There seems to be blurring line between Air BnB and Guest houses. Both of these are based on the main principle of providing their guests with temporary accommodation. Let us look at the difference between both these accommodation services.
Guest house:
The typical idea of a guest house is larger than the concept of just “bed and breakfast”. They are known to be mostly offering their guest with breakfast that is included in the room rate. The guest houses would range from luxurious apartment to some low budget basic facility rooms. You can also get the ratings of these guest houses from one star to four star based on certain characteristic.
Those characteristic include, quality of the food served, what is the level of cleanliness, the hospitality and service provided to their guests. So you can term guest house as as type of lodging itself. In certain parts of the globe, the guest house would be very much similar to that of bed and breakfast or a hostel whereas in certain other parts they would be sort of an inexpensive lodging rooms.
In certain locations, you may find guest houses as a private house that has been coverted especially for the convenience of the guest. The owner would be probably staying in a separate area of the same property and a certain part of the property may be given for the guest house business. In guest houses you may not find any staff as you may get in a hotel or an inn. Most of the cases, the guest houses are managed by the owners itself unless if it is a large mansion to be handled.
Air BnB:
The Air BnB is an online market wherein it allows people to rent out their vacant property or their spare room for the guests. Air Bnb would be taking some percent as commission for each booking that takes place from the hosts and also from the guests.
There can be just a single room listed on Air BnB to an entire property along with all the basic facilities. When you reach out to Air Bnb for the property, basically you are contacting the owner directly who may or may not have any experience in the hospitality business. At times you may not know what to expect from an Air bnb.
- Facilities: Some of the guest houses would be adhering to strict rules in order for remaining viable in the business. In case of an Air BnB the property may or may not be licensed for guests service. There are times when the guests would not even be aware about the property until the last minute. Guest houses provide appropriate information to their guests.
- Meals: Some of the guest houses, the owners cook the breakfast from the scratch for their guest. In certain cases there can be also possible to have in room coffee or tea as well as afternoon snacks. Air BnB is quite a contrast wherein the guests may or may not find anything in the fridge. You may need to cook for yourself.
- Staff: In guest house, the host would personally greet you and show you around the rooms. They also escort you to the rooms. On the other hand, the Air Bnb are mostly devoid of any staff. The guest may seem to simply walk in the room and help themselves.
Since there is a blurring line between both these concepts of accommodation, it would be quite difficult to say which one would be better. Air BnB is surely better in terms of cost factor wherein the prices are reasonable. The flexibility, services and food can vary between guest house and Air Bnb rooms.