Have you ever felt overwhelmed when you’re about to reserve an apartment or home on Airbnb? I don’t mean in a bad way, but rather because you’re so flabbergasted by the array of cool places available, all of which may be wildly different, and all of which you’d be happy to live in for the rest of your life, let alone for a few days. This happens to me especially often in destinations like Mexico and Colombia, where economical prices mean that I can afford to stay somewhere that would likely be far out of my budget in the United States. Well, I’ve devised a technique for narrowing down my choices and making the right decision.
If you’re a fan of HGTV’s House Hunters or House Hunters International, you’re already familiar with my approach to Airbnb. Basically, when presented with a bunch of choices for your next vacation rental, you just need to make a list of your top priorities, and then review which properties meet those needs best. This process can be helpful with any short-term vacation rental, whether it’s Airbnb, HomeAway or VRBO. (If you don’t feel like reading, you can watch the video that I made for this article.)
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I’m using my latest trip to Bogota, Colombia, as an example, because this is where the technique helped my husband and I the most. There were so many properties that we could afford, in neighborhoods that we liked, and with features that we liked. But every property was quite different and unique. So how could we possibly choose?
Well, I took out a good, old-fashioned pen and a blank piece of paper (you could create a spreadsheet, of course, but I was feeling traditional that day). Here’s what we did next:
1. List the Finalists. On the left-hand side of the paper, we listed eight of our favorite apartments. Unfortunately, Airbnb doesn’t have a consistent way of titling properties (since the profiles are created by the person who rents them out), so we referred to each rental using a title summary, together with the nightly rate:
• Trendy Apt. Zona G, $77
• Great Location, $49
• Central Chic, $50
• Fantastic Duplex, $55
• Stylish Attic, $49
• Chapinero Carrera 9, $39
• Great Duplex, $68
• Urban Chalet, $71
2. Determine Your Priorities. What are the most important things that you look for or need when you stay in a vacation rental? On the top of the page, write each of the features, amenities and qualities that you want the most. In our case, this was the list:
• Balcony. When possible, we love to have a balcony so we can enjoy some open-air time when we travel. Not a deal breaker, but it’s a nice plus.
• Two bathrooms. Obviously, things are more pleasant when you don’t have to wait for someone else to finish up!
• Big windows. In New York City, my husband and I live in a 1939 apartment building; it’s nice, but the windows are small and there’s not a ton of natural light. So having floor-to-ceiling windows is a treat for us.
• No doorman. This is a personal preference. Some people would prefer to stay in a doorman building, for safety and convenience. We like the concept, but the last time we stayed in such a place, the doormen had a tendency to take long lunches and bathroom breaks, and they’d leave the lobby door locked when they did. That meant we had to wait for up to 15 minutes to get in. Not cool. This time around, we’d prefer to avoid that hassle.
• Good for an extended stay. In this particular trip to Bogota, I was planning on staying longer than Angel, so I wanted a place that was comfortable and affordable for me to inhabit alone, so I wouldn’t have to move to a different place.
Some of these features may be easier to determine than others, For example, I found that many listings aren’t explicit about whether there’s a doorman. Some say they have a balcony but then don’t show a photo of it. Remember, you can always contact an Airbnb host with questions, even before you book a rental. The speed with which they respond, and their degree of helpfulness, can also be a good indicator about whether they’re a good host.
3. Compare and Contrast. Now it’s time to draw some lines on that piece of paper (or fill in that spreadsheet). You should have a chart on which you can then indicate with a check mark which properties have which features. You can also add extra notes as needed (for example, our “Great Location” finalist had a balcony, but I noted that it was “ugly”).
Once you have all of that done, it will be easy to see which Airbnb rental has the most features that you want. I considered each of the amenities as a star, so I then gave each vacation rental a star rating. One property, “Stylish Attic,” was super cool, but it only got one star, so we immediately removed that from the competition. “Great Location” with the “ugly” balcony only got two stars in my system, so it was eliminated, too.
Upon reviewing all the remaining vacation rentals and then sending out a message about the doorman question, only one ended up having the five stars that we wanted: “Trendy Apt. Zona G,” a quirky-cool apartment in a good neighborhood with no doorman, lots of natural light, two bathrooms and a large balcony. And that’s the one we chose.
Were we happy with our final choice? Stay tuned to find out!