This post originally appeared on Map Happy.
Did you know central air conditioning isn’t standard in New York? Bet you would want to know that before taking off in the heat of summer.
It’s really easy to glance at the rating, scroll through the pictures, check the price and check out. If I was booking a hotel, I’d never have to think twice: I expect all my hotel comforts to be sitting and waiting there for me. But unfortunately, hotel comforts aren’t standard in residential buildings.
Then there’s the fact some hosts don’t take the time to describe or explain the property properly. Some guests also don’t bother reading through the full descriptions and only scroll through the pictures. Either way, Airbnb bookings are pretty much ripe for mis-communication.
Considering all hosts or apartments aren’t created equal, here are a couple of things worth checking for and asking about before locking in the deal.
Sheets & towels
Because I knew one girl who showed up to an Airbnb only to find that the host had moved all the furniture out and provided an air mattress in its place. True story.
Air conditioning and/or heating
These things are just not standard in some cities! For instance, central air is not usually built into New York City residential buildings while central heating isn’t so standard in the bowels of San Francisco, either. In Eastern Europe, this also turned out to be an issue for several friends.
Washer/dryer
Same thing with getting clean clothes. These aren’t common in the above-mentioned cities either. In fact, it’s more likely that getting a fresh sack of clothes will require 1) schlumping it down to the building basement or 2) taking a quick stop to nearest laundromat. Once there, there’s the tricky case of supplying detergent for what was supposed to be a quick stay.
In many places abroad, don’t be surprised if there is no dryer unit available. In Australia, I remember my initial confusion when my friend insisted on hanging our washed clothes outside. I realized, then, that it was just more efficient for this part of the world: it was so dry outside that the clothes dried in less than half an hour.
Even if a dryer unit is available, they can be so ineffective that a Parisian friend once quipped, “even the washing machines take a cigarette break in France.” There is truly nothing more American than washer or dryer zapping through a load of clothes in 90 minutes.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider