Airbnb in New York City - bad idea?

January 21, 2018 12:03 AM

We are looking at accommodations options for a NYC trip this June, and I am trying to understand where Airbnb (and the legal situation) fits into it in 2018. Can you offer your experiences or alternative suggestions?

My partner and I are looking to spend 7-10 days in New York City right after we get married in early June. We would probably prefer to stay in Brooklyn, Queens or Harlem. Our budget is...going to be eating our savings, so we'd be keen to stay closer to $100 per night if we can, although we'll have to work with reality.

Airbnb is generally ideal for us because we don't expect luxury, but both like exploring all day and taking it easy most evenings, and love having small kitchen facilities to make coffee or have some food from a deli. Our holiday approach is more like pretending we live somewhere and are enjoying a string of Saturdays, rather than going for big tourist attractions or shows. There are some really interesting Airbnb listings that look like they'd suit us well.

At the same time, (I think) I understand that short-term leases of private homes in buildings of more than three units aren't legal in New York City, and I presume that describes most homes. My concerns are whether this is a risk for us in terms of safety, and in terms of a high likelihood of it falling through at the last minute.

Is it a bad idea to consider Airbnb (or other owner rentals) at present? Can you suggest a better approach? (We are considering BKLYN House and the Harlem Flophouse as possible options.)

* The ideological issue of Airbnb isn't what I'm asking here - I live in a city where it's compounding a rental crisis too, and I think that's really shitty. Please assume I get this.

posted by carbide to Travel & Transportation around New York, NY (13 answers total)

You're totally fine. Especially with two of you. Choose a well-reviewed superhost to ease your fears. I've stayed in Airbnbs and much shittier couchsurfs all over. It's cool.
posted by fritillary at 1:05 AM on January 21, 2018

Response by poster: Thanks, fritillary - just to clarify for anyone else: I'm not nervous about Airbnb per se, we've used in the past. I'm just asking about how it sits with the specific legal situation in NYC. Thanks!
posted by carbide at 2:38 AM on January 21, 2018

It is certainly more possible that things can fall through than in other places. Generally you will be ok, although it's highly likely you would be asked to be discreet and pretend to be a friend of the host. Only you can say how comfortable you are with this. Unless you're getting a deep discount on normal hotel prices, I wouldn't bother with an Airbnb, it's not worth the shadiness and the hassle in NYC.
posted by ryanbryan at 3:30 AM on January 21, 2018 [1 favorite]

I'm not sure what the answer you want is? Yes AirBnB is pretty much universally illegal. But it's not like the city is consistently kicking in doors in the middle of the night. Anecdotally it seems like the only"raids" are of the quasi-hotel types. The other issue is somebody doing this in a building that is being aggressive in stopping AirBnB the person you rent from might ask you to do things that strike you as odd.
posted by JPD at 3:45 AM on January 21, 2018 [2 favorites]

I used Airbnb for NYE a year ago. When I tried to check in, the doorman wouldn’t let me in because I wasn’t a resident. “They should come down and meet you,” he said. After several calls to the host with promises of him resolving the situation, I finally was sent a cancellation message by email.

I immeately then booked a hotel. I called Airbnb about it, and they said they’d get back to me. The next day I got a full refund plus the difference to cover the cost of the hotel.

I have also stayed at Airbnbs in Queens and didn’t have any issues.
posted by Monday at 5:10 AM on January 21, 2018 [2 favorites]

Best answer: How about house sitting and pet sitting? If you like dogs, this is a non-shady way to stay somewhere for free.
posted by xo at 5:49 AM on January 21, 2018 [5 favorites]

Best answer: There definitely are places that have three units or less (like the buildings I lived in when I lived in Brooklyn, and several of my recent Airbnbs, and my boyfriend's place now, etc). However, there are additional reasons that a listing might be a problem (they might not have registered with the city and paid taxes, or they might be violating their own lease or rent control laws for price limit). You can contact someone before booking a place to ask questions, so you could write and specifically ask if they've cleared it with their landlord (if they haven't, that's most likely to cause problems), and how you would access it/the risk from neighbors/doormen, etc. It annoys me when people ask me to pretend I'm visiting someone, but I've never had a serious problem on many trips to NYC. Airbnb will also rebook you into another Airbnb and pay the cost difference if you have a problem and complain.

I second the recommendation for petsitting, though it can be difficult to get the exact dates you need. Feel free to email me if you want suggestions- I've done this a lot of times.
posted by pinochiette at 7:10 AM on January 21, 2018

My husband and I spent a week at an NYC Air Bnb in June of 2017. Our budget was a little higher ($200/night), but I would absolutely recommend the experience of "living" in the city for a week. Things that mattered for us: I was pretty ruthless about reviews. I only considered those with a SuperHost status, plenty of recent reviews, and solid response rates. Our host was friendly and accessible (even leaving us a bottle of wine and a list of nearby restaurants/activities to welcome us to the city!). We had a fantastic week and would definitely do it again. Please feel free to MeMail if you'd like our host's info.
posted by WaspEnterprises at 8:52 AM on January 21, 2018

Haven't used it in years but pre AirBnB CouchSurfing was a go-to way of finding free/cheap places to stay.

https://www.couchsurfing.com
posted by forkisbetter at 9:21 AM on January 21, 2018

One other note: our Airbnb host owned his place, so there were no landlord issues. I had no interest in spending our vacation lying to/avoiding neighbors. If you decide to go this route, definitely be wary of any host who suggests that you may need to do something that feels (or is) unethical.
posted by WaspEnterprises at 10:12 AM on January 21, 2018 [1 favorite]

I did some aggressive searching for a hotel ca. $100/night for friends coming from Europe last summer. The absolute best I could find, regarding price, amenities, City location, and overall ambiance was The Harlem Flophouse, which also gets good reviews on Yelp. For second tier choices, there seemed to be several actual B&Bs in Brooklyn, a few of which seemed affordable and doable, too. But because someone's couch came through last minute, my friends never ended up staying at the Flophouse — and I did wonder if the Flophouse was a bit more kitsch than quaint from reading about it extensively — so I have no personal experience of it, but it might be worth a look-see for you.
posted by Violet Blue at 6:44 PM on January 21, 2018

Best answer: I stay in Brooklyn about a week a month. YMMV but depending on neighborhood I've found the airbnbs to sometimes be as expensive as hotels for not very nice accommodations. I have had very good experiences with priceline and hotwire with 4 stars and up being under $100 in bk. Depends on the time of year of course as prices fluctuate, but downtown brooklyn has some deals. Also The Jane and Pod hotels--you share a bathroom but they're pretty nice.
posted by jennybento at 4:25 PM on January 22, 2018

Response by poster: Thank you all for the helpful advice - we found a good deal for the BKLYN House Hotel, and very much as jennybento observed, it was close to the same price without the potential and actual issues of Airbnb. The rest of the planning should be the fun part!
posted by carbide at 10:29 AM on January 25, 2018