Rnb apartments. Airbnb rental reviews. Property insurance and collateral

An alternative to hotels - renting apartments, apartments and houses - is becoming increasingly popular in the world.
When you come to a foreign city, you want to feel the comfort of home. Most hotel rooms, and you will agree with me, cannot replace the comfort of home with a kitchenette, hanging shelves filled with pots, drawers with spoons and forks, a sink and a stove.

For example, it’s more pleasant for me to sit in the kitchen than in the living room - everything is at hand: a refrigerator with a supply of drinks and food, a table where you can have intimate conversations or watch TV... They probably understood me.

Pros of living in an apartment

Especially apartment prices for those who come to relax on long term— I won’t hide the fact that it’s cheaper, since the products in European supermarkets are much different in freshness and variety from those in Russia, and I think anyone can cook a steak from non-frozen meat or bake fresh fish.

Accordingly, we save on going to restaurants, pouring ourselves wine and something stronger absolutely freely, and we are also not shy about smoking at the table.

In the world of travel, there is a need for apartments from owners, just as there is a need for owners to rent out these apartments.

How Airbnb works

What Airbnb has: a database of owners who offer their properties for short-term rental, has reviews from those who have already used their services, has an owner profile where he writes about himself, and has photographs of what the owner offers.

There is also a processing center that accepts money as a deposit, brings us together with the owner and, within the framework of the agreement between him and us, protects the rights of both, transferring financial relations into a contractual framework: when you book housing, you pay money, but the owner of the property will only receive it the next day after your check-in.

That is: if you don’t like something and the offer published on the Airbnb website by the owner is not true, you have the right to get your money back.

If the owner of the property violates the agreement and cancels your reservation, you get back the entire amount paid + bonus (Airbnb fines the owner and this fine is your bonus).

The process of searching and booking accommodation

You enter the place (This is a country, city or region) where you are looking for housing.
You enter the dates you are interested in.
Number of residents.
And you get search results - a photo of the proposed housing and the price.

There are filters: by housing cost limits; by type of housing: “house, apartment, bed”; for services: internet, washing machine, parking, etc., etc.

Did you choose your favorite based on the photo? Read the reviews of those who have already stayed there.
Read about the owner - there is his photo, what he writes about himself and what clients who have already stayed here write about him.

Well, if everything suits you: book! To do this, you naturally need a visa or mastercard credit or debit bank card.
The money will be debited from your card, but the owner of the property will receive it only on the second day of your stay in his apartment or house.

If you don’t like something, namely: if something differs from the offer that was on the Airbnb website, you can write to Airbnb support and they will return your money and select an alternative housing option for you.

Airbnb Pitfalls and Cons

The ease with which any homeowner can become an Airbnb partner and get into their database is why large quantity outright swindlers and scoundrels in this database.
If Booking.com checks hotels and apartments included in the database since both of them must be legal entities (firms, LLCs, etc.), Airbnb does not do this check.

Difficulty contacting support.
I have many positive results of solving situations with Booking.com support service in Russian: .

It's no secret that anything can happen and no one is safe from mistakes. Booking.com handled all situations with honor: I received an alternative or a refund in situations that seemed hopeless at first glance.

Airbnb acted according to the scenario: we’ll wait, maybe everything will resolve itself.
I did not receive any help from Airbnb, for example, in a situation when, upon arriving at the host, I discovered that the previous residents had extended their stay.

That is, in essence, I found myself homeless in the evening in a foreign city. I had to, and naturally no one compensated me for the Airbnb mess.

It often happens that people who have booked a beautiful apartment (pictured) in fact receive an uncleaned shithole with hair on the bed linen with holes, an unwashed toilet and a sink that was clogged a year ago and smells like a morgue.

In addition, it is more convenient for me to book 1-2 days and change location often - I actively travel across countries. With the Airbnb system, this (being mobile) is impossible.

I remember my first independent travel- directly stone Age. It was necessary to check with the hotel or with partner companies, at the airport counter, or look for accommodation on the spot, because there was no convenient payment online. However, in those days everyone used paper air tickets, and electronic ones caused mistrust. It’s good that everything has changed, although some Southeast Asian countries, for example Myanmar, are still at this level.

What is Airbnb?

Features of AirBnB

6. Help from the owner

In my rental cases, all the apartment owners were very helpful. For example, in Turkey they painted landmarks and walking routes to see everything, they advised inexpensive restaurants with vegetarian food, helped book transfers. And all this without imposing services like “buy an excursion from me.” The owner of my apartment in Phuket meets guests at the airport and helps as much as possible. Check with the owners, clarify all the details: is it nearby, what infrastructure surrounds the house, how fast the Internet works. Live communication always helps. There are owners who mark recommended restaurants, attractions and entertainment on the map under the description of the accommodation. I would say that Airbnb hosts, in a sense, can replace your guide and help you navigate unfamiliar city and will tell you how to best spend your time. Hotel reception desks are mostly staffed by visiting people who have little interest in the tourist component and sometimes don’t even know the city’s transport patterns. So on Airbnb, a good host is a traveler's friend.

7. Long stay

Depending on the apartment, Airbnb offers options for long stay. For example, renting a villa for two to three weeks will cost the same as for a month. Check with the hosts for details and ask for a discount for long-term stays.

8. Airbnb is ideal in big cities

Disadvantages of renting a home through Airbnb

1. This is not a hotel

Living conditions in private apartment Compared to a hotel room, they have their disadvantages. For some apartments and villas, cleaning is charged separately and is included in the final bill. In apartments, sometimes maid service is not included at all or is provided only once a week. You won't always be served breakfast. When moving into an apartment, check the serviceability of the air conditioner, TV, plumbing and integrity of the furniture. It happens that the previous tenant broke something, but the owner did not notice. In such cases, when leaving, it will be impossible to prove that it was not you who did this. In some cases, the owner takes a deposit for the safety of the property, which is blocked on your card and returned 48 hours after check-out. I would say that such a deposit is not a minus, since all the details are spelled out in the description of the property. Compare that some hotels also take a deposit, but do not write about it on booking sites. It’s better to know about the deposit in advance than to be notified about it upon arrival.

2. Response speed

Another difference from booking sites is the speed of confirmation. The owners usually respond within an hour or two, but sometimes I wait a day for messages from them. For urgent reservations, if you have already decided on accommodation, select the option " Instant confirmation"In other cases, you need to search and find out details in advance. Once I spent a whole week discussing the details of renting an apartment in Bali.

3. Internet users are uneducated

Sometimes the owner does not fully understand the functional part of the Airbnb system, and there will be serious errors on the apartment page. For example, the lack of written information about additional bills for electricity and water can become an unpleasant surprise upon arrival. Or the owner incorrectly filled out information about the cost of living for the second and subsequent guests. Check these details if you are going to rent an apartment in Thailand. Some hosts fill out information about housing in their native language, of course, the built-in translator will help translate, but in situations with Korean, Chinese and other Asian languages, it seems that something is missing.

4. Airbnb commission

7. Cancellation

In rare cases, the owner may cancel your reservation, although there is a penalty for doing so. You can see all the owner's cancellations in his profile. Please read the cancellation conditions on your part carefully. There are several of them, it all depends on the conditions and time of cancellation.

As you can see, the pros of renting a home through Airbnb outweigh the cons. It is worth noting that the system offers more than a million unique options - there is always a choice. In my opinion, the options for renting an apartment in Phuket are superior to hotel rooms in cost and comfort. Tell us about your experience of renting a home through Airbnb in the comments.

I'll tell you how to find it nice apartment and remove it without any problems. Here are five tips to help you avoid screwing up your rent.

Sergey Korol

traveler

Usually, newcomers to Air BBC choose a city and date, and then admire the beautiful photos of apartments from the search. They imagine how they will lie on a luxurious bed and how they will have breakfast on the balcony overlooking the park. As a result, they choose housing with the cutest photos. Is it dangerous.

Perhaps, instead of a pleasant sleep in bed, you will have to get up early in the morning to catch the train to the center. And to have breakfast on the balcony, you will need to walk an hour to buy groceries at the nearest supermarket.

We went to Helsinki for the festival and were impressed by the cute apartment with a sauna and grill on the balcony. It turned out that she was formally in another city, in Espoo. It's an hour's drive to Helsinki

To make your vacation enjoyable, look not only at the photographs, but also at the location of the apartments. Find out where the nearest stops are public transport and how often does he go? See what shops and cafes are nearby. If you're driving, find out where to park overnight.

For example, I want to rent an apartment in the city center, in the Punavuori area:

I find this place in Google Maps, and then I “walk” along the neighboring streets in street view mode.

I’m looking for parking, looking at the signs, as if I’m driving a virtual car and thinking about where to park it.

Oh, you can park your car here from 9 am to 7 pm - this is written on the yellow sign on the wall of the building, above the Canon. But you won’t be able to park overnight - in the morning there will be a fine waiting under the windshield wiper

Sometimes they deliberately rent an apartment not in the center in order to save on rent. Before you do this, calculate how much an hour of your vacation costs. This way you will see that an expensive apartment in the center will be more profitable.

Cost of renting an apartment in Paris

Rent an apartment for 3200 RUR per day

More expensive and closer

Rent an apartment in the center for 4800 RUR per day

Spend 2 hours every day getting to the center and back - 800 RUR of your time and another 20 € for two for bus tickets (≈1400 RUR)

More expensive and closer

You walk around the city on foot and rarely spend money on transport. The apartment costs as much as you pay for rent

Total - 5400 RUR

More expensive and closer

Both the renter and the owner can cancel a reservation at Air BBC.

If you rent an apartment and then change your mind, the service may fine you. This is determined by the types of cancellations. There are six of them: from soft to hard.

With soft cancellation, you can cancel your rental even five minutes before check-in - you will receive a full refund. With hard cancellation, you will get a 50% refund of your stay if you cancel your reservation a month in advance.

Cancellation rules are listed in the "Prices" section

Sometimes it happens that the owner of the apartment cancels the reservation. Often, owners rent out their apartments while traveling, and plans may change. This is a fairly rare case; it happened to me once.

If the host cancels your reservation, you will receive an email letting you know. I advise you to look through your mailbox the night before your trip. By the way, if the owner cancels the reservation, then Air BBC will give you a small consolation amount to your internal account.

Make lists directly on the site

Usually there are dozens and hundreds of apartment options at Air BBC. In order not to get confused in them and not to lose interesting ones, I advise you to keep a list.

The list is created directly on the website. Name it after the city you're going to.

Then add apartments to the list directly from the search - click on ❤:

So in half an hour you will have a dozen options to choose from. You can discuss them with family or friends. These apartments will no longer be lost in the search.

Check details in advance

Usually apartment owners send guests detailed instructions: how to get from the airport, how to find an apartment. Guests close the Air BBC tab, thinking that everything is ok.

What to pay attention to

The owner writes that the easiest way to get from Berlin Tegel Airport is by taxi for 20 € (1534 RUR). But you do not arrive in Tegel, but in Schönefeld. Find out how to get there by public transport from Schönefeld and how much it will cost.

The owner asks to pick up the keys from the neighbor. She lives opposite, in apartment 20B. Ask your neighbor for her phone number and ask her to give her your number. Warn that you will be there between 12 and 14 o'clock - let him be at home at this time.

The owner offers to meet you from the train and take you home by car. He asks for only 15 € (1150 RUR). Google transport: it turns out that you can get from the station to your house by tram for 4 € (306 RUR). Politely decline.

The owner complains that there is now an excavator in his parking space and it will not be possible to leave the car at the house. Find out from him where the nearest free parking. If there isn’t one, ask him to negotiate with the neighbors so that you park in someone else’s place.

Usually before a trip I look at the route from the stop to the house on Street View. This way I find housing quickly and without errors.

This is our temporary home in Berlin. If you take a street view walk around the neighborhood, you can see huge park full of weed dealers

I also make sure to write down the owner’s phone number and take screenshots of Google Maps. I can use the screenshots to get to the place; if I get lost, in extreme cases, I’ll call you by phone.

You might think I'm paranoid. However, during all this time I have had almost no unpleasant moments with checking into Air BBC.

Include the skeptic

Usually people think the apartment is nice in advance. Beautiful pictures, view outside the window. By default, I consider any housing suspicious.

When I look at an apartment, I always try to find a flaw in it. Why didn't you take a photo of the bathroom? Where will all the things go from the table and closet? Why does the baby's crib get wet in the rain on the balcony?

So I found a nice apartment in Riga:

But if you scroll down to the photo of the house itself, it becomes a little scary. Hut on chicken legs for 2600 RUR per day!

If you have any doubts about the apartment, it is better to clarify them with the owner in advance. If you can’t clarify, don’t shoot.

I avoid apartments that have too many household items. Typically, such apartments are found among those who are leaving for several weeks. You will be greeted by cabinets filled with things and a bathroom shelf where there is nowhere to even put toothpaste. It’s a strange feeling: you seem to have paid a lot of money, but it’s like you’re living as a guest.

This apartment in Rome is obviously residential. Everywhere there are paintings, books and things of the owners

Don't forget about cleaning. Typically, Air BBC shows the cost of a night's stay in the search. However, in addition to this amount, an additional cleaning fee will be charged. The money for cleaning goes to the owner of the apartment, so sometimes he cheats: he reduces the cost of rent, but charges a lot for cleaning. Look at this amount when choosing an apartment. The cost of cleaning should not be more than one night in the apartment.

For three nights in a Tokyo apartment, you expect to pay 9,600 RUR, but you will pay more than 12 thousand. They will additionally charge 2200 RUR for cleaning and another 1500 RUR for the Air BBC commission.

How to contact outside of Air BBC. The service stops all attempts to exchange contacts with the owners of apartments that you have not rented. It will not be possible to leave a phone number or a link to a social network account - Air BBC will hide this for the recipient of the message.

To contact the owner, some distort the words: Fαсၔbo0к or Inƽαrαm. Or they write numbers in letters: plus seven nine two five...

Please do not try to bypass Air BBC to rent an apartment. The owner will complain, you will be blocked, or something else will happen:

People from all over the world select accommodation for their trips. Despite ongoing battles with local laws prohibiting short-term rentals, the service today offers more than 2 million accommodation options in more than 65,000 cities around the world. Convenience and completeness of search along with unique places and affordable prices have made renting a property easier than ever, whether you're planning to stay in someone's spare room or rent an entire house.

However, the market for services is growing every year, which allows travel companies to develop even faster, occupying new niches and improving their services.

From a designer search service to online platforms for renting inclusive apartments, we offer you a look at 9 worthy alternatives to the service Airbnb from the largest players in the short-term rental housing industry.

HomeAway

American service HomeAway was created 3 years before the appearance Airbnb and is today one of the main competitors of the Californian project. The company provides its users with more than 2 million housing options in 190 countries, which is comparable to the coverage Airbnb. To achieve such a scale, the service year after year absorbed a number of small local companies in various countries, thanks to which today the project HomeAway works on the basis of 50 different sites in 23 languages.

The company offers the widest selection of short-term rental properties, including, in addition to standard housing, also ship cabins, villas, castles and farmhouses.

It is curious that since December 2015 the service HomeAway acquired by a global travel company Expedia Inc, under the wing of which other online projects from the travel industry are collected, such as Expedia.com , Hotels.com , CarRentals.com, and others.

Vacasa

Another American company Vacasa is not as large as Airbnb or HomeAway, and offers a total of 7,200+ vacation homes in the US, Europe, South and Central America. However, the main difference from the market leaders is that the company itself supervises the real estate that it leases, and itself maintains a staff of about 1,000 employees involved in supporting the operation of real estate. This approach allows Vacasa maintain competitive prices for renting your home, while providing even more quality services to your clients.

6-Bed Apartment in Escondido, California | Vacasa.com

Inclusive

Founded in the summer of 2016 in response to incidents of racism when trying to rent housing on Airbnb company Inclusive is an online rental platform with a great motto: “We are building a place where you can travel with respect, dignity and love regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender identity.”

The project is relatively new, so it does not provide many rental housing options. However, the company says it already covers more than 130 countries and will continue to work to expand its service.

6-bed private apartment in Marrakech | Inclusive.com

Kid and Coe

Traveling with children always comes with a number of special features. One of them is that hotel rooms often do not offer enough facilities and amenities for children's recreation. Service launched in 2013 Kid and Coe specializes in finding housing options that take into account the important details associated with a comfortable children's holiday. The offers on the site help parents figure out exactly how many people and what ages can be accommodated in certain apartments, and also provide detailed description toys available, and other important little things for children.

The site is accompanied by a considerable amount of additional information that reveals the advantages of renting the chosen housing for both parents and their children.

Service Kid and Coe has 1000+ carefully selected properties in 50 different locations around the world, but is not one of the cheapest rental options.

Boutique Homes

4 bedroom apartment in Dubrovnik, Croatia | wimdu.com

Homestay

If the deciding factor in renting a home is price, we recommend that you take the time to search for options using Homestay. The service does not offer any private houses or apartments, and all options available on the site include accommodation exclusively with the hosts. Despite some specifics of such accommodation, you will be able to get interesting experience spending time together with local residents of a new city, who will always be able to help you navigate various issues, and will also be happy to share with you the local culture and characteristics.

Room with balcony in Paris | homestay.com

We wish you successful travels!

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22.03.2020 Maria Glazunova

Cons of Airbnb

Of course, we can’t say that everything is perfect in Airbnb; there are also disadvantages that appear due to the human factor. Since most owners do not apartment business, then their approach in some issues may not be professional.

Conditions. The concept of comfort and cleanliness is different for everyone, and your requirements may not always coincide with the capabilities of the apartment owners - some little things that are invisible to the owner can become an annoying misunderstanding for you.
Speed. Unlike hotel booking sites, where you can select the desired room and immediately go check-in, prepare for the trip with using Airbnb should be done in advance - online is not always 100% actual information about the availability of housing for the required dates. In any case, you will need to wait for confirmation from the owner.
Less privacy. Firstly, in order to book accommodation, you need to fill out your profile, provide your contact details and, preferably, write a little about yourself (or record a video introduction). You also need to provide your documents for identification (they will only be available to the Airbnb system, the host will not see them). Secondly, if you plan to rent not the entire apartment, but separate room, then perhaps other guests or the owners will live in the apartment with you.
You may be denied a reservation if the owner doesn’t like you or your profile in some way - after all, he rents out his home and has the right to choose who to put in his apartment.

In order to avoid misunderstandings, carefully study the owner’s profile, the description of the accommodation on airbnb, and study the reviews of previous guests especially carefully. In addition, you need to keep in mind that most of these disadvantages are mitigated by Airbnb's Guest Compensation Policy (see below).

What Airbnb is for us

For us, Airbnb is great option for accommodation, which is located between hotels and. It combines freedom and independence on the one hand and the opportunity to get more comfort and homeliness, as well as to join the culture of the country, on the other.

Instructions for use

In order to register, you need to go to the Airbnb website. If you register using this link, you will receive a $32 bonus that you can use when booking accommodation

After a simple registration on airbnb, you will be taken to the main page of the site. Enter the name of the city where you plan to travel, as well as the dates of your stay

As a result of the search, you will see the found options, as well as a city map with marked points

The system has quite a few filters by which you can select the appropriate options

Having selected suitable housing, you can study the details, look at photographs, and read reviews of previous guests about a specific apartment on airbnb. On the right side of the page the cost of accommodation is indicated for one day and for the selected number of days, as well as the cost of Airbnb services

After this, you can send a booking request

Once the host confirms the specified dates, you can pay for your reservation using bank card or via PayPal.

What you should pay attention to when choosing housing

Verified profile– in order to confirm his identity, the host can provide the Airbnb system with his documents, after which an icon will appear in his profile indicating that he has completed online and/or offline confirmation.

Verified photos– if in the upper right corner of the photo, in addition to the usual logo, there is an inscription verified photo, which means they were taken by a professional Airbnb photographer and are accurate.

Response rate– if the profile indicates a frequency of 10%, then you don’t have to waste time on such housing, most likely no one will answer you, but a frequency of 90-100%, on the contrary, indicates that you will definitely receive an answer.

Response time– this is an important indicator if there is not much time left before the expected booking date. In this case, choose those who respond as quickly as possible.

Calendar update– if the calendar is updated regularly, it will be easier to find accommodation for the required dates, otherwise you will have to correspond with the owner every time.

Cancellation conditions– if you have a chance that the trip may not take place, choose more flexible conditions (see below).

One of the most important parameters in airbnb is reviews of the accommodation and the owner.

airbnb reviews– this is probably one of the most important criteria. The description of an apartment in airbnb can say anything, but if the vast majority of guests praise this place, then most likely it is really good. Read carefully and treat reviews critically - not everyone can directly write about some disadvantages. Sometimes the statement is veiled, for example something like “living in such a small apartment was an interesting experiment.”

Cancel Reservation

Airbnb provides various conditions cancellation of reservations, allowing you to choose your own accommodation, depending on your confidence in the upcoming trip. Please note that the Airbnb fee is non-refundable, except in serious circumstances (if the cancellation was initiated by you, of course):

flexible,
moderate,
strict,
super strict
long-term

You can read more about cancellation types and conditions here.

Why Airbnb is safe

Airbnb has " Guest compensation rules”, which allow you to get a refund of paid Money, in case there is some misunderstanding, for example:

the owner canceled the reservation or did not provide access to the accommodation;
in reality, the housing differs significantly from the description on the website;
you find that your home is dirty or unsafe

And although this does not happen often, if suddenly something in the booked accommodation does not suit you, contact Airbnb within 24 hours of your arrival. You can read more here.

Booking confirmation for visa

We ourselves have never provided a service receipt to the consulate, but according to the support service, as well as judging by numerous reports from airbnb users, the feedback on this topic is quite positive - such reservations are accepted without problems at consulates and visa centers.

Rent out your apartment via airbnb

As you might guess, in addition to renting housing while traveling, using the Airbnb service you can also rent out your apartment/room/house /inflatable mattress. If you have a spare room or are going to the country for a few months, or just want to earn a little extra money during the summer by living in the office, this is a great opportunity, simple and convenient.

For hosts, Airbnb provides no less guarantees than for guests, so it is also quite safe. Moreover, it’s free, since the Airbnb service adds its own additional fee(about 10%), i.e. you will receive exactly as much as you indicate in the ad. By the way, a professional photographer will also take photos of your apartment for Airbnb for free.

In order to rent out an apartment in airbnb, you need to go to the “Your Listings” section in the “Control Panel”.

Conclusion

As with everything new, at first glance, Airbnb may seem something unusual and complicated. But in reality, Sevris is very convenient, thoughtful and safe, so I recommend at least trying to use it in order to have another tool in stock for traveling. I hope that Airbnb can be a good alternative for you to hotels, hostels and guesthouses :)

To make using this service even more enjoyable, I remind you that you can get a bonus for your first booking in the Airbnb system. To do this, simply register using this link. I wish you great travels and a pleasant holiday!

You can read about our experience of renting an apartment through Airbnb in Phuket.

Still have questions about using the service? Ask them in the comments.

If you liked the idea of finding housing through airbnb service, share this article with your friends (repost on social networks).

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