Airbnb is a company that has been able to revolutionize the way how people are looking for property rentals. Back in the day, travelers had to face a variety of difficulties when they are looking for a place to spend their nights. The hotels were too expensive for them. On the other hand, the hostels had too limited facilities for them.
In the meantime, the founders of Airbnb noticed that there is a possibility for the homeowners to share their spare rooms to such travelers and gain some extra money. That’s how Airbnb was created. As of now, Airbnb is the most popular and most prominent property rental marketplace that you can find out there in the internet. It is mainly engaged with the process of offering homestays for the people. In addition to that, it is also possible to find how Airbnb is offering numerous tourism experiences as well.
The headquarters of Airbnb is located in San Francisco, United States. The primary objective of Airbnb is to act like a broker with the property owners and the travelers who are renting it for limited number of nights. For offering the service, Airbnb will be able to receive a commission.
History of Airbnb
Airbnb was founded by a couple of former schoolmates, named Joe Gebbia and Brian Chesky. They moved to San Francisco back in the year 2007. That’s where they laid an air mattress in the living room and transformed that into a bed and breakfast. Along with that, they got the new business idea into the minds. They also got the help of the third founder for their new venture and placed a website, which offers short term living quarters. It provided breakfast for the guests along with business networking opportunities.
The initial version of Airbnb was for the people who were not in a position to book a hotel. The market has been quite saturated and it was possible for them to locate the right customer base with ease. Along with that, the popularity of Airbnb increased and they started offering their services to numerous customers who came from different parts of the world. Within a period of one year, the website of Airbnb was able to get more than 2,500 listings. On the other hand, more than 10,000 people were signed up with the website of Airbnb as well.
Service offered by Airbnb
Airbnb does not own private property for rent. They simply provide an online brokering service so that you can easily book a place to stay when you travel. Airbnb is where you can look for apartments, hostel beds, hotel rooms or homestays. Airbnb also offers you a range of lodgings that includes rest houses and hotels.
Both these online brokers will be useful if you travel somewhere like Madrid. Although they will charge you a commission for booking accommodation on their online platform, you can also look out for various discounts as well.
Since Madrid is a heavy touristy area, you will naturally face the problem of accommodation. If you book through AirBnB, there is a benefit. They will help you out with rent apartment on a short term basis. Their straightforward approach has earned them popularity across the World Wide Web.
But remember you need to double check whatever available on the descriptions with the owners. For instance, if wi fi is mentioned as a facility, you need to double check about it with the owner. These mishaps happen because the descriptions are authored by the owners. Most owners provide descriptions without a slightest idea about the terms they use. Sometimes you will see an apartment in the description, but in reality it may be only a room.
The owners have another strategy. They publish old pictures and their accommodation looks attractive. So remember that seeing could be deceiving. Visit the place physically to make sure everything you need is in the right order. For example, some apartments could be quite beyond repair. That will be all right only if you look for a very cheap rate and do not mind a dilapidated apartment. But if you are paying above the average, then you have the right to check your accommodation. Better if you can examine the place before making any payment. Once you get there, you can have an idea about the place. Check out the things like faucet leak.
While using the apartment, remember to report every fault, however slight it may seem, to the owner. You will not be charged for that. Try to learn a bit of Spanish too so that you can convince them what you need. Booking a hotel could be wiser option than an apartment obviously. Most apartment owners would not care about the prices, and tend to increase prices exorbitantly. Worse is when they mention the services they do not have. So it is always better to book a recognized hotel with good reviews.
Airbnb is an online platform which offers you a plethora of cheap places like guesthouses. But that is not recommended much, as you might be in for a bad experience that comes complementary with cheap prices. Airbnb’s reputation lies with hotels in Asia, but it also offers good deals in Madrid.
However the best option is to get in touch with the hotels directly if you are looking for 2 or 3 star ones. Check if either site offers you any promotion. Or just contact the hotel directly, and you might be able to go for a better deal.
As of now, Airbnb is the most popular platform for its kind available on the internet. In the meantime, it is also possible to see how the popularity of Airbnb is increasing along with time. Hence, it is worthy to take a look at Airbnb and experience the great services offered by them.