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My sister and I had decided to go to a fun event in the mountains of North Carolina, Grandfather Mountain to be exact. For two nights we’d need a place to sleep so I began looking around at possible hotels to stay in. I instantly hit a roadblock in our planning. There were basically no hotel rooms available for the weekend or they were just way too expensive.
The event we were going to is a huge event that is held at Grandfather Mountain every year and draws in a massive crowd. The area just doesn’t have enough hotels/places to stay so it can be hard to find a place last minute, which is what we were trying to do. So, I decided to try something a little different. I got on the AirBnB app and began my search for a place to stay and that led to my first AirBnB experience.
The Booking Process
If you want to book with AirBnB, then the first step is to download their app. It’s quick and easy to do. Or, just go to AirBnB.com. Then create a free account. After that, you’re ready to start looking for places to stay. If you want to save up to $55 on your first booking though, click here! At the time of my first booking, I had already made an account so I hopped on the app and put “Linville, NC” into the search bar. This was the general area that I wanted to stay in because it was close to the event.
I also narrowed down the search by filtering out what I did and did not want. I marked the dates I would need a place, the number of beds I would need, and the cost I wanted to stay under. You can filter your search even more if you’d like so AirBnB will only show you exactly what you’re looking for.
For me, I wanted a place under $100 a night and two beds. I like to travel cheap so I made the search show me the cheapest places available first. When searching for a place, I also looked at their general location or the host’s description so I could figure out how far away we’d be from the event. I ended up finding two places that were basically like tiny houses, and I LOVE tiny houses! The prices of the two only differed by a few dollars. However, when I factored in the other fees (make sure you look over all the fees!) and the discount that one gave, I went with the cheaper option. It was a chicken coop.
Yep, my first AirBnB experience was sleeping in a chicken coop! Now, I don’t want that to sound like a bad thing, because it wasn’t. Was it unique? Heck yes! But it was also really cute and well laid out. More on the actual place later. Now on to the next bit of information you should know.
Host Interaction
I contacted, Donna, the host of, “The Chick-Inn”, which was the name of the place I wanted to book, and asked her a few questions before booking. I recommend contacting the hosts if you have any questions! The ones I contacted responded quickly and were nice. I asked the host about the location and how close it was to the event we would be attending. Ask any questions you may have!
I like to know what I’m getting into so I’d rather have the information I need rather than just show up and not know what’s going on or how things will be. Donna was great with answering questions and letting me know what to expect, where to park, exact location, etc. After I had my questions answered, I officially booked my first AirBnB!
The Check-In
The day of our little trip to Linville, North Carolina and Grandfather Mountain had finally arrived. We loaded up our car and headed to the North Carolina mountains. When we drove through Linville and continued on to our AirBnB, we soon realized that it was a bit of a ways out from the area we would be attending the event. We did expect it to be about 20 minutes from the town of Linville and it definitely was. It was also basically in the middle of nowhere but it was a nice area.
My sister and I pulled into the driveway and parked where the Donna had told me to during our chat on the AirBnB app. She immediately came out to greet us which I liked because I had no idea what to do next! She took us to our place for the weekend, the chicken coop, aka, The Chick-Inn. Donna showed us how everything worked, including the port-o-potty and solar shower. After that, she left us to do our own thing.
The situation was unique with our hosts. You see, they own several chalets and camping sites that they rent out through AirBnB and they live in one on the property as well. So for us, we saw the host and other guests throughout the weekend. I know AirBnB’s can operate a little different so I want to make sure to mention that your experience may differ from mine.
The Chick-Inn
Admittedly, a chicken coop is not my first choice when choosing a place to stay. However, I’m okay with unique places to stay, or at least I am now! I initially booked The Chick-Inn because it was cute, cheap, close enough to our event, and had two beds. And when we arrived, it had all that I had expected and all that we needed. The chicken coop was located in the side yard area of their property and had a privacy fence in front of the chicken coop, which I liked. There were also chairs and a firepit in the yard area of the chicken coop as well.
Inside was small, I’m not going to lie. It was a tight fit for two people but not impossible to work with. When you stepped inside The Chick-Inn, there was a port-o-potty immediately to your left. To the right was the kitchen area which consisted of a small refrigerator, coffee maker, water container, and microwave.
Take about two steps into the chicken coop and you had the bedroom. On the left side was a twin size bed and on the right side was another twin size bed. Now, I may have missed the detail about the beds actually being air mattresses in the description of the listing, but that’s what they were. They weren’t the most comfortable to sleep on, but I can see why they use them. They are cheaper and easier to replace and they clean up better.
Between the beds was a window with an air conditioner in it, which I was so thankful for! You see, in the photos on AirBnB of The Chick-Inn, there was just a fan in the window. We were going to be staying in a tiny chicken coop in the middle of July in North Carolina without air conditioning! So when I saw that air conditioning unit, I knew I wouldn’t melt at night. That was everything that was inside of the chicken coop.
Back outside and to the left of the chicken coop was another small building. This one housed the solar shower and another port-o-potty. I was a little nervous to use the solar shower because I had never used one before, but after Donna showed us how to work it, I used it without any issues. We did have to share the shower shed with some of the other camping guests, but there was only one other guest the weekend we stayed and we didn’t see him much.
Pros of AirBnB and The Chick-Inn
I like that I can filter the search to show specifically what I’m looking for and I found a place fairly easy and quickly because of that on AirBnB. I liked that it was a unique place that also gave me what I needed, a cheap place to stay with two beds, a bathroom, and even a kitchen area. The host gave a very detailed description of the place and what to expect and, as I mentioned before, was very quick in responding to my questions. The booking process with AirBnB was simple and contacting the hosts was also easy to navigate.
Cons of AirBnB and The Chick-Inn
I feel like when you use AirBnB, you don’t really know who or what you’ll be dealing with once you arrive. Luckily, I had a good host and I knew that our AirBnB would be a unique one. Sadly, I’ve heard some horror stories from others that have had really bad experiences staying at AirBnBs. Essentially, you are staying in someone’s private place most of the time so it can be uncomfortable. I would suggest to just listen to your gut and be aware of everything. If it feels wrong or you’re uncomfortable, cancel your reservations or just leave if you’ve already arrived.
The cons for The Chick-Inn AirBnB are that the place is small. It’s almost too small for two people so if you decide to stay there, just be comfortable with whoever you’re staying with! Another downside to the AirBnB that I stayed in was that we didn’t have access to the Wi-Fi. I mentioned before that there are other rentals on the property and the more expensive ones came with Wi-Fi but when we asked the host if there was Wi-Fi available for us too, she said no. This was definitely a con for us because I had absolutely no cell phone service and could not contact anyone or do much of anything on my phone while there.
It also would have been nice to have a private shower area instead of sharing with the campers. The Chick-Inn costs more than the camping sites but we still had to use the camping facilities. Other than those small inconveniences, it was a cool and nice place to stay!
What happens after your stay at an AirBnB
After our stay at The Chick-Inn was over and we were back home, I got an email from AirBnB reminding me to leave a review. It’s easy to leave a review and AirBnB walks you through the short process. After I left my review, which was five stars by the way, I was able to view the review that our host left for me. It’s nice that both the host and guest can leave reviews for one another so that each one knows what to expect from the other. My review from the host was a good one, in case you were wondering!
So, would I recommend using AirBnB?
Over all, my first AirBnB experience was definitely a unique one, even according to AirBnB, I would say! I mean, how often do you sleep in a chicken coop?? In all seriousness though, I would stay there again and I would use AirBnB again. I like the fact that there are unique places to stay and that you can find out personal preferences on places to eat, things to do, etc. from hosts. If you’ve never used AirBnB and would like to try it out, you can save on your first trip here! If you decide to use AirBnB for your next trip, I’d love to know how your experience was with it!
If you’ve used AirBnB before, comment below and share your experience! I’d love to hear about it, good or bad!
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