So You Think Your Kid's Bedroom is the Ritz Carlton? FUYA!

Air bnb is getting a lot of attention lately with talk of users not paying appropriate taxes or undermining the hotel industry but I have a different gripe... What was once a place for inexpensive traveling options that could also offer you the opportunity to live "like a local" is now creating a population of home owners who think their child's bedroom is the Ritz Carlton. Granted, I live in a hot tourist destination (Santa Barbara, CA) where hotels are expensive but seriously, what are these people thinking?!?

For an upcoming visit from my father and stepmom, my quaint one bedroom apartment would be space challenged for the three of us, so I turned to air bnb in the hopes of finding a larger place we could all stay for the weekend. Frustrated that the closest offer under $200 was more than 30 miles from the actual town in which I live, I withdrew my specification for an entire dwelling and found these gems:

• Your own room in a house share in which the couple actually living in the house slept on the living room couch
• A "cute" room in house share with a picture of bunk beds and children's toys all over the floor
• A "whole house" that consisted of an RV parked in the driveway:

Urban Camper in the heart of SB - Campers/RVs for Rent in Santa Barbara

				Urban Camper in the heart of SB - Campers/RVs for Rent i... Camper/RV in Santa Barbara, United States. GREAT location near the beach, downtown, zoo, Montecito, and trendy "Funk Zone". Camper has plenty of space to rela...
				View on www.airbnb.com	Preview by Yahoo

And my favorite, for $49 a night, a backyard camping deck. Yep, someone's outside deck on which you could set up your own tent. It over looked the house pool -- which you couldn't use -- so I guess you pay for a waterfront view.

Beautiful Outdoor Deck for Camping in Santa Barbara

				Beautiful Outdoor Deck for Camping in Santa Barbara Other in Santa Barbara, United States. Anyone like to camp, but find local SB sites difficult to reserve? We live on an acre lot and have a large deck that overlook...
				View on www.airbnb.com	Preview by Yahoo

These were the affordable rentals (all under $75) but there were many, many rooms in houses for $100 and up. And an additional cleaning fee. The local Motel 6, although not the most luxury of stays, was available for $99 a night this same weekend... a room you don't share with strangers, clean towels each day, a pool, and maid service included.

--Heather, guest blogger and special FUYA correspondent

This got me thinking about air bnb in general and how there must be shit like this posted in every city... came across a couple good links!

Worst Air bnb ever! 22 beds in one room. BYO sheets and 30 day minimum stay

Air bnb host comes home to an orgy in his house!

--Beth