I have just come back from a trip around Central America, where I used AirBnB extensively. This was my wife?s suggestion- I?d had the impression previously that AirBnB was only for long term accommodation. I had some wonderful experiences, and I felt like sharing.
One thing I didn?t realise when I started was that I could have earned $US25 in booking credits if I?d had a referral from a friend, and that friend would have also earned $US25 in credits. So just in case anybody is going to use AirBnB for the first time, contact me for a referral code; or anybody else who has used AirBnB can reply to this post and you can contact them for a referral code. Depreciator is one member with extensive AirBnB experience as a host; there will be others. The important thing is that any first time user can get credits for free.
We started by trying a place in Sydney, just to see how it worked. We went there for the weekend to get together for a family celebration. We were after a room to sleep three people, on the southern beaches. We got a lovely place, just a block back from the beach. The host was a motivational speaker, teaching people how to speak in public ? unfortunately we didn?t get to meet her. It was a lovely spot, and great to wake up in a real house, and not just a motel room.
First up in Latin America, I stayed at Antigua, Guatemala, a lovely old Spanish colonial city, with a lovely young couple. I was delayed getting there due to heavy traffic and rain- but my host was standing outside in the rain waiting for me to arrive, not knowing how long he would have to stand there. The house doesn?t front onto the street. The house was excellent, nice and clean, about a 15 minute walk from the town centre. They gave me the option of joining them for their activities- I was fortunate to be there at the time at a nearby spectacular kite festival. I still keep in touch with these people.
https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/2169398
I had two weeks at language school in Guatemala, where I was hosted by a local Maya family, which was arranged by the school.
One night was in a hostel in Guatemala City- a lovely big old room, 15 minutes walk from the historic centre.
In Monte Verde, Costa Rica, I stayed at a magnificent place on the edge of the rainforest, with a fantastic view of the rainforest and into the canyon. On several mornings, I was woken up by monkeys in the trees just outside the window. The host also provided rainforest tours. He?s born and bred in the area, and knows the wildlife. We saw a lot of wildlife on the tour, which I would have totally missed by myself. We did see a quetzal bird, a magnificent bird which can be very hard to find.
https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/3544065
In La Fortuna, Costa Rica, the place turned out to be a standard hotel- except well removed from the township, which meant extra transport expenses, as I was travelling by public transport. Often, a hotel lists in AirBnB- sometimes they are good, other times not so much.
In San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, I stayed in a unit. This was a place which really showed the value of the personal touch. Just as the bus was arriving in San Jose, I discovered that my backpack had been stolen from the bus. My host went to great lengths to help me out- finding out where to go to report the loss, and even let me pay Paypal in exchange for cash, which I very much needed.
Quepos is a small town near the coast, near the Costa Rica?s smallest and most popular park. I stayed out of town, up the side of the hill, with views over the marina, and a pool, bbq and bar- every Aussie?s dream.
https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/694306
Another coastal town ? Puerto Jimenez. This was beautifully situated, surrounded by rainforest- but I allowed myself too little time to go to the nearby national park.
https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/3018888
In the highlands Panama town of Boquete, I stayed in a house, with a beautiful view of the volcano, rainforest and coffee plantation, with glimpses of the distant Pacific. The house is beautifully maintained, and an excellent glimpse of the US expat way of life in Panama.
https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/1173618
In Medellin, I was on a 15th floor penthouse, in a gated complex, with fantastic views over Medellin.
https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/1056244
In Caye Caulker, Belize, a coral island, I was beachside. A lovely- and colourful- place in a laid back Caribbean beach.
https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/1314967
And finally, the most unusual accommodation I?ve stayed in. Belize has a big population of Mennonites, which is a Christian group related to the Amish people in Pennsylvania. While there are many Mennonites in Belize who still don?t use cars or modern machinery, this was not one of them. They do use the internet, but not TV. The women still wear traditional long dresses and white bonnets. There is an extremely strong sense of community- I arrived just at the completion of a full house renovation done while the lady of the house was away for six days- performed with the help of many of the members of the church working together, just like a barn raising which I?ve seen shown on TV.
https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/1110572
Not all requests for accommodation were accepted- I had rejections for about 25% of requests. Quite often, they are just ordinary people with their own activities. Sometimes they don't like to accept people without a rating (both the guest and host get the chance to rate each other); some like to check social media as well.
One thing I didn?t realise when I started was that I could have earned $US25 in booking credits if I?d had a referral from a friend, and that friend would have also earned $US25 in credits. So just in case anybody is going to use AirBnB for the first time, contact me for a referral code; or anybody else who has used AirBnB can reply to this post and you can contact them for a referral code. Depreciator is one member with extensive AirBnB experience as a host; there will be others. The important thing is that any first time user can get credits for free.
We started by trying a place in Sydney, just to see how it worked. We went there for the weekend to get together for a family celebration. We were after a room to sleep three people, on the southern beaches. We got a lovely place, just a block back from the beach. The host was a motivational speaker, teaching people how to speak in public ? unfortunately we didn?t get to meet her. It was a lovely spot, and great to wake up in a real house, and not just a motel room.
First up in Latin America, I stayed at Antigua, Guatemala, a lovely old Spanish colonial city, with a lovely young couple. I was delayed getting there due to heavy traffic and rain- but my host was standing outside in the rain waiting for me to arrive, not knowing how long he would have to stand there. The house doesn?t front onto the street. The house was excellent, nice and clean, about a 15 minute walk from the town centre. They gave me the option of joining them for their activities- I was fortunate to be there at the time at a nearby spectacular kite festival. I still keep in touch with these people.
https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/2169398
I had two weeks at language school in Guatemala, where I was hosted by a local Maya family, which was arranged by the school.
One night was in a hostel in Guatemala City- a lovely big old room, 15 minutes walk from the historic centre.
In Monte Verde, Costa Rica, I stayed at a magnificent place on the edge of the rainforest, with a fantastic view of the rainforest and into the canyon. On several mornings, I was woken up by monkeys in the trees just outside the window. The host also provided rainforest tours. He?s born and bred in the area, and knows the wildlife. We saw a lot of wildlife on the tour, which I would have totally missed by myself. We did see a quetzal bird, a magnificent bird which can be very hard to find.
https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/3544065
In La Fortuna, Costa Rica, the place turned out to be a standard hotel- except well removed from the township, which meant extra transport expenses, as I was travelling by public transport. Often, a hotel lists in AirBnB- sometimes they are good, other times not so much.
In San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, I stayed in a unit. This was a place which really showed the value of the personal touch. Just as the bus was arriving in San Jose, I discovered that my backpack had been stolen from the bus. My host went to great lengths to help me out- finding out where to go to report the loss, and even let me pay Paypal in exchange for cash, which I very much needed.
Quepos is a small town near the coast, near the Costa Rica?s smallest and most popular park. I stayed out of town, up the side of the hill, with views over the marina, and a pool, bbq and bar- every Aussie?s dream.
https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/694306
Another coastal town ? Puerto Jimenez. This was beautifully situated, surrounded by rainforest- but I allowed myself too little time to go to the nearby national park.
https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/3018888
In the highlands Panama town of Boquete, I stayed in a house, with a beautiful view of the volcano, rainforest and coffee plantation, with glimpses of the distant Pacific. The house is beautifully maintained, and an excellent glimpse of the US expat way of life in Panama.
https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/1173618
In Medellin, I was on a 15th floor penthouse, in a gated complex, with fantastic views over Medellin.
https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/1056244
In Caye Caulker, Belize, a coral island, I was beachside. A lovely- and colourful- place in a laid back Caribbean beach.
https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/1314967
And finally, the most unusual accommodation I?ve stayed in. Belize has a big population of Mennonites, which is a Christian group related to the Amish people in Pennsylvania. While there are many Mennonites in Belize who still don?t use cars or modern machinery, this was not one of them. They do use the internet, but not TV. The women still wear traditional long dresses and white bonnets. There is an extremely strong sense of community- I arrived just at the completion of a full house renovation done while the lady of the house was away for six days- performed with the help of many of the members of the church working together, just like a barn raising which I?ve seen shown on TV.
https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/1110572
Not all requests for accommodation were accepted- I had rejections for about 25% of requests. Quite often, they are just ordinary people with their own activities. Sometimes they don't like to accept people without a rating (both the guest and host get the chance to rate each other); some like to check social media as well.