

Staying With Newfound Friends, for a Fee (AirBnB, YC W09) - mikek
http://frugaltraveler.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/staying-with-newfound-friends-for-a-fee/

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ccollins
FYI: If you ever wondered if being on the homepage of the New York Times
increases your server load, it does.

-Chris, Airbnb engineer

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barredo
Would be great if you share the ammount of visits pageviews you got from
NYTimes.com :-)

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truebosko
GF and I are planning a road trip through Boston/NY using AirBnB to find our
sleeping quarters. Super pumped to try it. Been pretty happy with the results
we've found so far.

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djb_hackernews
I am curious to know if you also considered couchsurfing.org and why you
decided to go with airbnb.com instead?

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bemmu
I don't think they are directly comparable. Couch surfing seems more like a
lifestyle thing, but airbnb you could perhaps even depend upon for your stay.

I've tried couchsurfing. I tried contacting three people, never heard from any
of them. Perhaps I didn't write appealing messages, not sure what the reason
was. Or maybe they just signed up and aren't really into couchsurfing anymore.
It feels like being a guy on a dating site, you put a lot of effort into
writing messages and you are never quite sure if you are just wasting your
time.

I don't like where this analogy is going, but suffice it to say that finding
the service you need is easier when some money is involved. I have to admit
that on airbnb the first person ignored us too, but with the second one we now
have a reservation. Our trip is still in the future, so it remains to be seen
if everything goes well, but we are optimistic.

I think which is for you, couchsurfing, airbnb or just a hotel really depends
on what you are looking for. If you are looking for friends and really
adventurous, couchsurfing does seem promising. If you can't spend hours trying
to hunt down a place to stay, but don't like the sterility and expense of a
full-blown hotel, airbnb might be the answer. Our next trip is to Boston, and
we got (or are promised) a full apartment for our use for a lot less than the
price of a hotel. Still, if you stricly need a place to stay that is
absolutely dependable and hassle-free, then go for a hotel.

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mrduncan
Congrats on the coverage!

I met most of the AirBnB folks at Startup School (awesome party, by the way)
and they were all really awesome and helpful.

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enki
congrats guys! had a great experience with airbnb when i moved to SF in march!

