We wanted to visit our daughter and her family in South Carolina but instead of driving the RV across country we decided to try and rent an Air BnB for all of us and fly out instead. It certainly seems like that would cost more than driving but if you factor in the time it takes to get cross country especially since we have a second car now and I can’t drive during the work day it seemed over all like a better deal.

To be honest I was pretty hesitant about the whole Air BnB thing despite the fact that many people I know have successfully done it. I have been 100% hotels in my travels until now, but when you look at the cost for two hotel rooms an Air BnB can actually be a better deal. That being said I didn’t really know what I was doing so I wanted to share the experience with you.

Rather than looking for a specific place I instead looked for criteria. I wanted a house with separate sleeping areas for both couples and I needed to make sure there was stuff for my 5 year old grandson to do. It also needed to be within a few hours of Charleston and be dog friendly so my daughter could bring her dog. That would keep the costs down for everyone although I will say the extra dog charge was just as much as it would have cost to get a dog sitter. In the end not sure that was worth it.

The communication with the host is all done via the Air BnB website and email and that actually went very well. There was a code on the door and when we arrived we gained easy access. The main house was actually huge and could have slept 10 people with three bedrooms and pull out sofas. Unfortunately the guest bungalow that was a major reason I chose it had a really unusual smell and both my husband and my daughter refused to stay in it. There was plenty of room in the house for all of us but I felt like I spent extra for something I couldn’t use.

The kitchen was actually really great and well stocked (which is sometimes and issue) but one thing I didn’t like was all the tables were glass. Frankly that is on me for not thinking about it, but we spent a lot of time telling a five year old to stay off the glass table and coffee table. My favorite part was actually the large back yard which included a fire pit (which we used once) and a hot tub (which we used almost every day).

Aside from the bungalow the biggest disappointment was the proximity to the beach. I knew it would be chilly so my idea was we would go to the beach and wander around when Oliver got antsy. Unfortunately the ad for the Air Bnb was extremely misleading and the “short stroll” to the beach with private access was actually a 1/3 mile walk across 2 somewhat busy streets. That really ticked me off especially because the owner was putting on the hard press from the minute we walked in the door for us to give him a five star review. Like Uber the host rates you and you rate them but its done blind initially so you don’t influence each other. I gave him a three which I thought was more than fair but he sent me a private message later saying I had hurt his business and his family, and really pressuring me to change my honest and fair review to a 5 star. Let me just say that it is very different from the hotel experience and all things being equal I would choose a hotel every time. But in all fairness there are things you can get from an AirBnB that you can’t from a hotel.

Thankfully even without the beach we had a good time. Lee stopped and bought a bunch of old school games on the way which were really fun. And he gave Oliver a bunch of his childhood matchbox cars which was a really great moment.

We also opened some Hanukkah gifts and I made cookies with Oliver which we probably couldn’t have done in a regular hotel to be fair.

My favorite thing though was when Jeremy and I took Oliver to a Children’s Museum which was small but packed full of things for an active 5 year old.

The best part of the Children’s Museum was a piece of a Jet donated by Net Jets which has an office in Hilton head. That was really fun.

Overall we had a really great time and I would definitely do it again BUT I would be extra careful about what I was getting. That being said it is definitely an alternative for multiple families getting together and I am so grateful that we got to try it.

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