This weekend I tried out my first Airbnb in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I had read a lot about Airbnb and heard spectacular reviews about how this new company is transforming the travel industry. After a 4-night stay in a 5 star apartment complex, I can truly confess my newfound love for this new booking concept; especially since it was only $55 per night and for an entire apartment room (which could comfortably sleep 4 people).

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Airbnb, it is a website and community which lets people rent out their lodging. Hosts from around the world list their apartment, house, or even just a guest room to be rented out. With 800,000+ listings worldwide you can take advantage of both sides of the service.

My experience: I wanted to try something new besides the normal hotel or hostel experience and thought I would give Airbnb a shot. I found a really nice apartment in Kuala Lumpur and booked my stay. The host contacted me and confirmed my booking; then I paid via Airbnb’s site. They take a small percentage from every booking and this is how they make their money. If you are a host, you don’t have to pay any fees and are backed by $1 million protection coverage. If you are a guest there are is a pretty solid cancelation and money back policy. The Airbnb site gives a lot of information about the lodging and provides some really useful user reviews about the housing.

(The main room which was quite big)

Once I landed in KL it was really easy to enter the apartment since the host provided some great instructions and it was easy to communicate via the Airbnb app or website. The apartment building was located quite close to KL Central (3 minute walk to Putra metro) and the facilities were extremely nice. The apartment room was spacious and clean, containing everything you would expect in a standard apartment (iron, fridge, hairdryer, washer, towels, dishes, etc). The main reason I chose this apartment was for the 5 star facilities and the absolutely stunning infinity pool on the top floor.

(Our Airbnb’s infinity pool was pretty epic)

The inifinity pool was a perfect place to relax after a long day of sightseeing and there was also a steam room. The complex had another pool on the 5^th floor, playground for kids, convenience store and gym. I would highly recommend this apartment for anyone looking to enjoy Kuala Lumpur. You can find the apartment link here and can save $25 off your next booking by using this link.

(Enjoying an iced cold Tiger beer and amazing view of Kuala Lumpur!)

Airbnb is transforming the travel industry and creating a more competitive market for hotels and other accommodation since it easily allows anyone to open up their accommodation to guest. I will definitely be using Airbnb in the future since it allows a great experience at the fraction of the cost compared to hotels.