Are We Doing This Right? 60+ Nights in Airbnbs and Still Going
After more than 60 nights in Airbnbs over the past few months, we sometimes look up from scrubbing a stovetop with a toddler-size sponge and wonder: Are we doing this right?
There’s no loyalty program. No free breakfast. No charming desk clerk handing us warm cookies. Just a new code, a new set of house rules, and usually a long list of checkout chores. And still—we keep coming back. Because for this traveling family of seven (plus one perpetually confused dog), Airbnb works for us. Most of the time.
We’ve figured out some tricks, learned a few lessons the hard way, and gotten enough reps to know what matters most—especially when we’re booking homes 24 to 48 hours before arrival with five kids in the car and a fridge full of half-thawed chicken nuggets.
What’s Working for Us
1. Last-Minute Discounts Are Real—and Surprisingly Generous
Booking within 24–48 hours has paid off—literally. We’ve seen 20%–40% discounts on listings, especially when a host is trying to fill a gap. We’ve scored:
A historic home in Texas Hill Country with vintage tile, creaky charm, and a clawfoot tub that doubled as a kid-sized pirate ship
A modern place in Arizona, close to national parks, where the sunset was the stunning from the hot tub
A last-minute house in the Outer Banks North Carolina, walking distance to the beach, where the kids and Poky jumped in the surf
The clock is ticking when we book these—even when there is ‘less than one hour left to book,’ but the savings are worth it—and it keeps our schedule flexible.
2. Extensions = Sanity
Some places just beg for one more day. We extended our stays in Florida and California, all in homes with pools and hot tubs, because… why not? Whether we needed a break from the road, an extra day to finish homeschooling, or just another sunset swim, Airbnb’s “extend stay” option made it easy—and often discounted. We just check the calendar and book in the app, no begging required.
3. Fenced Yards for Poky = Instant Win
Poky is not a hotel dog. He loves a yard and meeting the neighbor dogs. And we’ve learned to manually check for listings with fenced yards (sadly, there’s not a standard Airbnb filter for enclosed backyard). Some of our favorites?
A completely barren two-acre lot in Nevada, surrounded by nothing but fence and sky—Poky ran laps like a wild thing
A cozy Florida cottage with a fenced backyard that backed up to a swamp, complete with crickets, frogs, and mysterious splashes at night
A fenced yard makes life easier for everyone. Worth the extra scrolling.
4. Secret Loyalty: Delta SkyMiles
No Airbnb points? No problem. We start our booking through Delta’s Airbnb portal, add our SkyMiles number, and earn airline miles for every stay. It’s a bit clunky—you may need to log in through a fresh browser window—but it's working. We’re slowly earning our way toward flights funded entirely by laundry machines and vacation homes.
5. Space That Hotels Just Can’t Offer
Even our most “meh” Airbnb beats a hotel when it comes to logistics for seven humans:
Bedrooms so everyone can actually sleep
A kitchen to make real meals
A laundry room to avoid turning underwear inside out to wear it again
Yards to let the kids and Poky run wild
Table space for homeschooling and coloring
Storage for five backpacks, homeschooling books, seven pairs of hiking shoes, Poky’s crate, a pull-up bar, and our car fridge that follows us everywhere
A Few Mistakes – because that’s how we learn
We’ve made a few, let’s call them… educational bookings:
That one hot tub house with no dishwasher and no washing machine (not ideal for a traveling circus with five kids)
The beautiful remodel where all the major appliances were loaded onto one fuse...and the fuse box was, of course, locked in the owner’s supply closet
That recently renovated house that was a result of hurricane level flooding, a fact we pieced together when we found water lines waist high in the garage
What We’ve Learned
Book last-minute for great deals
Extend when it makes sense—the app makes it easy
Look for fenced yards manually—worth it for puppy freedom
Earn Delta SkyMiles via the Airbnb booking portal
Avoid one-night stays—one-time cleaning and booking fees are too high to justify
Double-check for washers and dishwashers—trust us
Sixty-plus nights, dozens of homes, and lots of jumps into not-so-warm pools. Airbnb might not come with points or upgrades, but it gives us what we really need: flexibility, space, the occasional surprise, and just enough chaos to keep life interesting.
Are we doing this right? Not always. But it’s all part of the adventure.
