"Podshare" could perhaps more accurately described as "Instagram Friendly Barracks" or maybe "Open Plan Hostel". The staff was nice, check in was great, and it was pretty cool, but expect to live in close proximity, in one massive room, with 20-80 people, some of whom might have loud arguments, or snore, or have hacking coughs – although the 60db+ white noise generator program in the reception iMAC was very good at masking noise, and I had a great nights sleep! Note that there was no "smell" generator to overcome the robust nose of the place, replete with a variety of nutty, mouldy, and earthy –– perhaps even barnyard –– overtones. I didn't mind so much: I myself had just gotten off a 24 hour flight so i think i made a decent contribution to the light miasma of putrefaction that lingered in the air. For ambience, Podshare has a wonderfully grungy Venice Beach vibe, an authentic old school Venice Beach experience characterized by surfboards, a vollyball net, basketball court, and a touch of skid row. It may be another bulwark against the attempts to all-out gentrify Venice which is great! Although maybe it should advertise itself that way instead of pitching itself as a modern high-tech sharing economy type thing. Even the architecture which looks so cool in pictures is a bit of a misrepresentation: they pods are more like bunk beds on steroids than they are "pods." I have stayed in Japanese capsule hotels which i consider to have pods that are smaller but i love them and they give you a little privacy:" these aren't like that. Which brings me to another dissimilar aspect to their Japanese counterparts: In Japan of course you check your shoes at the front door when you go in and typically everything is meticulously clean. You won't get that kind of attention to detail at Venice Podshare. I have sympathy for them: when you are living with that many people in one space, hygiene is going to suffer a bit, and as a host myself i can say that maintenance for this place will forever be a losing battle. There was wear and tear and deep grime -- which i think they are doing a good job at keeping it in check considering the impossible task that it is to maintain a barracks in a non-military situation where you can't make demands of the guests the way you can of soldiers. There was a bit of a halfway house vibe... the yelling arguments were a little tough, if fascinating. This may be the cheapest place in Venice, but at $65 per bed or $85 for a queen, they are turning over at least a million a year on the place, more of which should probably be reinvested into the operations to bring it up a notch. But I'm not complaining! I got a truly unique experience that reminded me of my backpacking in Rajasthan in 1991, except that at Podshare there are sit-down toilets that they really do keep clean considering the use. There was one oddball thing that i can still mention: when i was checking in i was given the option of getting a towel to use "if i followed them on instagram." Since my phone was not working, i settled for the no-towel option instead of renting one, since between the $65 a night that they charge plus air bnb's fees i was already in for more than $80... which is not very much for me but i am a cheap-ass bitch. Oh and one more thing: if you are worried about COVID this is not a place for you.