A Global Guide to Airbnb Adjectives

by Becca Hafter

Airbnb, like the Fiske Guide to College, is rife with creatively employed adjectives. After all, not everyone’s studio can be “cozy.” And now, as New Yorkers are no longer allowed to let strangers use their apartments as makeshift hotels, European Airbnb hosts have cornered the weird-adjective market. Is the prose of European hosts touched by the cultural and economic microclimates tearing the European Union apart? Do their adjective choices shed light on the current political situation abroad? Is Google Translate to blame? Join me in a select alphabetical-by-city review of European Airbnb adjectives.

Athens
Athenian apartments are in the heart of the city, where guests can feel the urban pulse.

Barcelona
Roof, floor and other widely used architectural terms abound as adjectives in Barcelona.

Florence
Every apartment in Florence is quite luminous.

Lisbon
Typically, Lisbon homes are typical.

London
London flats are lovely, obviously.

Munich
Apartments in Munich are often zen and meditative.

Paris
Like the city itself, Parisian homes are charmant, charming and cute.

Prague
Apartments in Prague are retro, unless they’re newly renovated and modern but old concept.

Salzburg
Contrary to the musical history of the city, Salzburg homes are very quiet.

Stockholm
This is not an adjective, but it seems like every listed apartment in Stockholm has a sleeping loft.

What does it all mean?

Becca Hafter is an Awl summer reporter.