Hotel or Airbnb/Vrbo

I have stayed in an airbnb before, very stressful experience. I messaged the home owner about 3 days before we left to get the information needed after the normal booking conversation. Like where to pick up key/how to get in.. He informed me that it is a code and he would have to go by and change it and would get it to me promptly the morning of the reservation. We lived 6 hours away so left at 530 am (not expecting to hear from him before then we left thinking everything was okay) After 150 phone calls to him and airbnb he finally answers and lets me know the code. Yes it all worked out but we were in Atlanta for 3 hours not knowing if we had a place to stay and Airbnb was ZERO help. He had very good reviews so I am sure it was just a flop, but the zero communication day of was really irritating.

So my take away - ok to use for fun trips, but I would have been a mess if this had been my wedding trip. The less room for error the better. I'd vote hotel or VRBO

A house can work, you just have to be organized and vocal about who's allowed and who's not. We're renting a beach house and we're sending little slips with the invites to those who are invited to stay there (as opposed to the "hotel info" slip) and if you don't get one, you don't stay. Don't feel bad about telling people no or kicking them out! That being said, if it's stressing you out, it might be easier just to get a hotel.

ETA: I prefer VRBO to AirBnB, I find they're way more professional.

I've had amazing experiences with VRBO - however, it's always the same owner/condo that I rent from, so I guess I don't have many "experiences".

DH actually surprised me and rented a vacation house for my daughter and I the night before the wedding, and then he and I stayed there the wedding night. No one crashed it or assumed they could stay there, even when we had extra rooms. I had many OOT guests, and they all had their own accommodations. Good Luck Faran!

@MissiePanda I notice Vrbo is more professional too just in the limited interaction I've had with stuff so far

I've had nothing but wonderful experiences with Airbnb - and I've even used it for traveling abroad. I always make sure to ask hosts of any details that I'm unsure of and to save any instructions they give me as a PDF in case I don't have a good internet connection (more a problem out of the country than in since I wasn't able to use mobile data). Some Airbnb's have keypads for entry while others have a set of house keys. You can ask the host which they use and determine what you are more comfortable with.

As far as keeping family members away... just don't give them the address if they don't need to be there. No one can hang out if they can't find the place.

ETA: I don't mind cleaning deposits because it means that I don't have to be the one doing all the laundry. A few of the Airbnb's I stayed in gave me the choice between paying a cleaning fee or laundering the bed linens / towels / etc myself. Depending on how much time you plan to have there it might be nice to not worry about it. I always chose the cleaning fee over doing the laundry.

I would not ever stay in an AirBnB wedding weekend. Way too high a chance of something getting cancelled at the last minute for any reason.

I have used VRBO several times in different cities. I've always had a positive experience. I know you can rent studio apartments through them.. those don't have a ton of space so there might be less hanging out?

We will be doing both a hotel suite, where we have also reserved a block for guests and a house through Airbnb. I've only had great experiences with Airbnb locally and overseas. The FH and his groomsmen will be getting ready at the hotel suite, while me and the bridesmaids will be getting ready at house.

I agree with the pp about not giving address of house to those who do not need to be there, not part of bridal party, you don't need the added stress while getting ready.

ETA: spelling

Where in New Orleans are you trying to stay? I just got back from New Orleans from the 4th of July weekend and we found the airbnb's were more expensive than the hotels. We were in the French Quarter off Decatur. Depending on the neighborhood airbnb may not be cheaper.

The time of the year also factors in. Airbnbs are often priced in the same way traditional rentals are - holidays and weekends are more expensive than off-season times. OP's wedding isn't until August, so I'm guessing there's a good chance that her weekend will be cheaper than the 4th of July weekend - especially since her date is early Aug and not right around the time of Labor Day weekend.

ETA: Agree with above poster that neighborhood is also a factor. Trendy neighborhoods will always be priced higher than more "boring" ones.

@Kelly I agree. The one I am eyeing is not in the trendy neighborhood but its only 9 mins away from the reception venue.

I've used VRBO the last couple times we went to Orlando for family vacations. No complaints other than that cleaning fee you mentioned. The homes were always beautiful and the customer service was great. I get your concerns about extra people wanting to stay. If there is any way to keep that detail mum, then go for it. If not, try the hotel option.

I love airbnb. Just read the reviews and check in policy. In my experience, they've been just as reliable as hotels.

The other concern about the hotel(s) in New Orleans is in the city they charge nightly for parking. So if several BM's drive in then that's a huge expense to add on, since I expect at least 3 will drive. So I am leaning towards to Vrbo property.

That would definitely be the advantage of VRBO. Personally, I'd go VRBO and just tell the girls and whoever is involved with the getting ready to keep the address underwraps. If you have anyone with a big mouth that might accidentally blab the address to others, you could just wait until it's closer to the wedding to give them the address to minimize the amount of time people have to find out about it. 9 minutes from the reception venue is hard to beat, too. I would probably go for it, if it was me!

For guests an airbnb can be great- my parents got one for my sister's wedding. But I wouldn't recommend it for the couple themselves because, yeah, it turned into a hangout for the whole family.

I would def do vrbo over airbnb.

I would do a hotel-- as other's have said, there is a greater chance things will go wrong with either AirBnB or BRbO. It's not a HUGE chance, by any strecth of the imagination, but the owners are not in the hostelry business, so the chances that.... the unit won't be clean, there might be bugs, there might be a double booking (with no other room to put you in) are much greater. I wouldn't take that chance with your wedding weekend.