Advantages of Traditional Hotels
1. Business Services
- Just about any hotel property that is at least 3 stars has a business center (computer and printer) and conference rooms available for guests to reserve for meetings.
- Almost every hotel will accept packages and hold them for you at a safe location as long as you are a registered guest.
- It is extremely rare for a hotel to not have a room for you if you have made a proper reservation. You can also check-in at just about any hour of the day/night after 3pm. This is critical for long drives when you might be arriving to your destination late at night.
- Unless you book a full-service hotel, most hotels provide free breakfast as part of the rate for the stay.
- Free room cleaning is a great amenity to have particularly during longer stays.
- Every major hotel chain has a reward system that will allow you to accumulate points to redeem for free nights.
Disadvantages of Traditional Hotels
1 .Lack of Kitchen
- Unless it is an extended stay property like the Homewood Suites by Hilton or Residence Inn by Marriott, you won’t have the equipment to cook your own food.
- A 2-star motel can run over $400 per night during large-scale events like Daytona, Super Bowl, or Kentucky Derby.
- Most hotel rooms simply have one or two beds and a bathroom, making them an uncomfortable option for more than two people to share.
Advantages of Airbnb
1. Space
- Many Airbnb choices are entire properties, so you can rent a multi-bedroom house for the price of a hotel room.
- Even for shared rooms options, with an Airbnb you will have access to a kitchen and maybe even additional cooking equipment like an outside grill.
- Airbnb prices will certainly surcharge for major events, but almost never as much as traditional hotels.
Disadvantages of Airbnb
1. Limited Parking
- While hotels have a designated parking lot, Airbnb properties are private residencies. Therefore, parking for large tour vehicles can be very limited.
- For a number of reasons, an Airbnb host can cancel your stay several days prior to arrival. This can then become a particularly bad situation if there is a major event in town and other options have already been booked up.
- Usually the Airbnb will provide Wi-Fi, but that’s it for business amenities.
- There are certain partners, such as Delta Airlines, that reward miles for booking directly through their portal. However, as of this writing Airbnb does not have a formal rewards system.
- Some Airbnb properties do allow self check-in by using a lockbox system. Other properties, however, require you to meet the host at a designated time in order to check-in. This can become a problem if your travel is delayed.