AirBnB like Private accommodations vs Hotel rooms

Booking a hotel was traditional way of buying accommodation so far. But of late, there are many options opening up for the travelers. Global sites like Airbnb are providing platform for small time operators and individuals to list their properties and get some revenue. Apartment owners, those who have few extra rooms in their houses, small time hotel/guest house operators can easily list their properties online and get some business, without spending much effort in marketing or selling their rooms.

But one question that keep bothering me is "what are the key differences between a hotel and a private accommodation?" and obviously, which one is better?

Below is what I could list. Your comments welcome

Feature\ Accommodation type	Hotel	Private accommodations (Apartments, guest houses etc)	Remarks
No of rooms	Usually many, suitable for large groups	Usually a few, ideal for small groups
Service Quality	Hotels usually offer a predictable & standardized service	Experience can vary greatly from host to host and guest to guest. Difficult to predict if everything will be as per your expectation
Customized attention	Low	Potentially high, not guaranteed
Staff	Hotels are usually adequately staffed	Minimum to zero staff, often maintained by owner themselves
Rules	Standard and not much	Can vary depending on host
Opportunity to interact with people	Low	Possibly high, as guests might get to interact with host and their family
Food	Standard restaurants	Possibly home cooked in some cases, not guaranteed
Privacy	Fairly high	Depends on case to case basis. Many private accommodations might not have a separate entry
Location	Usually well known to local people	May be difficult to locate/can be in deep interiors
Space	Usually small, confined spaces	Usually bigger, with extra common areas

Price-wise, I don't find a difference. Many private accommodations are priced at par with hotel rooms.

Check out this canal view property in Venice, one of my dream destinations.  There're many such properties listed on airbnb which offer excellent views, great comfort and more for reasonable price. Do check the photos and details.

In a nutshell, private accommodations have a potential to give more enriching experience to the traveler in you. Depending on your host and other factors, your trip might end up more interactive, more localized and more memorable. But the challenge I find with apartments and rooms booked via sites such as AirBnB is that the experience can be highly diverse. Depending on the host, your expectations, cultural differences and other factors, sometimes there is a small risk of disappointment.

This risk, however can be mitigated thanks to the review feature in Airbnb. Read what other guests have written to assess if you should expect any problems. Airbnb also tracks if hosts are responding to guest queries and how fast. If you're a pet lover or hater, you can know if hosts have pets or not. Those who have pets usually won't mind you playing with them and spending few minutes with a pet dog or cat can be really relaxing after a hectic day.

If you've never tried anything other than hotel rooms, I think you should definitely try AirBnb and such sites. So, to help you get started on your very own unique adventure, Airbnb has this awesome referral programme that allows me to give all my readers Rs 1,500 to use on your first booking by simply signing up. So what are you waiting for? Join Airbnb today using this link and set out on your next travel adventure!

Property photos sourced from Airbnb website.