Airbnb any advice?

As with any of these online booking sites (Homeaway, Clickstay.com etc) you should make sure you have contact with the owner, just to get a sense of how responsive / helpful they are. You might also contact the customer services and ask if the owner has had previous bookings (and did they go well, have they responded quickly to other holiday-makers etc). I personally would prefer to only book places that have got legitimate reviews already. Definitely don't do a bank transfer to the owner (if he or she even asks you to, I'd be worried), and check how your money is protected by Airbnb - search for "renter protection policy" or similar.

I'm sure it will be fine but doing these simple things will help make sure

I used Airbnb on a trip to India the online security was pretty tight including photo ID, paid by credit card and everything happened as expected. Probably the best way of having piece of mind is to phone the property, speak to the owner and confirm your booking.
However there are always scams and even genuine mix ups, years ago a trip with a reputable travel agent went wrong and had to be sorted out on the spot.e

We've used Airbnb several times with no problems. We are going on a short break next week booked through them. I have heard the horror stories but I think this could happen with any company.

We use Airbnb but would advise you to go for ones where it is self contained without the owner on the premises. Make contact with the owner before you go and read the reviews. You get a feel for a place.

We have used Airbnb several times and always had a great experience. If you ensure the description and reviews indicate the place is what you are looking for and deal with the owners through the site you will be OK, avoid anything that looks too good to be true. one benefit we had in both Porto and Lisbon was an enthusiastic tour of the city by the person who really knew the history and geography. The owners were also able to give really good restaurant recommendations and tell us which of the local sights were worth visiting. I prefer to rent a really nicely decorated and equipped Air bnb than stay in a hotel now.

I am an Airbnb host - we have a holiday home we only let through this site and it is very efficient for both parties. Airbnb won’t pass on your money until after your first night and you are satisfied with your accommodation.

DD sometimes rents a room through Airbandb and has met some nice people.
DGS used a place through them when in Brazil and the owner got up early each morning and made fresh cakes for their breakfast!. He also gave them great advice and did extra things for them which normally only a friend would do.

Thanks all, that is reassuring!

I've used Airbnb a number of times with no problems, but son had a problem recently when owner couldn't be contacted on arrival to let them in! Fortunately they found somewhere else, but owner phoned a bit later, apologetic - she'd been sleeping off a hangover!
Because of that, on our last trip to France, I found the same place on a number of sites, including Airbnb, but actually used Booking.com in the end, as I've never had a problem with that site. One thing to note about price is that Airbnb always adds a cleaning fee, which is the same whether 1 night or more. The price advertised per night usually doesn't include this, so it may look cheaper than the actual cost.
My recent experiences of holiday rentals is having little or no contact with owner, apart from initial e-mail. Often they use management companies to handle the rentals, even if it appears very personal on website.

My family and I have used Airbnb lots.

Only once was I disappointed - with a “lovely” property in Italy. Actually it was very nice but not what we wanted and not as described. I’d emailed the owner with some questions - for example, distance to the pool “100metres - right behind the house”. It was not. It was a 14 minutes walk past other homes in a “fancy” neighbourhood along a road which meant no nipping for a dip first thing in swimsuit as needed to dress properly to simply get there.

It only had one negative review (but lots of good ones) and it sounded so unlikely I thought the writer was probably odd. Sadly I found all the same issues.
Obviously it was the “ oddball” who was prepared to speak out.... or maybe I’m actually an “oddball” too!

As long as you book a place that has good reviews by others, it should be fine. Naturally people will post photos that make their place look its best. We've stayed in many airbnb's and have only been disappointed once - and on closer inspection, the photos actually showed the fraying sofa and cramped quarters, we just hadn't noticed.

Thanks again everyone, I feel much more confident now. Just have to find one which suits us all now.

Have used Airbnb abroad on many occasions, and not had a duff one yet. I've always had the entire property. Every visitor is asked to comment on the property/host, and the host is always asked to rate the visitor. The money is sent to Airbnb.

We have used Airbnb all over the world - Australia, NZ, USA, Europe, UK and have never had a problem.
Just check the location is where you want it, look at the facilities & look at the reviews (when people write a review they & the host don't see each other's until both have been done)

We used Airbnb on a recent trip to Canada and everything went well. I read all reviews before booking and chatted online with owners. All money was paid to Airbnb and I had their contact details as well as owners. Everything went smoothly.

My daughter and myself have used Airbnb several time, in the UK and abroad, never had any problems and the properties/apartments have always been top notch, hope that helps

Just to clarify a point made by another contributor who says “ Airbnb always adds a cleaning fee”, this is incorrect.

Airbnb leaves it up to individual hosts to decide whether or not to charge a separate cleaning fee.
As an Airbnb host I decided not to charge a separate cleaning fee to guests, though I know other hosts who do charge.

Guests are always given the opportunity to see a breakdown of fees ( including cleaning fees or not) before they commit to paying anything to Airbnb.

Just not sure about using that service. I know there must be good ones but I have heard so many stories about complaints from neighbours of the properties highlighting the nouse from renters trudging in and out at all hours, the partying , the mess left from litter around the area. Kind of don't want to be lumped in as one of 'those'. And yes the scammers. By the sounds of this I may never leave hone!

I have had mixed experience of air bnb. Mostly fine but I don't trust reviews. I booked a place in London that had good reviews and it was terrible, dirty and smelly, so much so that I turned round and walked out. The owner wasn't on site but I texted to say I was not staying and my reasons why but I still lost the whole cost of a two night stay, which also included the cleaning of the room!

I think Airbnb is ok. I read all the reviews carefully, check the site of the accommodation on google street view, before I book/go, and contact the owners with some questions (even if I don’t really have any!) before booking, to test the water. I’ve had dodgy properties from other agents...like homeaway for example, so I think there are good and bad experiences everywhere.

We had a great apartment in Levanto, Italy last year. Only prob there were 80 steps to get to it! Not great in 30 degrees!

Only ever use the Airbnb contact page to get in touch with the owner and NEVER make payment outside the site! My Aga engineer said his son and friends fell prey to that scam!

We had a lovely cottage in Cornwall last week and have Airbnb'd in West Wales too successfully. I'm off to Cork in a few weeks to visit DS #2 and Airbnb'ing there too

I would never use Air B'nB. There is no classification. You don't know what you are getting. There might be some good ones, but why risk it\ Go with a reputable business.

We always use Air B and B and have probably stayed in about 15 or more properties over the years. With just one exception they have all been beautiful, the hosts have been very helpful and we have never had any problems at all. Indeed in Dubrovnik our hosts picked us up and dropped us off, made us a cup of tea and invited us in for a chat (we were in an apartment on the top floor of their house) but were not in any way interferring. They made our holiday. The only very slight problem I had once was when I booked a room in someones house and they e-mailed the week before to say they were going away, the neighbour would let me in, and workmen were re-modelling the downstairs floors so there would be daytime noise. As I was likely to be around in the day and didnt fancy being in a house with noise and workmen I requested a cancellation and the hosts immediately refunded me. It did mean a last minute hunt for somewhere else to stay however.