eye on the guests	Generally more private, nobody comes in and out of the room
Location	Usually in a more touristy areas, away from the locals. Experiences will be had with other tourists	Anywhere, with the locals, unique locations
Price	Price varies by different rooms and cities but tend to be higher than an Airbnb that can provide a place to stay	Generally more affordable with more space
Accessibility	Standard hotel requirement to be accessible	May have to look harder to find
Customer Service	Easy to approach staff in the hotel	Only contact is through the app or their phone number