I've 'met' with Antonio (on AirBNB), Luca (via mail and text) and finally with Annette (in real life) so yes, AirBNB is definitely a more social experience than booking an anonymous ho(s)tel.
All went great, the booking and our final meetup in Venice was a breeze.

We had decided to take the boat from the airport, definitely the coolest entry into Venice and the Guglie boat stop is conveniently close to the appt. We would surely recommend doing this.

The palazzo with its tiny central square is amazing and the appt after a short climb (pack light!) was cute, light and felt immediately like home. We must have spent 15 minutes looking around and reading all the book & CD covers and staring at the globes and random items. It felt we were taking care of the appt. of an old friend who had just left.
The appt has all you need and my gf's dream came true finding a bottle of prosecco WITH aperol mix in the fridge. Her favorite.
The appt. itself is very funky in every aspect, comfortable enough and the closest to a small home away from home for 2 and a few days you could get.

Ask for and checkout the Google map made by Antonio/Luca and make sure to listen to the tips of Luca/Annette as we had the best time just exploring our neighbourhood and the quieter parts of Venice. See the sites but Venice also has great places to escape the crowds and to join the locals just around the appt. We had the best take-away pizza ever, cicchetti at paradiso perduto and 'supermarket' bread, cheese and meat from coop was 100 times better than what we get at the Italian delicatese shop at home.
We are aspiring runners and had a great time running the 'calles' of Venice and the waterfront. Running up and down the bridges and their stairs made us feel like in a Rocky movie.

Tips: take-away pizza in the alley just North of the appt, anything you need (bread, cheese, etc) from the coop near the appt, fruits / veggies from the market nearby and make sure to take a trip to the Burano island and try to have lunch (seafood!) at "Gatto Nero"

I hope we will be able to come again. Thx all.