I find it a bit naive to take small children along with you into unknown situations like that. I question your judgement after repeating the mistake. I think Airbnb floats on questionable judgement and people are starting to catch on.
Eh, we AirBnB'd a place for our anniversary when our kid was 4 months old. It was his first night away from home, so we were a little nervous, particularly since he was a pretty noisy baby and had yet to sleep through the night. We only went an hour away so we could bail and come home if it was a disaster.
He ended up having a blast. The hosts had two pre-school age kids, and he was fascinated watching them ride their bikes around the courtyard. He was quiet enough that the hosts didn't even notice him, and he slept through the night for the first time.
Kids are pretty resilient, and if you never stretch into the unknown, you never find out what you can do. We've taken him on another (international this time) AirBnB trip, when he was 16 months, and he had a blast again. Though he did give us a minor heart attack when he woke up from his nap, evaded the baby monitor we'd set up, climbed off the bed, walked across the basement, and ascended a full flight of stairs by himself, only making his presence known by scratching at the kitchen/stair door.
Our kids have been all over the world and enjoy traveling. It’s a bit naive to think every child is the same. I question your judgment regarding other people’s parenting.
It’s not about the children’s capacity to adjust. They always do. That’s what kids do.
I am talking about taking children into an insecure situation in a foreign country to the point where you have to scramble to find housing for the night.
That said, I have a friend who’s mom had a need to travel frequently when she was young. She’s been all over the world. When I asked her whether it was worth it for her her, she said that it wasn’t. She just wanted to be home sometimes. She just wanted her mom to be happy so she went along, smiling.