New to Airbnb and can’t decide between a private room vs entire place? Don’t worry, it’s a tough decision, which is why I have written this guide.
Your decision is personal preference. It pretty much comes down to one question; do you want social interaction with your Airbnb? If that answer is yes, then it sounds like a private room is your best bet.
If you’d prefer to keep to yourself and have no interaction with your host, then an entire place is what you should be booking.
There are pros and cons for each option which I will guide you through.
I’ve stayed in many private rooms and entire places during my travels around the world, so I want to share those experiences with you. So let’s ‘quack’ on.
Do Airbnb hosts stay with you?
A question I often hear asked from new users is do Airbnb hosts stay with you during your stay? Hey, it’s a great question, I wondered it too when I first using the short stay platform.
The simple answer is no, not if you book an entire home. It is only when you book a private or shared room that Airbnb hosts will stay with you. Airbnb makes it easy to reserve the type of house you want, which I will guide you through below.
So now you may be asking what is the difference between a private room vs entire place? Or what is a shared room?
It depends on the type of accommodation that you want. Some guests are social butterflies and use Airbnb to meet new people on their travels. Other guests prefer to be private and keep to themselves. Some like a mixture of the two (like myself).
Alright, let’s get into it shall we? Let’s find out which type of property suits you. An Airbnb private room, entire home or a shared house.
Airbnb Entire Home meaning
Choosing an Airbnb entire home means you get the whole place to yourself. There is no sharing with hosts or other guests, it’s just you and your party.
The Airbnb hosts do not stay with you when you reserve an entire home. You can meet them if you wish, but from my experiences, it’s rare that you come into contact with a host.
Usually there will be a lockbox near the front door and you enter a code to access the key. It allows you come and go as you please. Then upon check out, you just pop the key back in the box and go on your merry way. No host interaction whatsoever!
But how do you book an entire home on Airbnb?
It’s simple. When searching for a property, there will be an option for Home Type under filters. Check that box. Your search results will now only show entire homes where Airbnb hosts do not stay with you.
There are plenty of options you can select. Popular ones include number of rooms & beds, amenities, whether you want the house for business or if you’re family is staying there.
But if you have that little Entire Place checkbox ticked, you can be safe in the knowledge you’re booking a house where Airbnb hosts do not stay with you.
Why I love Entire Places
- No hosts watching your every move
- Make as much noise as you want
- Wear what you want (I like getting around in jocks ok!)
- No sharing the tv
- You can chill out and relax. There’s no interaction
An entire place is great when you just want somewhere to relax. If you’ve been busy all day, sometimes the last thing you want to do is come back and have to be social, talking to strangers.
You just want to kick your feet up, sit back and watch some Netflix, whilst sitting there in your jocks. There’s no way you can do that in a private room!
What is an Airbnb Private Room Experience?
Many guests enjoy booking an Airbnb private room experience. What this means is that you quite literally get a private room with 4 walls to yourself.
Airbnb hosts invite guests to stay in their private residence and you’ll get a room to yourself. Sounds scary huh?
I remember the first time I ever booked an Airbnb private room experience. Prior to getting there I had all sorts of thoughts going through my head – What if my Airbnb hosts are psychos? Will it be awkward? What if they are noisy whilst I’m trying to sleep?What if this, what if that…
Well, I’m glad to say I survived my first private room experience in tact. In fact, I loved it! I enjoyed it so much that I now tend to book private rooms more than I book entire rooms these days.
Why is that? Well let me tell you:
Why I love Private Rooms
- They are super cheap!
- I enjoy guest interaction
- Breakfast is often included for free
- I love meeting new people when travelling
- Your host knows the area and has great advice of things to see
I have stayed in tons of private rooms over the years now and love it. Never has it been awkward, which is something many people worry about.
Breakfast is often included too, which is another reason why I love private rooms. And I’m talking huge breakfasts, so big it’s impossible to fit it all in your stomach. You don’t get this in an entire house!
But perhaps the best thing about a private room experience is that your Airbnb hosts area experts. They have to be, they live there!
Your host will know all the best attractions to see in the area. They will also give you restaurant recommendations, shopping spots, sights to see. You name it! They are like your very own personal tour guide and are always happy to help.
Oh, did I mention they’re cheap? They are always cheaper than an entire place. You can usually pick up a decent private room for under $100. They are great option if you’re on a budget.
Are Airbnb Private Rooms safe?
Yes. And there are extra precautions you can take to ensure your reservation is a safe one.
When I am booking a private room I will ALWAYS look at reviews. You should too. Reviews are your friend.
You can tell straight away the crap hosts from the good ones. First I will look for a listing with nice photos, because if the listing has bad photos, what else are they being lazy about inside the actual room?
Once I have singled out the good looking properties, I read through the reviews. If an overwhelming number of guests are saying how awesome a host is, the odds are you have found an awesome host. The more reviews they have, it’s obvious it’ll be a safe place to stay.
Another thing I like to look for is the Superhost badge. If they have managed to qualify for the strict criteria to become a Superhost, they are ticking a lot of boxes.
So the simple answer is yes, private Airbnb rooms are safe. Just follow the tips I have given you here.
What’s an Airbnb shared room experience?
Another option is an Airbnb shared room experience. These are available in many cities around the world now.
Think of shared rooms as a blend of a private room and a hostel; you’ll have a private room that you will also share with another guest. The host will also be at the location with you.
The benefit of a shared room experience is that they’re incredibly cheap, even cheaper than a private room. Perfect if you’re globetrotting and on a budget.
I’ve never personally used a shared room on Airbnb. Whilst I do love private rooms, the idea of sharing a room with a stranger is not for me.
I know people who love them, though. If you’re a people person and love meeting new people, you should consider a shared room experience.
Benefits of a Shared Room
- Cheapest way to use Airbnb
- Ideal for families or groups of people
- Great way to meet new people
- Your host will have great advice on things to see in the area
Another huge benefit of using a shared room is when you have a family or a group of people.
As these rooms will have bedding for many people, you can bring a group of 4-5 people if there are enough beds available. The benefit here being it will cost a fraction of the price of renting out an entire place.
What are the price differences?
The price differences between an entire place vs private room vs shared room vary significantly.
Let’s take a look at New York for example. In NYC the average price (at time of writing) was $184 for an entire place, $73 for a private room and $55 for a shared room.
In Chicago the difference is $135, $60 and $26. Over in San Francisco it is $199, 88 and $38. Los Angeles will cost $174, $69 and $34.
You can easily work these prices out yourself. Just search a city you’d like to know a price for and select the room type. The average nightly price will appear on the left.
The above image shows how I do it. Here you can see private room selected for Melbourne, Australia. The average nightly price for this type of property is $68 AUD per night.
An entire place averages $147 and a shared room $40. So no matter the city, the latter will always be a fraction of an entire place.
You can filter your search with more detail too. Select how many beds you require, the types of amenities you need etc. When you run the search again, the average price should change as well.
Keep in mind that the Airbnb price can change per guest, so that is something you should watch out for. It can catch travellers off guard.
Conclusion
By now you should have a good understanding of the different room types available on Airbnb, and how to work out the price differences for each.
I hope I’ve swayed you into considering a private room for your next travel adventure. Throughout my travels I have met so many people who have said ‘oh I could never stay in a private room’ and as a result, exclude themselves from an awesome experience.
Above all, it’s personal preference. Choose an entire house if you want privacy without your Airbnb host lodging with you. But beware that you’re paying a much higher premium for that privacy.
Choose a private room if you enjoy socialising and meeting locals on your travels, and paying very little for your accommodation. But remember, there can be awkwardness.
A shared room will appeal to travellers on a budget who don’t care lodging with other, and who enjoy socialising. The pitfall is you could be stuck with a less than ideal guest.
I’d love to hear from you! Share with me some of your travel experiences in the comments section below.