We usually rent through HomeAway or VRBO; haven't tried airbnb yet. But, yes, we always rent a house when we vacation (except Disney) and have never had a bad experience.
We are a family of 5, so it's easier than finding a hotel to accommodate more than 4. And it saves us money because we can bring food/cook. We have also enjoyed renting in a walkable place (St. Augustine, Wilmington, etc) where we can walk everywhere we want to go from the house.
Edit: Just realized that you may have meant staying WITH someone, rather than renting their apartment. I have never done that. Only rented where we had the whole house/apartment to ourselves.