15 travel tips to make the most of your hotel and Airbnb stays

Over the past year, I’ve spent 300 days or more on the road. That is a lot of nights in hotels, Airbnbs, guest houses and everything in between.

Still, every time I walk into a hotel room or an Airbnb in a strange city, I get excited. I love the feeling of trying to turn a strange city into home, even for a few days.

I’ve made mistakes along the way. In February, I assumed a luxury hotel I was staying in had a noon checkout, like nearly every other hotel I’ve stayed at in the world. I was wrong. In Tanzania, the standard checkout is 10am.

Here are the hotel and Airbnb lessons I’ve learned and the tips I’ve gained after a year travelling the world.

1. It’s not just you: the community and the listings on Airbnb are changing, for better or worse.

I’ve been an avid Airbnb user for nearly a decade, relying on the platform as I’ve travelled to 30 or more countries.

When I first began using Airbnb in 2011 – three years after the company launched – most of the listings on the site were someone’s actual apartment. Either you were renting the spare bedroom in the apartment or your host was temporarily staying somewhere else.

It was a communal vibe where you felt like a real exchange was taking place: you were helping them offset their rent, and they told you their favourite restaurants and bars in the neighbourhood.  

Somewhere, the dynamic has shifted. Now, you are invariably renting from a host who manages Airbnb listings for a living or as a lucrative side-hustle.