Airbnb any advice?

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'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.

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

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