Sneaky Details You Might Be Forgetting To Check Before Booking An AirBnb

Booking an Airbnb isn't all that different from booking a hotel. Sure, you might not be able to ring up the property owner directly, but you can still scrutinize the listing on your computer or phone to decide if it's worth parting with your hard-earned cash. With just a few taps, you can check the photos, amenities, location, cancellation policy, and of course, whether the host is a Superhost (extra brownie points if they are).

Naturally, you dive into the reviews to see what others have to say and keep an eye out for any hidden fees (because, let's be honest, there usually are some). These standard checks are second nature to any seasoned Airbnb booker. But sometimes, the routine nature of this process can cause you to overlook some crucial details. Maybe you're in a rush, or perhaps those glowing 5-star reviews lull you into a false sense of security and have you whipping out your credit card right away. Whatever the case, there are some sneaky details you might forget to check that could scream "red flag," like whether the same location has bad reviews on another site, and what isn't pictured.

More often than not, the price per night you see advertised on an Airbnb listing isn't the only thing you'll be paying. Beyond the rental fee, brace yourself for taxes, the infamous cleaning fee, service fees, extra person fees if you're bringing along more guests, and a pet fee if Fido is tagging along. In some cases, you might also be asked to cough up for a management fee, community fee, and even a linens fee — because apparently, the privilege of wiping your body with fabric doesn't come free.

Usually, these fees are included when you book, but similar to how some hosts may ask you for a copy of your passport ahead of the trip, they might also ask you to pay even more outside of the platform. While Airbnb generally discourages fees outside of its platform, they do allow hosts to collect extra fees in special cases, like when they need to collect security deposits, resort fees, incidentals, and local occupancy taxes. Airbnb requires hosts to explicitly state these fees in their listings, so scour the fine print to avoid a shocker. But if there's no mention of extra charges and you still get billed, report it to Airbnb immediately. Per the platform, additional payments can be sketchy, especially if they involve wire transfers, money orders, or apps like Western Union and MoneyGram.

Many have warned about sketchy photos in Airbnb listings, but it's important to keep in mind that the words in the description can be just as shady. Hosts love to throw around flowery language to make their properties sound like paradise when they might actually be the complete opposite in real life.

Consumer news site Elliott Report has compiled a handy list of red-flag words that should make you think twice before booking. You ought to keep an eye on them when you're scoping out your next stay. For instance, "cozy" may mean comfortable to most people, but when it comes to Airbnb listings, it may covertly imply that the property is so cramped you'll feel like a sardine. "Classic" may be a polite way of saying the furniture and appliances are so outdated that they might as well belong in a museum, and "eclectic" might mean that it has absurd features, like perhaps a bedroom under the stairs, "Harry Potter"-style. The site also warns that "private" may mean that it's incredibly difficult to locate, and "romantic" might indicate that kids are not allowed.

Of course, just because some of these words pop up in the listing doesn't mean the place is downright terrible. But it's always good to approach the key words with a healthy dose of skepticism to save yourself from financial and logistical headaches.

Sometimes, no matter how Instagram-worthy and feature-packed a property is, it means squat if it's in an area where peace and quiet become a distant memory. If you come across a listing that ticks all your boxes, you'd better check its exact location within the town or city. It might proudly claim to be near a market or a party district — but that could mean it's smack dab in the middle of the chaos. Good luck getting any sleep when it's time to wind down.

Even worse, your dream Airbnb might be in an open-air meat market. Such was the case with writer Natalie B. Compton, who wrote in a piece for The Washington Post that for their honeymoon, they booked a charming apartment in Paris with an expansive living room and a picture-perfect balcony. When they arrived, they discovered it was on the fifth floor of a building with no elevators (which they knew beforehand), but also just above meat and fish markets. The market odors made their way up to the apartment, forcing them to avoid the balcony and keep the windows shut tight. Lesson learned: Do thorough research of the area before booking, unless you enjoy the scent of fish with your morning coffee.

There are times when an actual hotel or resort is listed on Airbnb, but there are also times when a listing was previously a hotel or resort. If it's the latter, you might want to be extra cautious and check the reviews of the property on other sites. In the subreddit r/AirBnB, a user shared their horror story of staying at a subpar property that was previously a poorly reviewed hotel. Even worse, the host tried penalizing them for leaving a low-star review.

"If you are staying in an Airbnb that was previously a hotel or other resort, cross reference reviews on another platform like google or TripAdvisor. Currently dealing with a scam where a host created fake text messages and provided a screenshot to Airbnb. Within the screenshots it identifies me as threatening to leave a bad review unless I got a full refund. So when I left my bad review, it got taken down," they wrote. "On other platforms the hotel has horrible reviews. On Airbnb, perfect."

Staying in an Airbnb with no reviews is risky enough as it is, but it can be just as risky if you stay in one with mostly stellar reviews. When scrutinizing a listing, don't just rely on the reviews on the site. A quick Google image reverse search can help you find reviews of the property on other platforms, giving you a clearer picture of whether it's worth booking or not.

Dissecting the pictures in an Airbnb listing is crucial, but if they happen to look like they were snatched from a Pinterest board, that should ring alarm bells in your head. As Travel Writer Evie Snow pointed out on Medium, it's usually a red flag if the photos focus more on the view from the property or the neighborhood establishments than on the place itself. Sure, a picture of the next door café is great, but it won't tell you if the bedroom has an actual working bed.

Snow also noted that if the pictures zoom in on specific features instead of showing full views of the rooms or the entire area, there might be something the host doesn't want you to see. Oh, and if the property has windows but none of the photos show the view outside, it could mean there's an unpleasant surprise waiting, like a construction site or something else that might turn off potential guests.

If something feels off, don't be shy about asking the host for more photos before you commit. Demand those wide-angle shots of the living space, the full view of the rooms, and any other details that seem suspiciously absent. It's always wise to have a complete picture of what you're getting into to spare yourself from disappointment. If the host is reluctant or uncooperative, treat that as another red flag. There are plenty of listings out there, anyway.