Same.
Then again, I stay alone. So there’s not much to really care about. So long as it’s a private bedroom and the star rating is high (I only try to stay with Superhosts if possible), I’m fine.
Just finished my first use of Turo (AirBNB for cars) in Vegas. Seems pretty easy so long as nothing goes wrong.
I’m most certainly a review reader, especially if there aren’t a lot of reviews as the place can be very hit or miss, so ya gotta suss it out. It is interesting noting both ends of the review spectrum, you’ve got the crazy demanding people who expect 5 star service from a cheap Airbnb vs the overly polite, who are line ‘this place was fantastic in every way except the back porch is slowly falling into a radioactive sinkhole.’ 4.7 stars.
But yea for LFS I’m pretty surprised nobody would mention it in the reviews in a matter of fact way. If I’m choosing one place over another it’s certainly pertinent information.
See if you can spot the red flag in this hostel amenities description: “There are daily walking tours and free ear plugs, plus an elevator-an uncommon feature in Amsterdam buildings and useful for carrying heavy luggage.”
I’ve given up on the idea of hostel in Paris. AirBnBs are pretty cheap. Hopefully I get enough social interaction from the writing class.
I assume this is not one of those trips where you’re shipping your car.
2 Likes
A problem with AirBNB ratings, as well as ratings for restaurants, monuments, etc. is that people are idiots at rating stuff.
Take the NBA Slam Dunk Contest for example. Each judge can rate 1-10, but the first semi-cool dunk the judges see, they all spam 10s. So then when an incredible dunk happens, it’s impossible to rate it higher than the good dunks that already received 10s.
Same thing with AirBNB. Theoretically, an apartment that has a score of 3.0 should be “good” or “above average”, but nobody wants to give out a 4 or lower unless there are serious problems with the place. So you end with many apartments in the 4.5 to 4.9 range and it’s really hard to differentiate them.
It’s the same deal with ratings for monuments on Google Maps. Everything good has a 4.7-4.9 so you have no idea which monuments fall in the category of “Go out of your way to see this place, it’s epic” and “If you’re in this city, then stop by this place”.
For example, I’d say the Alhambra in Granada is a truly epic place that you should go out of you way to see, aka a 5.0. Stuff that’s good, but not mind-blowing should be a 4.0 or 4.5.
1 Like
It also varies quite a bit culturally. I notice Americans are heavily invested in believing that what they did (restaurant, attraction, festival etc) was SO GOOD AND COOL, OMG THE BEST.
My gf’s friends are mostly Asian, and hearing them talk about travel is much more like “place x is nice; it’s not on the same level as place y, but you’ll probably enjoy it if you go there.”
1 Like
The most hilarious thing about the ratings economy is that the only thing that we all agree on is that nobody knows what the fuck they are talking about.
On the trip from which I just returned, each of three Airbnb’s sent and/or posted instructions that said “a rating of 5 means “acceptable”, and even if this place is unacceptable please give us a 5 rating and then let us know privately what needs to be fixed”".
I feel this way about a lot of places, but it’s difficult to translate that into a rating, especially one where the only choices are 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5.
If you’re giving away ear plugs, then you’ve got a problem with controlling your guests.
Or that’s one loud elevator.
Bingo! Or since it’s a hostel, it’s probably got a club that goes until 4am above all the rooms.
I volunteered at a hostel in Edinburgh about 5 years ago. It advertised itself as quiet and peaceful and even enforced “quiet hours” after I think midnight or something. For me, that was great. But it also means that it’s boring as fuck if you want to party and get hammered every night.
That was how you could tell that a market was flooded with hostels. Places would basically carve out niches for themselves to distinguish their place from the countless others in the same market. Even crazier are the themed hostels. Bangkok and a host of other cities have prison-themed hostels ffs. I mean how much does your hostel have to suck before you feel the need to disguise its discomforts and lack of amenities by claiming that it’s a prison experience?
Does a prison-themed hostel have opportunities for conjugal visit sex?
Ha yeah, when I start talking about the things I didn’t like about a popular place I feel like a travel downer. When you only have 3 weeks vacation time in the US everything you do on a trip just has to be epic and the best time evarrr!
Drunk off my ass in new Orleans right now. Did the bourbon st. thing. Was fun for about 30 minutes. Got no plans tomorrow night. Any advice?
If you like jazz even a little bit, catch a show at Preservation Hall if available. It’s an intimate setting for top notch, traditional, New Orleans-style jazz.
I really enjoyed Bar Tonique as a more chill place to enjoy a legit cocktail (not just a slushie in a giant plastic cup).
Had a nice meal at Luke. Not going to vouch for it as the best possible place, but it was good.
Getting a Vieux Carre at the carousel bar is a bit gimmicky, but it’s a great cocktail, and they invented it.
I had a lot of fun on Frenchman Street. There is a ton of live music and you can go between bars to get a different vibe. I’m a total New Orleans noob and was there working a conference.
Frenchman st was recommended to us and that’s where we plan on heading shortly. Looks like I’m also pretty close to the places wookie recommended so we will hit up some of those as well.
along the same lines, the muffaleta at Central Kitchen is very good
Aso, Harrahs poker games are very good
Basically, food and drinks and wander and chill.
You’re doing it right.