Depends.

So your preference depends or your choice depends? Seems like you would have a preference that might have to yield to outside factors - i.e. I prefer a heineken, but if its double the price of a Stella then I may chose Stella...preference is still heineken, but I may choose Stella

Secrets in the Dominican was by far my favorite when I went there for a race.

Outside of that, I prefer full service Marriott.

When not close by - one of the Marriott brands.

I'm staying in a crappy hotel for my next triathlon at Augusta. The AirBnbs were not close enough to the start line for my liking and I would prefer to just wake up and walk to the start line. Then I can just bike back to the hotel and not worry about my car.

If there was an AirBnb close enough, I might have booked it. It seems like the whole city is overbooked for this race though, so not much to choose from.

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https://www.strava.com/...tes/zachary_mckinney

For me it depends on the destination and proximity to the race venue. For Tremblant for example, I want to be right onsite close to the swim start and transition. The lower pedestrian village hotels are the best bet to fit that requirement... we got a suite with a full kitchen on the main floor, so I could roll the bike straight out the patio without taking it through the lobby/elevator. In other places I could see doing an AirBnB.

It depends on who is attending and for how long. I am not sure if Mrs. Billabong and the daughter will be going to Chattanooga, and if so they will probably show up Saturday afternoon, so my hotel is about .3 from the Village. My training partners whole family (husband, daughter, mom, dad, brother, sil) will be there so they have a Airbnb on the other side of the river.

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All I Wanted Was A Pepsi, Just One Pepsi

Team Zoot, Team Zoot Mid-Atlantic

You expect too much of Jim. He likes to be first but without actually answering

My preference is AirBnB/VRBO but that is because my wife and children usually accompany me and we make a trip out of it. Additionally it does help to have a kitchen and some of the creature comforts away from your own home. Having said that, usually there is some type of short drive required to race area...and often requires us to take multiple cars. Always ideal, probably not but works best for our situation.

Camp or sleep in the car.

Stephen J

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I believe my local reality has been violated.
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Happiness = Results / (Expectations)^2

After having an Airbnb nightmare a few years back I will never use them for a race again. I was doing Boulder 70.3 and found an awesome house for our group really close to the race for a pretty low price, booked it about 6 months out. 2 weeks before the race the owner discovered Ironman was in town, cancelled my reservation, then relisted for more than double what I paid. Even went as far to list on VRBO for 3x the original amount. I was left with no place to stay, everything else booked, prices through the roof, and 2 weeks to figure it out. Airbnb customer service is atrocious and getting them to refund/rebook me took no less than 8 hours on the phone. I eventually was able to find another house far from the race with an owner that agreed to accept the original amount I had booked for.

All together it was a total nightmare. Lesson learned, book a hotel. It might cost more and the space is smaller but the chances of them cancelling on you are far less. It is too easy for a person to list their property on multiple sites and basically take the highest offer.

Was I wrong?

Airbnb.

Only because it's not possible to cook in a hotel.

Can't be wrong if your posts say nothing

What are the factors that you look at to determine where you will stay before a race?

Slept in the car with my bike a couple times for a race in SC long before kids and wife...ironically it was the only times I had won my age group. Perhaps I should rethink my approach moving forward.

Have you tried a residence inn?

Dang. That sucks. Some people are just asses.

I've had several friends experience similar. They reserved an AirBnB only to get it cancelled close to the race and have to scramble to find something else - it's a definite risk.

One friend flew up to Boston for the marathon only to discover that his AirBnB was cancelled (the email had never made it to him). He spent his first night at Logan Airport before managing to find a hotel room.

I would only do AirBnB if I had a guaranteed back-up option.

I’ve been screwed by both Airbnb and VRBO owners not realizing an Ironman event is going on. They take my reservation and a month later realize there’s an event and either cancel my reservation or ask me to pay more (which I won’t do). It’s really a shitty way to do business.

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