By Dawn Gilbertson

BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- I texted my roommate one morning last week to make sure the bathroom in the condo was free.

"Is now an OK time to use the shower?"

I thought my days of sharing bathrooms with strangers ended after college. But here I was sharing one in a tiny condo with an Airbnb superhost and her partner, a byproduct of New York City's vacation-rental crackdown. You don't have the place to yourself because hosts must be home. Cue the awkward encounters.

I was motivated by money given the absurd hotel prices in Midtown Manhattan in December. And I wanted to see what it's like to stay in an Airbnb under the strict rules, since that's what most of you will find in your searches unless they are eased (and that could happen).

So I booked three nights in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. The listing promised a "beautiful bright bedroom" with a twin bed. The reviews were great.

I was traveling solo and didn't plan to do much more than sleep there a couple nights. (I booked three nights so I could check in as soon as my red-eye flight from Hawaii landed at JFK.) I wasn't planning to stock the fridge, cook or even make coffee. I wasn't nervous about navigating the subways or a new-to-me Brooklyn neighborhood.

But I was definitely more anxious than I've ever been ahead of a hotel stay, the feeling a little like the first time I stayed with my in-laws-to-be. Would I do it again? Yes, if it meant the difference between taking a trip to New York in December and staying home. I saw two Broadway shows, the Rockefeller Center tree and caught up with friends, all after work. It's not for everyone, though.

The pros and cons of an Airbnb stay in Brooklyn with the host home versus a hotel stay in Midtown Manhattan:

Pro: It's budget friendly

The rental was $155 a night. The total price for my three-night stay, including a $66 Airbnb service fee: $530.65.

That's less than the price for one night at Midtown hotels I checked for a stay during this month of sky-high holiday demand from tourists. The Time, where I often stay because it's the most affordable hotel close to the office and earns Hyatt points, was charging $1,191 per night two weeks in advance. (It cost $300 for a stay in September.) The cheapest listing near Times Square for a midweek stay last week was over $700 a night.

I paid less for three nights in my room in the condo than a single night in a hotel -- even after factoring in a couple of costly Lyft rides.

The savings made this December trip an easy sell to the folks in Expense Accounting.

Con: No hotel amenities

There was a single rolled towel on my bed when I arrived, not a stack like you find in a hotel. The only hand towel was the shared one in the bathroom. I asked for and received extra.

Hungry? There's no on-site restaurant or lobby shop, of course. No in-room coffee machine, though I probably could have made coffee in the small kitchen.

It felt weird being in a shower with a stranger's shampoo, conditioner, body wash and Epsom salt, though I'll cop to using a squirt of shampoo and body wash when mine ran out. But it wasn't surprising, since I was sharing their house. (The last time I saw the owner's toiletries in the shower in an Airbnb apartment rental was in 2017 in Switzerland, when I swear we passed the tenant as we were arriving.)

As with most vacation rentals, the host did leave a handy guide to area coffee shops and restaurants. I didn't have time to try any but did grab McDonald's coffee next to the subway station one freezing morning. A neighborhood construction worker picked up the tab.

Pro: No onerous fees

My bill was the cleanest I've ever received for a stay, hotel or otherwise. There wasn't even a cleaning fee.

The only extra charge was Airbnb's service fee. Check out of a hotel and you'll find taxes and fees galore, including those onerous destination or resort fees and hefty parking charges.

Con: Distance/travel time

My commute was longer than during my typical New York City hotel stay. Instead of walking a few blocks to the office, I took the subway from Brooklyn. It's cheap, $2.90 a ride, but time-consuming. Including my walk to the station a block away from the apartment, the ride took nearly an hour one day and 40 minutes the next.

Lyft rides were expensive. After a Broadway show, dinner and holiday sights one late night, the 10-mile Lyft ride home took 35 minutes and was $100, including tip. The ride into the office the next morning took 55 minutes and cost $120 with tip. (I couldn't take the subway because I had luggage.)

Con: Walking on eggshells

In a hotel room, I don't care much about my travel habits each day. In the shared condo, I worried about leaving toothpaste in the sink, making repeated trips to the bathroom overnight and arriving home late as if there were a curfew. I was fearful I'd lose the keys to the place, even though there was a Tile tracker on the keychain.

That's not because the host was strict. She was lovely the two times I briefly saw her. And there were no onerous house rules -- the most she asked was that I not wear shoes in the house.

When I texted her about the bathroom on the first morning she replied: "Hey Dawn, of course! You can do your thing at anytime. No worries!"

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Write to Dawn Gilbertson at dawn.gilbertson@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 11, 2024 21:00 ET (02:00 GMT)

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