I had an absolutely great experience in May.
I paid $100 to stay with a couple two nights just outside of Boston in May.
The couple were great and gave me a private room my first night as it was free (I actually booked their leather pull-out sofa!)
The pro's of staying here versus a hostel, as I planned were...
*same price
* airbnb location was 10 minutes walk from where I needed to write a test early in the morning (walked there and had a light breakfast/coffee on the way there).
*the personal touch, and
* I love to put my money in real people's pockets
I'll definitely use Airbnb again.
Alex
ps. I also liked the fact that * I could use Paypal to make payment. I was in between moves and had no credit card at the time!