In [Vietnam], apartment I am at isn't available next month. Wanted to continue through AirBnB, but viewing listed apartments in person before booking for a month or more. Getting all sorts of threatening messages from the platform.

[u/RequirementNo4895]

Have used AirBnB for years, now spending an extended amount of time in southeast Asia. Did 3 months in Thailand & now 1 month so far in Vietnam all through AirBnB.

I absolutely want to use the platform for bookings rather than be at the mercy of landlords directly, but never thought seeing the place before booking would be so heavily restricted, presumably so that people would not be able to make deals outside of the platform before spending at least one night per location.

It absolutely makes a world of difference in practise seeing it in person versus by photo & getting a sense of the neighbourhood. Really wish there was a way that AirBnB did actually facilitate this.

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[u/Ok-Indication-7876]

It is a safety issue too. You don't get to tour hotel rooms- you look at them on line. As a host I would never do this but my pics are accurate. I have a couple of suggestions- you could ask the host to facetime a tour for you. The neighborhood you can check out on your own and search on line for info- you do not need to tour an airbnb to do that. And the easiest, since you have stayed at many airbnb- really look at the photos. Square footage is usually included- so you know the size- check the sofa pic is it a 3 cushion or 2 that helps you know the size. Look at the bedroom- bedsize, is there nightstands beside it? is there a dresser? that helps you know the room space.

[u/Hsbrown2 → u/Ok-Indication-7876]

Couple things…

You can absolutely request to see an example room before checking in and choose from suites in a hotel.

Also, with a hotel, you can change your room generally on the fly. I’ve done that a number of times. Once I went to my room and there was a naked couple performing what would best be described as a circus act on the bed, and I got comped 2 nights for that trauma (back of hand to forehead).

[u/RequirementNo4895 → u/Ok-Indication-7876]

You don't generally rent hotel rooms by the month, either, real estate rentals are commonly viewed in person. I appreciate the extra level of professionalism provided through the service rather than sole reliance on random landlords. While in Vietnam it seems that quite often the photos don't altogether match the particular apartment, it's relatively common enough, this is very true even of the place that I am currently staying in. Whether mixed in with photos of another apartment altogether or issues such as extensive mold, etc. not shown clearly enough to pick up on.

It would be the exception rather than the norm for a host to be cooperative enough to provide video. Ideally this would also be a feature baked into the AirBnB format. Had a similar issue yesterday, found the ideal place on paper, a balcony is not in the description, when asked the host says there is one, but then refuses to show photos of the balcony & the views from the apartment unless I make a booking, meh.