Colorado Springs Visitors Find New Ways to Save Money and Stay More Comfortably

Airbnb superhost Tony Semadeni shares 4 tips for family travel to Colorado Springs and how booking an entire home rental for a one-night stay is not like booking with a hotel, and in many instances comes at a fraction of the cost of what one would pay in a self-catering suite or a double occupancy room in a hotel.

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO – If you haven’t noticed, the travel industry has many new options in temporary housing these days. Hotels are now competing with peer-to-peer rentals that have found a solid foothold in the travel market, with Airbnb.com leading the way. “For travelers, whether it be the business professional, the couple on a romantic getaway, or the family on a vacation trip, booking an entire home rental for a one-night stay in many instances comes at a fraction of the cost of what one would pay in a self-catering suite or a double occupancy room in a hotel, and the savings just compound when the stay becomes multiple days,” says Colorado Springs’ Airbnb superhost TonySemadeni.

When you book with Airbnb there are three different room types you can book: Entire place (a whole house or apartment), Private room (a room in a hosts home), or Shared room (like in a dorm in a hostel). Probably the most important thing to look at are the reviews on the listings you are considering to book. Steve Leedom, a frequent Airbnb traveler says, “We always book entire place rentals because we like to have a living space to ourselves, plus we usually get a lot more value for our dollar than if we had booked at a hotel.”

Some see Airbnb as risky or too much work to find a good rental. Others have had a bad experience with one host and blame Airbnb for their rental choice. According to Tony Semadeni, “You need to understand, Airbnb is just a service that helps independent hosts connect with would-be travelers. It is up to the potential renter to research listings carefully to ensure their accommodation needs can be met by a particular host.” Listings with lots of great reviews drastically reduce the risk of making a bad choice for a rental. Sometimes listings that have a lot of great reviews are more expensive than rentals with none. Paying a little more for the rated one will help you choose a good rental.

Airbnb traveler Jeris Baker states, “My husband and I always look for certain things in a listing before we book any rental. Our due diligence has helped us find exactly what we want for accommodation in the places we visit. The experience we have had with Airbnb has been very positive. Here is how we find everything we want to feel like ‘home’ with Airbnb in the places we travel.”

Tips for Using Airbnb for Family Travel:

1.       Use the “Kid/Family Friendly” search tool under “amenities” to help narrow down properties.  Obviously you want to do your own assessment on if the accommodations look like they will meet the needs of your family, but at least this will hopefully weed out any properties that clearly do not wish to play host to children or families

2.      Engage in a dialog with the host.  Get a sense of how aware they are of the needs of kids and families.  Check to see if there are stairs?  Are there bunk beds?  Are there breakable or fragile items displayed within reach of little fingers.

3.      Look at photos of the listings very carefully to be on the lookout for items that will help or hinder your family’s stay.  If there are rooms or areas missing from the photos, as the host to send you picture of those areas or provide additional details.

4.      Do your research on the neighborhood.  Find out where the closest parks and family friendly spaces are.  Check to see if they are located on a busy road or intersection.  Find out if there are family friendly places to eat nearby.  Identify how far you are from public transportation, if applicable.

The fact is peer-to-peer home rentals are not going away, and this gives travelers more options. “There is going to be more people doing home-sharing tomorrow than there are today; there is going to be more the day after that,” said Chris Lehane, Airbnb’s head of global policy and public affairs. “Hosts and Guests love Airbnb, they offer an opportunity for hosts to make money, and for travellers to save money and stay more comfortably.”

About Airbnb-ColoradoSprings.com

Airbnb Superhosts Tony Semadeni and Joni Mailander provide multiple entire home rentals in the Colorado Springs area. They are both very involved in the local community, with Tony coaching high school basketball and Joni volunteering with Habitat for Humanity. Tony owns a Marketing & Advertising Agency in Colorado Springs, and Joni owns a Real Estate company, Dream Homes by Joni. For more information and to view current available airbnb rentals in Colorado Springs, visit: http://airbnb-coloradosprings.vacations