Airbnb is a marketplace with a much wider range of "products" than standard hotels. I have found stays that fit my needs far better than any hotel ever could. I am both a host on Airbnb and frequent guest.
Airbnb's UI needs to guide prospective guests toward specifying what they are looking for so that prices (and price sorting) actually meets their expectations. If you search for a specific date range with # of guests, pets, etc., the sort order needs to be on all-in costs, not daily cost. Maybe they could offer pre-baked "personas" - e.g., I am looking for a hotel alternative vs I am looking for a unique experience.
I've used Airbnb 25 times. 12 of those times had issues. Issues like
"parking space included" - show up, no parking
"wifi included" - show up, wifi is sitting next to window and stealing from neighbor
listed on quiet road - after booking address is changed to unit on busy road
heater is so loud it sounds like a vacuum cleaner making getting any sleep hard
I no longer use AirBnB period. Hotels have extra rooms, reception, cleaning, etc. I'm not saying hotels are perfect but at least for me, the positive experience rate is 90% vs AirBnB which is 50%
AirBnb also lost the price wars, at least as the places I've looked.
For what it’s worth, I’ve used Airbnb around 60 times and found it a much better experience than a hotel 9/10 times. Even putting aside amenities such as kitchen and washer/dryer access, hotels always feel like unnerving liminal spaces to me. Very few hotels I’ve stayed at have felt “homey,” which puts a significant psychological damper on my trip.
I guess I don't expect a short-term rental in an urban locale (especially) to be "homey." I'm looking for well-located, clean, and comfortable (enough). There are some brands that I find more welcoming than others but, in general, I'm not really looking for the hotel to be an important part of my experience with some exceptions.
In contrast, some of my favorite travel memories involve unique Airbnbs. People around the world have created some incredible living spaces, and hotels don't let you experience that aspect of travel.
It’s good for consumers this way I think. The hotels were forced to compete and I think overall are better than they were 20 years ago.
For normal people, they are not aware of this different form of rented lodging and if you’re hosting a big family vacation or a retreat, Airbnb is not a bad option.
It’s the bottom of the Airbnb market that is completely screwed up.
Your persona feature is interesting but I feel that every Airbnb owner would also game it so they end up in the category with the highest prices, just like they're gaming the reviews.
Hotels have a star rating so that I never go to a two-star hotel expecting a four-star experience. These star ratings are done independently, and I don't trust Airbnb to provide objectivity when the owners are going to strongly push back against an "unfair" rating, and Airbnb will capitulate especially for superhosts and others who have influence.
Airbnb's UI needs to guide prospective guests toward specifying what they are looking for so that prices (and price sorting) actually meets their expectations. If you search for a specific date range with # of guests, pets, etc., the sort order needs to be on all-in costs, not daily cost. Maybe they could offer pre-baked "personas" - e.g., I am looking for a hotel alternative vs I am looking for a unique experience.