The discount private rentals vs hotels offer lower-priced overnight stays. However, with success and corporate greed taking over, senior travelers should be aware of unadvertised extra Airbnb costs.

Hotels, resorts, cruises and other travel businesses have long been infamous for advertising low rates. Then at check-out time they tack on another 20 to 50% for so-called resort fees, local taxes and other rip-offs. Now the Airbnb homeowners are getting into the add-on routine.

For example, to the advertised fee of $100 a night there will be added charges for cleaning, service fees, local taxes and other extras. It could make what comes out of your pocket $150 a night or more. So, when you’re making that great Airbnb deal, always ask and hope for an honest answer: Tell me the actual total of what I’ll have to pay.

They may look cute and cuddly in their unauthorized dress-ups as Minny Mouse, Superman or other famous icons. When you encounter them, understand that they’re hanging out at the popular tourist spot for one reason: to get as much cash as possible from clueless tourists.

You pause to take a photo or just look at them, and they’ll expect money. Often, angrily demand it. Worse, recent city police arrests involve some of the characters that verbally and physically molest female and child tourists. If your group or family visits Times Square, especially if it includes teen or younger girls, be especially aware of unwelcome contact with the costumed predators.

Airport lines are too often long and inconvenient. You can make the routine easier by not wearing jewelry when you check in. In some cases, it could set off the metal detector alarm.

This may require putting your valuable jewelry in the open bin, where it passes along the moving belt for all to see and possibly grab. Also, if you’re wearing items containing metal, it may result in an uncomfortable pat-down from security.

For best results, avoid wearing jewelry while checking in. Pack it in your suitcase or carry-on bag instead. Or leave it all at home for a much less disruptive journey.

Your travel4seniors.com editor recently had an enjoyable weekend at a Florida Airbnb. It was to celebrate a local relative’s 70th birthday. There were 18 invitees, and instead of staying at a resort hotel, an upscale private home was rented. It had five bedrooms, six baths, kitchen, dining and living room. Also gardens, hot tub and a large outdoor pool with views of the beach.

The total Airbnb cost was $900 for three nights. The same stay for five hotel rooms at a nearby resort would have been at least $4,000. Since the trend began just a decade or so ago, Airbnb has become an international sensation. A recent USA Today survey lists the world’s most popular cities for the private service, some with as many as 20,000 available homes, condos and/or apartments.

They are, in order of the number of Airbnbs: London, Paris, New York City, Shanghai, Beijing, Rome, Rio de Janeiro, Chengdu, Melbourne, Bangkok, Moscow, Manila, Havana, Los Angeles, Milan, Capetown, Seoul, Barcelona and Ho Chi Minh City. For more info, www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/travel/destinations/2019/09/05/airbnb-capitals-world-cities-with-most-rentals-top-20