I am not sure how it works, but had a feeling the people wanting accommodation pay to join rather than the bnb owners paying commission. We used it on and off for when we had empty rooms between boarders (someone else ran the ad though hence I don't know the ins and outs). We had a good stream of people through and found it a very easy and enjoyable way to have a bit of income when the rooms were empty. Mostly young couples from Europe, lots of different nationalities, very happy to be welcomed into our home and very interesting to spend a bit of time with.
Thank you tonic, I was looking to using the accommodation not supplying it. Someone who has used it, not supplied it, may remember who they paid and if they paid extra commission (sometimes what seems like a good deal isn't always after paying the not mentioned extras.
Now sold block, of no fixed abode, building new house. Darling wife has passed 1 year ago.
I have used it a few times, it's great. You pay via the website, and they pass it on to the host, and yes they charge a service fee, clearly labelled as such. Not sure on the formula, it seems to be a little over 10% of the accommodation cost? Very good value I think as it's a well run website, and it has a great system for people leaving reviews, so you can trust what you read (unlike TradeMe). You can find any type of accommodation, just about anywhere. Check it out Oh, and I don't remember paying to join... pretty sure you don't..
The people who stayed with us seemed to like using it. A few of them were traveling without any real plans, pretty much deciding where to go the and booking a place to stay using Air BnB. They can then stay in an area as long as they wanted, then just look for and book accommodation for the next area when they were ready to.
I've used Airbnb a bit in NZ and as far as I recall the payment for accommodation is very straightforward.
Once your booking is confirmed Airbnb charge the advertised rate for the room plus a small admin fee there is no joining fee - I don't know if hosts pay
When thats done the host via text to make arrangements for keys and parking and such
And that's it - as someone else has said its usually good value - its not a hotel so don't expect what you'd get at a hotel but my stays have all been great and the hosts so far have been really nice people
lsbloke wrote: - its not a hotel so don't expect what you'd get at a hotel but my stays have all been great and the hosts so far have been really nice people
Do you mean guests?
We used to belong to servas, a hosting service which did not get paid, but which if you traveled, you could get free accommodation for up to two nights and some hosts would pick you up from airports or similar and drop you back. Also would recommend good places to visit and how to get there so you could do some sight seeing. Mum and I went right across America travelling this way and met some really lovely people. In return, we hosted several families one couple regaling us with funny stories of things that had happened to them while travelling. .
Did you know, that what you thought I said, was not what I meant :S
from their website "o help cover the costs of processing guest payments, we charge hosts a 3% service fee every time a reservation is completed. The amount of this service fee is calculated from the reservation subtotal (before fees and taxes). We also charge guests a guest service fee to cover the cost of running Airbnb.' Guest service fees are typically 6-12%"
5 acres, Ferguson 35X and implements, Hanmay pto shredder, BMW Z3, Countax ride on mower, chooks, Dorper and Wiltshire sheep. Bosky wood burning central heating stove and radiators. Retro caravan. Growing our own food and preserving it. Small vineyard, crap wine.
Oh, and I don't remember paying to join... pretty sure you don't.. 
