Our plan for the next phase of life is all about slow travel around the world, probably beginning in Southeast Asia. However, this means living like a local, not living in hotels. At the moment, it seems the best option for travel is Airbnb. It gives us a sense of security for the financial transaction, fixing problems with renters in a foreign country, and dealing with the language barriers. Airbnb also provides an option for a kitchen so we aren’t always eating out. However, as we’ve learned, in Cape Cod, Maryland, and now Panama, you still need to do your homework. Here is our short list when evaluating an Airbnb listing:
- Inspect Listing Photos Closely
- Pay Attention to Bed Size (and the photos)
- Does it Have Air Conditioning?
- Photographic Evidence of a Kitchen
- Walkability of the Area
- Local Transportation Options
- Read The Comments
Airbnb Listing Photos
While the Airbnb platform provides photos, we’ve come to realize they are absolutely staged. They highlight the best parts of the property. Lookout for what’s missing. When we stayed on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the listing said there was a kitchen. We didn’t look close enough to realize there were no photos of the kitchen. Oops, no kitchen after all.
Our San Francisco (Panama City) Airbnb was really an amazing find – cool architecture, tropical walled enclosure, in the heart of a vibrant neighborhood. It really needed no additional photo staging.
Pay Attention to Beds
While it’s good to look for the right number of beds, it’s more important for us to look at the size. A double really doesn’t do it for us. We found listings in Panama that were true to the listing but I (David), didn’t think to really consider double vs queen vs king. Huge issue if you aren’t used to two people in a double. Beds are likely never going to be perfect (too soft, too much movement, too hard) but use the photos to minimize the risk of poor sleep for nights on end.
Air Conditioning in Airbnb
Before you get too excited about a listing, does it have everything? I’ve booked and then had to cancel and rebook because I didn’t check to see if air conditioning was included. That’s kinda a must for us, at least in the bedrooms. I’d suggest actually looking closely at the photos to make sure you see the physical units. And check recent reviews to see if someone notes if they don’t work. Outside the U.S. central air is rare so you should see the physical unit(s) in the Airbnb you consider.
Also in a large space, if the units are only in the bedrooms, there won’t be enough capacity for them to cool the rest of the space. When we stayed in Gamboa, Panama we had a great (that’s sarcasm), period piece, built in the 1930’s. The very old air conditioning units did a wonderful job cooling the upstairs bedrooms. Not so much the main floor where it was sweltering, and fans on full blast just didn’t cut it. Sweatbox plus wall to wall moldy carpeting is a bit much. This is probably not a huge issue if you are out and about most of the time but in Gamboa you quickly exhaust everything there is to do.
What's in Your Kitchen?
We prioritize our health and that begins in the kitchen. But, a kitchen is not a kitchen is not a kitchen. Make sure you look at the pictures to validate the basics. Does it have a real stove and an oven, or just a hot plate? The listing should also highlight pots and pans and utensils. But for something specific you may want to connect with the host ahead of time.
The longer the stay, the more time you might want to spend scrutinizing photos of the kitchen. Our stay in Bella Vista, Panama had a kitchen, yes, but it was very cramped, had almost no countertop space, and very limited pots and pans. By comparison in Boquete, despite a smaller Airbnb overall, the kitchen was quite large. Over the span of a week the annoyance factor of a small kitchen is huge.
In the future we will probably reach out and inquire about wire racks and drip trays to go under them for doing a reverse sear on steak. A non-stick pan is a huge plus too when cooking eggs. For now we bring a kitchen scale and a rubber spatula with us. We haven’t found a single spot with these yet. For international travel, we also have a LifeStraw Gravity Filter System — it’s perfect to provide clean water without buying tons of bottled water and lugging it back.
Walkability of Your Airbnb
We do not plan to rent cars, scooters or bikes while living like nomads over the coming years. So how walkable is it? Are there sidewalks? Crosswalks, with a stop light? Nearby grocery stores? In Vietnam, crosswalks were virtually non-existent, but the sea of mopeds would part for you as you crossed. Panama had lots of crosswalks for 3 and 4 lane roads but very few actually had a stop light. A hair raising experience. While Airbnb doesn’t show the exact location before your stay, you can get a good sense of the general neighborhood walkability. One added surprise in Panama City — terrible sidewalks with large gaping holes, some many feet deep, in lots of the sidewalks.
We had an outstanding Airbnb in Boquete. It was high in the hills above the town. It featured a large property with trails and lush vegetation that you could walk through. While it had no AC it was breezy and cool so we could sleep with the windows open. However…. It was a 1 mile hike on a steep trail to and from town. Hiking up with groceries or water was certainly a challenge. Doing that with all our possessions on our back (literally) was something we didn’t think through well.
Local Transportation
The other issue is access to public transportation. In Panama there are two metro lines and a third on the way. Plus there are busses all over the country – both local and inter-city. And they are all very very cheap with two exceptions – taxis which don’t us a meter, and local busses outside Panama City. In both cases you run the risk of paying “gringo” pricing. In Panama City we avoided taxis because Uber is available and ultra-inexpensive.
Noise and Blackout Curtains
You may get a sense of how noisy a setting your Airbnb will be from reviews. If you are staying in a city be prepared. Blackout curtains, if offered will be great, and also a handy app like Sleep Sounds for Android. We became huge fans of frogs and rain to give some white noise. It did a reasonably good job of blocking horns, music, thunderstorms, parties, and the like.
Read the Reviews
Reviews can help reveal more clues about the place you are about to book and the host! One of our spots in downtown Panama City had a clothes washer. This was a must as we only traveled with 7 days worth of clothing. Comments indicated that while the washer was broken the host arranged for the housekeeper to do laundry. A few months later, when we visited, the washer was still broken but, as expected, the housekeeper did our clothes. As it turns out this was a better deal! On the clothes front, did you know there were combo washer/dryer units? We didn’t. Our Airbnb in Bella Vista had one. Nice and compact but they can take up to 1 hour for wash and 5 hours more to dry! That’s per load!!!!
One Last Thought on Airbnb
One last thought… For now we are avoiding newish listings and prioritizing Superhosts. If there are very few or no comments then a listing is not even considered. I’m still concerned about being taken advantage of, and minimizing such risk is a priority. So, more comments are far better, and an occasional negative comment isn’t a showstopper (there are plenty of primadonna consumers out there).