Anyone else tried Experiences?

[Alexandra316]

So I'm off to Europe next week for a bit, and I booked a few Experiences, along with a few Airbnbs. I'm doing one boat tour in Amsterdam and two different tours in Madrid. I'm just wondering if any other hosts here have given Experiences a go yet, and if so, how it's been.

I'm excited to give it a try!

Also, if you're an experience host, I'd love to hear what that's like. I don't think I have the skillset for it, but it must be interesting.

[Lawrene0]

I did one, @Alexandra316 .

It was a coffee tasting experience about an hour from here. It was showing up on my listing a year ago as something for my guests to do. I doubted my campers would want to check in and then drive an hour back to civilization for coffee, but decided to try it myself anyway.

It was great! 

I still believe it won't really work for my sort of guest, but it was a lovely afternoon of caffeination that left me sleepless for days 🙂

Have a wonderful trip! 

[Alexandra316]

@Lawrene0Cool! Was that in Chatham?

I have a few locally that look interesting, like a snowshoe wine tour and yoga in the Niagara Gorge. Maybe I should give something closer a try as well. 

[Lawrene0]

No, @Alexandra316 , it was Mount Brydges, near London. I think it is a good idea to check out the closer experiences, especially the ones appearing on our listing pages. Makes recommending them possible.

In my case, I merely clicked on the experience and up popped an Airbnb coupon. Maybe for trying an experience the first time? Maybe a (really cool) glitch? Anyway, the experience cost me $1 CAD, and you can't beat that. 🙂

I've never tried an experience while travelling, because lately it has all been work or family visits. 

But maybe a nice snowshoe wine tour in your neck of the woods would be just the thing!

No shortage of snow right now. 

[Steven65]

I have done Airbnb experiences including jazz tours in New York and walking tours in Edinburgh. And they have all been brilliant! I highly recommend them and will definitely do more.  

[Alexandra316]

@Steven65 Amazing! Really glad to hear that.

[Helen3]

Personally if I was looking for experiences I always try and book direct rather than via Airbnb as they add a 20% mark up @Alexandra316 . And you get a much wider choice of experiences to try.

[Alexandra316]

@Helen3 I would have thought that too, but when I comparison shopped that wasn't the case. Pricing was the same on and off of Airbnb. In the case of the Amsterdam boat trip, the only way to book was through Airbnb. I could have chosen a different tour, but I liked the look of the one I chose and it was competitively priced.

There are a couple of things that sealed the deal for me as far as booking through Airbnb went. The pricing was actually slightly cheaper through the site, due to whatever conversion factor they're using, I'm guessing. Also, you're guaranteed that reviews on Airbnb are real, unlike the reviews on TripAdvisor and Google, which can be and often are faked.

I actually feel like the Experience reviews are probably more accurate that the reviews for Airbnb stays, because the guest doesn't receive a review. You see very few experiences with a full five stars.

[Helen3]

My experience in Portugal and Italy was that the same experience was much cheaper when booked directly.  And there was much more choice by booking directly ie. about 20 different food tours as opposed to two on Airbnb in Lisbon for example. @Alexandra316 

I found the reviews on Google/Trip Adviser quite true to the experience, but appreciate that is not always the case. 

I am glad you had a good experience through Airbnb.

If I could get the experience I wanted on Airbnb more cheaply absolutely I would go for it.

[Jennifer1421]

@Alexandra316We have a "Schmurgle a Goat" experience nearby that I want to try out. Goats? Cuddling? Yes please!

[Alexandra316]

@Jennifer1421 That sounds so sweet! I've also seen some goat yoga experiences that look pretty fun. Goats are adorable.

[Stephanie]

PLEASE @Jennifer1421 I want to know so much more about this. Sounds flippin' amazing!!

[Stephanie]

Our go to Experiences master @Nutth0 will be able to advise you on that part! 

Let me know if you end up in the UK @Alexandra316 would be great to grab a cuppa and chat.

Thanks,

Stephanie

[Alexandra316]

@Stephanie I swear I responded yesterday...

I will only be in London for 2 1/2 hours on a stopover, unfortunately. I wish it was longer. I'm hoping to have some time to cram as much M&S food into my gob as possible before I have to board another flight to Germany.

[Stephanie]

@Alexandra316 awww that's a pity. Make sure to stock up on Percy Pig and Collin Caterpillar fro sparks!

Safe travels,

Steph