> Have you never tried asking a hotel reception for local recommendations?
Hotel receptions are generally trained to only present you the major tourist attractions. An AirBnB host, or a host from a hospitality-exchange community, that you have chosen due to common interests or lifestyles is more likely to be able to recommend niche-interest things like live music, art galleries, or second-hand bookshops. In one Middle Eastern country I got to attend a local wedding celebration over two days because my AirBnB host was one of the relatives and it would be fine for him to bring a couple of foreign guests, but the same opportunity probably wouldn’t have come if I had stayed in a hotel.
Hotel receptions are generally trained to only present you the major tourist attractions. An AirBnB host, or a host from a hospitality-exchange community, that you have chosen due to common interests or lifestyles is more likely to be able to recommend niche-interest things like live music, art galleries, or second-hand bookshops. In one Middle Eastern country I got to attend a local wedding celebration over two days because my AirBnB host was one of the relatives and it would be fine for him to bring a couple of foreign guests, but the same opportunity probably wouldn’t have come if I had stayed in a hotel.