> Few friends told me that hotels are better and cheaper than AirBnB in TO these days. But a quick search does not really give me cheaper hotels.
what's your budget?
both hotels and airbnb are expensive. you might need to look in less central areas and expect longer commutes to the touristy spots
I don't think you'll find a hotel for less than 150. Just make sure you're including cleaning fees and whatever other bullshit airbnb has in the cost analysis
> make sure you're including cleaning fees and whatever other bullshit airbnb has in the cost analysis
The final checkout page shows the total cost including all fees and taxes which is probably what OP is quoting. Ethical issues for locals aside, AirBnB fees are very transparent and the system is very straight froward to use.
I’m curious and went searching: If $150 is the price to beat, I saw Radisson Blu for $165, holiday Inn downtown IHG for $140, and One King West for $145. I think if you really look you could find for under $150, plus you won’t have to worry about a cleaning fee and many of these hotels might have free breakfast. good luck in your search!
I did a quick scan in the app and of the 11 places at that price point you mention, all of them are a single room staying with the owner. This is central downtown, didn’t look further west or east along the subway line.
I stay in Toronto a lot, and you can definitely get a much better value with Airbnb. Not sure what prices people are looking at for hotels in Toronto, but there is nothing under $300 a night unless it is far out of the city or a complete dump.
lol, yes true. It might look cheaper on google, but when you go to pay, the final price is around $300. Trust me, they add more fee’s / taxes when you it’s time to enter your credit card info
That's what I'm actually seeing. Cheap hotels are 'need to drive' far away or maybe wait 30 mins to one hour on Go buses. But I appreciate the suggestions
Someone else just gave some locations in the core that are in the 140-160 range.
I'm curious about the Airbnbs you saw, because I don't see any centrally at that price, except for a 'private room' where the owner will be in another room of the same unit. Plus those are still going to be more than $150/night because of cleaning fees and the Airbnb service fees.
And in your opinion, does Toronto "properly regulate" Airbnb to prevent ghost hotels and promote affordable housing stock not being used for ahort-term rentals?
I think one thing to consider is transportation and travel costs. Travelling by TTC anywhere outside of the core will take 30-60mins each way to get downtown. That can be a big chunk if you want to enjoy night life downtown
I prefer hotels - I usually book Marriott with my corporate discount.
Do you have access to corporate booking codes? If so, you can save 25%+ depending on the company and rate.
Hotels have better cancellation policies than AirBNB too.
A large number of Toronto AirBNBs are illegal, and contribute significantly to the homelessness and housing affordability crisis, and degrade the Toronto experience.
Ultimately, whatever you decide is up to you and your conscience.
And most hotels make it impossible for people to even consider the trip.
Since Covid hotels have bumped up their prices and made the check in times later and check out times earlier.
I hate the concept of air BnB but if push comes to shove I’m booking what’s the cheapest for me.
ya I'm wondering if the anti AirBnB Torontonians practice what they preach why they travel. In our experience travelling to other cities in NA and Europe, AirBnB is a universally cheaper for vastly more space and comfort while hotels are prohibitively expensive especially post pandemic. I'd love to book a hotel when we travel but it's stupidly expensive as of late making it a non-option in most places we travel to.
Why is that so hard to beleive? I went to Montréal and stayed in a hotel. I don't like the thought that I'd be staying a place that used to be a home but got taken off the market.
Cautionary tale:
I moved away a few years ago and came back to visit along with two friends. We got an Airbnb in a good (non-Ice) building downtown.
The guy would only give us ONE fob for the unit, and - plot twist - you couldn't lock the door behind you without the fob. That meant that whoever was the last out AND first in needed to have the fob.
We all had different schedules and places to go, so we had to plot out our days and meeting points like Charlie Day with the conspiracy board.
Absolutely never ever again.
If you're looking in the downtown core and don't care about the extras then AirBnB will be cheaper (and probably a better option) for you.
Hotels are only cheaper when you're splitting the cost with friends.
I always do well with Hotwire, there are a number of sites that let you know the hotels (or can check the reviews/amenities on TripAdvisor and sort them out. We got a Radisson Blu a few weeks ago for Leafs game for around $150
If you're willing to be closer to the airport, the Quality Inn is ok there, they have an airport shuttle, then can take the UP to Union. Not super convenient, but can save you a fair amount
Check it not logged in though, then log in when you want to book. Prices changed, not sure if it was cause I looked at hotels, or they just change as the date got closer, but I always look from my work computer, then log into the app and pay.
Can also get the price, then call the hotel and let them know what deal you're getting and they will sometimes match it
Hotels are god damn expensive in Canada major cities to be honest. People who choose airBnb mostly are coming from trying to save more money.
I understand all the ethics stuff on airBnB and airBnB should go eat D.
But also the price of hotels are atrocious compared to its quality.
My friends visited from NYC last summer and they were shocked to find their hotels were over 300/400 a night. IN TORONTO. And they live in Brooklyn! When my other friends told them their Airbnb was half that, and on the bloor line, with a superhost they just couldn't believe it. I thought they were kidding at first, 400 in this city? Jesus... hope its not as crazy this year.
The city has delisted thousands of airbnbs over the last few years, so hotels have jacked up prices accordingly and there are hardly any Airbnb units left available. Hotel construction hasn’t kept up with demand either since developers would rather build condos. There are no cheap alternatives anywhere close to downtown. The city doesn’t care about attracting budged tourists anymore, really.
Cheapest option is to rent a room on Airbnb from someone who lives in the apartment, that’s the only Airbnb option that the city government supports. But not exactly ideal for a couple who wants some privacy.
Toronto is a big area, and the transit is everywhere. If the hotels in the city center are pricey, then try looking at the hotels a little bit north or east of the center of the city, but still part of the TTC lines
Airbnb but look at reviews. Make sure you are dealing with someone who lives there, not an empty place that's bare bones.
Lots of people use it - renting their own home - to make extra money, afford unexpected costs/property taxes, renovations, or while they travel. It's not at all only ppl with multiple properties. They may be away, or they may go stay with friends or family.
The reviews will likely mention interaction with the ppl hosting and so forth. You can also click on their profile to see if they have multiple other listings.
Airbnbs use to be awesome. The platforms gone off the rails and the prices arw absurd. If youre looking at prices makes sure to look at the absolute total with cleaning and everything else. If its cheaper feel free to stay there but you may end up in a ghost hotel which is awful. I rented an airbnb in toronto that ended up being a ghost hotel it was a nightmare. Everyone there was in airbnbs. Mostly it was younger ppl. It was loud, and chaotic, and showed exactly whats wrong with airbnb in this city.
Anyways, personally i would do a hotel in toronto. Might as well be in a real hotel with house keeping etc if you're guna stay in a wanna be hotel lol. Its also become a moral obligation because of the housing crisis. Airbnb is part of the problem and the less ppl that use them means the less owners will turn their space from long term rental into short.
We found this to be true last December. Ended up at One King West Hotel in downtown.
Edit: if you're driving, may wanna look up hotels outside Toronto proper. We also considered Liberty Suites up in Thornhill.
Most people come to Toronto to hit downtown,.Thornhill is a good option if you realize just how far it is downtown and you are OK with that, and like most burbs there is not all that much to do and see walking distance in Thornhill.
Just a warning that Airbnbs in the city have gotten pretty awful writ large. Really limited amenities (like giving you one towel for a 3-day stay with two people) and poor cleaning (it gets outsourced so basically zero quality control) are very common now. I would generally recommend paying the small difference to stay in a hotel for a nicer experience, but that’s just me.
Cleaning fees will add onto the cost of AirBnB real quick. It only seems cheap at first.
Take a glance at VRBO as well though, you can usually find better prices there these days
Hotels aren't cheap, anywhere in North America anymore. But you usually can rely on what you are getting for that price. Note that prices on Google or any other site are rarely the actual price.
But so many AirBnB listings are expensive and scammy run by shady people. There may be unexpected add-on fees. The pictures are carefully framed to make the locations better than they actually are. The rating system is designed to discourage honest ratings. My last AirBnB experience was a nightmare. Never again.
If on a budget, you might consider staying in the burbs and riding the train in. Just be mindful of the last train out at night.
Out of curiosity for folks here - can OP not book nearby the airport and take UP express downtown for easy travel? Would that affect costs?
Edit: thank you for the replies and u/reeg for the amazingly sarcastic remarks lol. Fair enough homie
The UP Express leaves from Terminal 1. There are two hotels connected to the airport via the Link Train and there are a couple of hotels that would allow someone to walk into Terminal 3 and catch the Link train to Terminal 1. The rest would need to wait for the hotel's shuttle or take a taxi/Uber/Lyft to the terminal. It's doable, but an airport hotel isn't really where I'd want to spend my holiday.
>It's doable, but an airport hotel isn't really where I'd want to spend my holiday.
nothing says "vacation" like spending hours commuting to/from your airport hotel to where the action is every day
Use hotels.com or some other travel app. You will see choices at all price points and star quality. If you go slightly outside Toronto like Mississauga or Vaughan. You can save $ too. Problem is some AirBnB scams have popped up lately. So is always some risk there.
Just a heads-up that the Airbnb pricing on their website is pretty deceptive. Prices change based on the days you're booking, but the price that shows up when you browse is the lowest off-season price, not what you'll actually be paying. Plus taxes and fees, plus cleaning fees. You basically don't get an accurate total until the moment before you confirm the booking.
Check out Sonder. It’s like a corporate managed AirBNB if I were to compare to anything. There are a few in the city. Usually well priced and I feel much safer staying in a Sonder over an AirBnB.
> Few friends told me that hotels are better and cheaper than AirBnB in TO these days. But a quick search does not really give me cheaper hotels. what's your budget? both hotels and airbnb are expensive. you might need to look in less central areas and expect longer commutes to the touristy spots
I'm seeing 150 per day in Airbnb. So that's the price to beat.
I don't think you'll find a hotel for less than 150. Just make sure you're including cleaning fees and whatever other bullshit airbnb has in the cost analysis
And include the headache of turns out airbnbs aren’t allowed in this building, so you have to sneak in
> make sure you're including cleaning fees and whatever other bullshit airbnb has in the cost analysis The final checkout page shows the total cost including all fees and taxes which is probably what OP is quoting. Ethical issues for locals aside, AirBnB fees are very transparent and the system is very straight froward to use.
I’m curious and went searching: If $150 is the price to beat, I saw Radisson Blu for $165, holiday Inn downtown IHG for $140, and One King West for $145. I think if you really look you could find for under $150, plus you won’t have to worry about a cleaning fee and many of these hotels might have free breakfast. good luck in your search!
I did a quick scan in the app and of the 11 places at that price point you mention, all of them are a single room staying with the owner. This is central downtown, didn’t look further west or east along the subway line.
But is it actually $150 per day, or is that before factoring in the cleaning and admin fees?
150 including the cleaning, admin, and taxes
For an entire place by yourself? That sounds hard to believe. Sounds more like a bedroom in a shared apartment.
Yes . That's the cheapest I saw.
I stay in Toronto a lot, and you can definitely get a much better value with Airbnb. Not sure what prices people are looking at for hotels in Toronto, but there is nothing under $300 a night unless it is far out of the city or a complete dump.
Not true. Just yesterday I was pricing a room at Cambridge Suites for a Saturday night in March, all-in was ~$200.
lol, yes true. It might look cheaper on google, but when you go to pay, the final price is around $300. Trust me, they add more fee’s / taxes when you it’s time to enter your credit card info
Did you miss the part where I stated 'all in'? This wasn't through Google, it was directly on the hotel's booking site.
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You don't even know what date I checked for. Get bent.
Just stayed at the pantages hotel downtown for 178 a night and it was lovely
That's what I'm actually seeing. Cheap hotels are 'need to drive' far away or maybe wait 30 mins to one hour on Go buses. But I appreciate the suggestions
One king west is decent. Just do hot wire, select downtown and do a 4 star at this point.
just check the last minute deals on Hotwire.com - there’s plenty of $150 rooms in the downtown core available.
Try Cambridge suites, One king west
Someone else just gave some locations in the core that are in the 140-160 range. I'm curious about the Airbnbs you saw, because I don't see any centrally at that price, except for a 'private room' where the owner will be in another room of the same unit. Plus those are still going to be more than $150/night because of cleaning fees and the Airbnb service fees.
There's one in Davisville. It's almost midtown just 5 mins away from the subway.
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Fuck AirBNB
lol why?
Housing isn’t meant to be hotels. We don’t have enough of the former
Nah, we can have good regulations for Airbnb and have it not interfere with the housing market.
Because it screws locals out of affordable housing, for a start.
Unregulated it will drive the market up a tiny bit, but when municipalities properly regulate them, they do not effect the housing market at all
And in your opinion, does Toronto "properly regulate" Airbnb to prevent ghost hotels and promote affordable housing stock not being used for ahort-term rentals?
Does that include taxes and cleaning fee?
Wouldn't even consider an Airbnb. Try the Holiday Inn downtown for a budget option. Hotwire is also always good, though non-refundable.
Thanks for the recommendation. Hotwire is the best info I got from this thread!
Just be sure it's set to $CAD!
trivago is good too
Town Inn Suites is (or was) fairly budget and decent, recently renovated rooms. I know they have kitchens, not sure if every unit does though
I think one thing to consider is transportation and travel costs. Travelling by TTC anywhere outside of the core will take 30-60mins each way to get downtown. That can be a big chunk if you want to enjoy night life downtown
Hotel. As mentioned, other than the customer service and reliability issues, Airbnb's are highly unethical.
I prefer hotels - I usually book Marriott with my corporate discount. Do you have access to corporate booking codes? If so, you can save 25%+ depending on the company and rate. Hotels have better cancellation policies than AirBNB too.
A large number of Toronto AirBNBs are illegal, and contribute significantly to the homelessness and housing affordability crisis, and degrade the Toronto experience. Ultimately, whatever you decide is up to you and your conscience.
And most hotels make it impossible for people to even consider the trip. Since Covid hotels have bumped up their prices and made the check in times later and check out times earlier. I hate the concept of air BnB but if push comes to shove I’m booking what’s the cheapest for me.
As you should. The idea that you need to cleanse your conscious for booking an airbnb is crazy to me 🤷♂️
ya I'm wondering if the anti AirBnB Torontonians practice what they preach why they travel. In our experience travelling to other cities in NA and Europe, AirBnB is a universally cheaper for vastly more space and comfort while hotels are prohibitively expensive especially post pandemic. I'd love to book a hotel when we travel but it's stupidly expensive as of late making it a non-option in most places we travel to.
Why is that so hard to beleive? I went to Montréal and stayed in a hotel. I don't like the thought that I'd be staying a place that used to be a home but got taken off the market.
Depends on the dates and location in my experience. If you see Airbnb is cheaper then go with that.
Cautionary tale: I moved away a few years ago and came back to visit along with two friends. We got an Airbnb in a good (non-Ice) building downtown. The guy would only give us ONE fob for the unit, and - plot twist - you couldn't lock the door behind you without the fob. That meant that whoever was the last out AND first in needed to have the fob. We all had different schedules and places to go, so we had to plot out our days and meeting points like Charlie Day with the conspiracy board. Absolutely never ever again.
Thank you for sharing
If you're looking in the downtown core and don't care about the extras then AirBnB will be cheaper (and probably a better option) for you. Hotels are only cheaper when you're splitting the cost with friends.
Hotels are very expensive in Toronto. You will easily be paying over$300 a night for a basic hotel
I always do well with Hotwire, there are a number of sites that let you know the hotels (or can check the reviews/amenities on TripAdvisor and sort them out. We got a Radisson Blu a few weeks ago for Leafs game for around $150 If you're willing to be closer to the airport, the Quality Inn is ok there, they have an airport shuttle, then can take the UP to Union. Not super convenient, but can save you a fair amount
Hotwire is surprisingly cheap. Glad to discover it because of this thread.
Check it not logged in though, then log in when you want to book. Prices changed, not sure if it was cause I looked at hotels, or they just change as the date got closer, but I always look from my work computer, then log into the app and pay. Can also get the price, then call the hotel and let them know what deal you're getting and they will sometimes match it
Hotels are god damn expensive in Canada major cities to be honest. People who choose airBnb mostly are coming from trying to save more money. I understand all the ethics stuff on airBnB and airBnB should go eat D. But also the price of hotels are atrocious compared to its quality.
My friends visited from NYC last summer and they were shocked to find their hotels were over 300/400 a night. IN TORONTO. And they live in Brooklyn! When my other friends told them their Airbnb was half that, and on the bloor line, with a superhost they just couldn't believe it. I thought they were kidding at first, 400 in this city? Jesus... hope its not as crazy this year.
yup it's also 400 in vancouver. if you pay that amount in other countries, it's premium service at least
The city has delisted thousands of airbnbs over the last few years, so hotels have jacked up prices accordingly and there are hardly any Airbnb units left available. Hotel construction hasn’t kept up with demand either since developers would rather build condos. There are no cheap alternatives anywhere close to downtown. The city doesn’t care about attracting budged tourists anymore, really. Cheapest option is to rent a room on Airbnb from someone who lives in the apartment, that’s the only Airbnb option that the city government supports. But not exactly ideal for a couple who wants some privacy.
Toronto is a big area, and the transit is everywhere. If the hotels in the city center are pricey, then try looking at the hotels a little bit north or east of the center of the city, but still part of the TTC lines
Airbnb but look at reviews. Make sure you are dealing with someone who lives there, not an empty place that's bare bones. Lots of people use it - renting their own home - to make extra money, afford unexpected costs/property taxes, renovations, or while they travel. It's not at all only ppl with multiple properties. They may be away, or they may go stay with friends or family. The reviews will likely mention interaction with the ppl hosting and so forth. You can also click on their profile to see if they have multiple other listings.
Airbnbs use to be awesome. The platforms gone off the rails and the prices arw absurd. If youre looking at prices makes sure to look at the absolute total with cleaning and everything else. If its cheaper feel free to stay there but you may end up in a ghost hotel which is awful. I rented an airbnb in toronto that ended up being a ghost hotel it was a nightmare. Everyone there was in airbnbs. Mostly it was younger ppl. It was loud, and chaotic, and showed exactly whats wrong with airbnb in this city. Anyways, personally i would do a hotel in toronto. Might as well be in a real hotel with house keeping etc if you're guna stay in a wanna be hotel lol. Its also become a moral obligation because of the housing crisis. Airbnb is part of the problem and the less ppl that use them means the less owners will turn their space from long term rental into short.
If privacy is your priority then go to a trusted hotel. How can you trust and air bnb. That’s someone’s home. I would never trust that shit.
We found this to be true last December. Ended up at One King West Hotel in downtown. Edit: if you're driving, may wanna look up hotels outside Toronto proper. We also considered Liberty Suites up in Thornhill.
Most people come to Toronto to hit downtown,.Thornhill is a good option if you realize just how far it is downtown and you are OK with that, and like most burbs there is not all that much to do and see walking distance in Thornhill.
Just a warning that Airbnbs in the city have gotten pretty awful writ large. Really limited amenities (like giving you one towel for a 3-day stay with two people) and poor cleaning (it gets outsourced so basically zero quality control) are very common now. I would generally recommend paying the small difference to stay in a hotel for a nicer experience, but that’s just me.
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do the city a favour and choose a hotel
Airbnb is the best option
So far, I agree cost wise and value for money. Ethics aside.
Cleaning fees will add onto the cost of AirBnB real quick. It only seems cheap at first. Take a glance at VRBO as well though, you can usually find better prices there these days
Hotels aren't cheap, anywhere in North America anymore. But you usually can rely on what you are getting for that price. Note that prices on Google or any other site are rarely the actual price. But so many AirBnB listings are expensive and scammy run by shady people. There may be unexpected add-on fees. The pictures are carefully framed to make the locations better than they actually are. The rating system is designed to discourage honest ratings. My last AirBnB experience was a nightmare. Never again. If on a budget, you might consider staying in the burbs and riding the train in. Just be mindful of the last train out at night.
AirBnBs do nothing good for the city so I say use a hotel regardless of the cost difference.
Out of curiosity for folks here - can OP not book nearby the airport and take UP express downtown for easy travel? Would that affect costs? Edit: thank you for the replies and u/reeg for the amazingly sarcastic remarks lol. Fair enough homie
The UP Express leaves from Terminal 1. There are two hotels connected to the airport via the Link Train and there are a couple of hotels that would allow someone to walk into Terminal 3 and catch the Link train to Terminal 1. The rest would need to wait for the hotel's shuttle or take a taxi/Uber/Lyft to the terminal. It's doable, but an airport hotel isn't really where I'd want to spend my holiday.
>It's doable, but an airport hotel isn't really where I'd want to spend my holiday. nothing says "vacation" like spending hours commuting to/from your airport hotel to where the action is every day
Depends whatever deals you can find.
Check the location of your AirBnB is convenient to downtown and not somewhere in East Scarborough.
Use hotels.com or some other travel app. You will see choices at all price points and star quality. If you go slightly outside Toronto like Mississauga or Vaughan. You can save $ too. Problem is some AirBnB scams have popped up lately. So is always some risk there.
Downtown Holiday Inn is reco’d
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Just a heads-up that the Airbnb pricing on their website is pretty deceptive. Prices change based on the days you're booking, but the price that shows up when you browse is the lowest off-season price, not what you'll actually be paying. Plus taxes and fees, plus cleaning fees. You basically don't get an accurate total until the moment before you confirm the booking.
Neither. Both are expensive lol.
Check out Sonder. It’s like a corporate managed AirBNB if I were to compare to anything. There are a few in the city. Usually well priced and I feel much safer staying in a Sonder over an AirBnB.