RNB booking. Airbnb - reviews on the use of the service, personal experience, useful recommendations on finding accommodation in airbnb and a $ 32 bonus. So, let's start in order. What is airbnb

Modern travelers do not seek to limit their travels within their own country. If finances allow, many go in search of adventure in the most remote corners of our planet. One can only imagine how much effort was required to conduct international travel a quarter century ago.

The lack of mobile communications, the same Internet, problems at embassies - and these are just flowers. Then now, having opened an Internet browser, you can find so much information that there is enough of it to maximize the reliability of your upcoming trip.

And what is the growth of our needs worth? Having visited some five-star hotel in Turkey last year, a person no longer wants to go to Croatia next year with no less comfort conditions. Moreover, everyone strives to find a nest cheaper and with a large number of comfortable conditions.

Today I will tell you about the excellent apartment rental service around the world from homeowners, which has found worldwide recognition that allows the user to rent cheap apartments / rooms anywhere in the world. It will be about the site airbnb.ru.

By the way, Russians are reluctant to use the Airbnb apartment rental / rental service due to their ignorance of its existence. There are older services like hotellook.ru or even “old people” that keep afloat only at the expense of citizens of the CIS countries. These are sites like booking.com. They are also good in their own way, but the peculiarity of AirBnb is that it is possible to rent apartments from homeowners here, and this is its main advantage. But first things first.

Airbnb Service - An Inside Look

Airbnb.ru gives you the opportunity in a few clicks rent an inexpensive apartment or room in many countries of the world. Airbnb offers not only hostels and daily rentals; for lovers of exquisite relaxation, there are offers for renting an expensive yacht or some oriental palace.

And what's good is that on Airbnb (AirBnb) you can find a budget option for housing in a very good place, in which if you rent a hotel room, you will give five times more money. Here is an example with Airbnb - renting a room in Barcelona with a view of the Sagrada Familia costs 1848 rubles

In the photo above, this is the view from where you will live! Time goes by and the ruble exchange rate against the dollar and the euro is changing, but still, in percentage terms, renting apartments through AirBnb will be cheaper than in a hotel.

Yes, if for some reason you didn’t watch the video above, I’ll tell you again that the story of creating the Airbnb website is pretty funny. Two guys, being students in another country, did not calculate their finances when renting a room, and in order to somehow rise from their knees, they began to rent their air mattress on the floor. By the way, the name of the Airbnb website directly follows from the description of this story, and in translation means an air mattress and breakfast.

As practice shows, the Airbnb service (AirBnb) offers a wide variety of housing options in Europe or America, while East Asia either did not hear about the existence of the Airbnb service, or they have their own competitive Airbnb-like site, but here the Airbnb service is almost not submitted. Although with a great desire and a Google translator at hand, you can also hook up nice apartments at an affordable price.

I like that on Airbnb you can immediately filter the apartments by quality, window view, location, price, even by the physiognomy of the owner of this house and its friendliness, because on the site Airbnbpeople write real reviews about the apartments that were rented from the owners. Moreover, these are not paid reviews, but real comments of real people:

Like any project, Airbnb has its advantages and disadvantages, which I will discuss below.

AirBnb Service Benefits

1. Airbnb is daffordable prices

Even in the largest cities in the world there are affordable housing offers. The Airbnb website is a complete proof of this. On Airbnb, it’s quite possible to find more profitable apartment rental offers compared to private apartment rental advertisements or hotels. As a rule, the local representative office comes down to people who are eager to earn some money on their housing. In fact, the offers on Airbnb are completely different. If you are trying to rent an apartment in London for $ 100, then it’s better not to go anywhere, but an air mattress will be provided with joy in many parts of the city. On Airbnb it’s really cheaper to get settled upon arrival, plus you will have a local resident “at hand”, he is also the owner of the apartments you rent, which will show and tell everything.

2. Airbnb is comfort

If a cozy and comfortable life at the level of a luxury hotel room is very important for you, then the Airbnb service will suit you perfectly. As a rule, many landlords rent their housing in order to earn money during the period when they themselves go on vacation or simply live in some other place with relatives. In this case, you will be absorbed in the home atmosphere with your full autonomy.

I think you will not refuse to see how the French or Italians furnish their apartments, or what kind of household appliances the Germans or British use. I can confidently say that you will not receive such an extensive amount of information when living in a hotel.

Often, such apartments are rented as fully equipped as possible - you will be provided with everything you need to lead a normal life, taking into account a washing machine, dishwasher and equipped kitchen with the provision of complete sets of appliances and utensils.

Here are some examples of apartments

AirBnb - apartment in London

AirBnb - apartment in New York

AirBnb - apartment in Paris

AirBnb - apartment in Rome

3. Airbnb is toconsecrated communication

When renting a home, the owners are not only looking for a potential client, they, like you, are given a unique opportunity to communicate with foreigners. As practice shows, people are always happy to talk on a variety of topics, up to the point that they will give you valuable advice on visiting a particular place, or, for example, they will give you the number of the cheapest taxi to get to the place you need. You don’t think, it’s not necessary - if there is no desire - no one will oblige you

4. Airbnb is aboutdiscuss housing conditions in advance

The Airbnb service provides for the fulfillment of the prerequisite before booking - you will definitely need to talk with the owner of the apartments, where you will be provided with comprehensive answers to all your questions. For example, how are things with the infrastructure in the area of \u200b\u200byour housing, are there cheap supermarkets here, is the metro or bus station far. You have the opportunity to clarify everything that your soul wants.

5. Airbnb isaccount linking

If you are registered on Facebook, it will not be difficult for you to follow the movements of your friends, especially if their profile is directly linked to the Airbnb service. Share your impressions!

Airbnb Service Disadvantages

1. I do not argue, Airbnb excellent service. But Airbnb, as elsewhere, has its drawbacks. First of all, this is the lack of a professional approach. Most of the owners of apartments, as a rule, are ordinary people who want to earn extra money, so be prepared for everything and have a lot of patience (especially if you are booking apartments for the first time) - some issues during discussion may take too long.

2. Living conditions. Each person has their own moral values, so it is highly likely that your wishes will not coincide with the specified living conditions on the part of the owner. Not because you are being deceived, just everyone’s preferences are different.

3. The lack of instant booking of accommodation on Airbnb is also a small drawback especially for businessmen. The fact is that if other rental and rental sites - analogues of Airbnb, offering reservation of hotels, provide a maximum of five minutes to complete an order, then Airbnb will have to wait for the decision of the owner. Therefore, this option is not suitable for people who are still at home today, and tomorrow - somewhere on the other side of the globe and they urgently need housing.

4. The practical lack of privacy on Airbnb. To make a reservation on Airbnb, you will have to spend time on this. Registration, sending and verification of documents, filling out a profile (which, by the way, is mandatory). Documents will be available only for the site administration and, as a rule, the owner will not see them, unless, of course, you offend him or do something else illegal. Well and another important nuance on Airbnb is the possibility of communal living, when other people can potentially live with you in the apartment.

5. Do not even be surprised at the fact that you may be denied a reservation if you or your profile simply don’t like the owner of the Airbnb accommodation - this is also quite possible. Agree, everyone decides who can be hooked to himself.

I draw your attention that it is worth reading in advance airbnb housing reviews   or view the host profile in detail. You never know how he will behave in one way or another. And so you can already hint at some common interests.

How to use the “inflatable service” AirBnb, AirBnb discount coupons

To get started, go to airBnb website   and register. I think this operation should not be described in detail, everything is simple and clear. By the way, you may have heard that there are discount couponsairbnb. Would you like to receive a $ 25 discount when booking your accommodation? If yes, then follow this link, it is already sewn into it coupon code airbnb, and then by registering on the site, you will receive a bonus of $ 25. That is, by ordering a rental housing, the cost of rent will cost you $ 25 cheaper! Agree, not bad!

On the main page of the Airbnb website, the hottest offers from around the world are presented, if you did not find anything suitable, enter the city where you are going. The Airbnb system will give you an exhaustive number of offers for a specific locality, and the location of the proposed housing on the map. Many filters are also available on Airbnb (as in the online store), which can potentially speed up the search for housing for your request.

Choosing accommodation on Airbnb, you will receive a sufficient amount of information in the form of photos, descriptions and numerous reviews, which, incidentally, are checked by the administration for authenticity. As a rule, in the right corner of the page on Airbnb the price is indicated directly for the rental of apartments per day. There you can determine the number of days and the cost of all services provided by the service.

Well and, ultimately, after checking all the data when writing a request for booking apartments, you can pay by credit card. In addition, for holders of electronic wallets PayPal service is provided here.

Airbnb home selection criteria

First of all, a verified user profile. I’ll tell you that on Airbnb with document verification everything is serious, which is why fraud rarely pops up here. To register your home (apartment, house, yacht, etc.) in the Airbnb system, you will definitely need to provide all the necessary documents confirming not only your identity, but also the right to own a home.

Only after approval by the Airbnb administration, the user will be marked with a special icon, which gives the right to take further action. The same situation is with photographs of the proposed housing. When choosing, pay attention to the inscription "verified photo", which indicates that the "photo session" of the housing was carried out by a professional photographer from the agency and, of course, corresponds to reality.

The next item is the frequency of responses to Airbnb. This box indicates the percentage of questions asked by potential tenants and answers given by the landlord. That is, if you see a frequency of ten percent, you don’t even have to try to find out something there, since hardly anyone will give you a full answer.

On the other hand, if the response rate is more than 90 percent, then the owner is incredibly sociable and answers all messages as quickly as possible. And, believe me, if the housing is good, then you have to answer 100-200 requests per day.

Do not forget to update the service calendar. If you update it regularly, you will save time in the first place. Imagine you are looking for accommodation on the site, find the right one, see photos, compare with other offers (as a rule, it takes at least one hour if you plan a serious trip, and especially a woman).

And already when you agree to book accommodation, they tell you that the apartments are busy. The moral of the fable: update the calendar more often so as not to lose too much time. Good apartments will not stand empty for a long time.

“And I changed my mind”

The “inflatable” Airbnb service, in view of the huge number of different fraudsters, provided various conditions for removing armor. This opportunity allows you to select housing directly depending on the confidence in the upcoming trip. Do not worry, Airbnb service fee for the reservation of apartments in case of refusal is not compensated. Of course, serious circumstances are considered in case of refusal, but in this case a lot will depend on communication with the administration.

The Airbnb website has special “Rules for Compensating the Website Visitor” that allow you to receive a refund of your money in case of certain misunderstandings, including:

The tenant canceled the reservation on his own or on the spot provided you with accommodation;

The expectation does not coincide with reality through the fault of the owner of the apartment;

You have personally discovered that your new home is incredibly dirty and, moreover, unsafe.

Of course, such nuances pop up infrequently, but anything happens, and if something does not suit you in your new home, just contact the service administration within 24 hours after checking into a new place.

Visa Reservation Certificate

Everyone knows that when visiting many countries, the embassy will require confirmation of your solvency and an obligatory place of arrangement. Of my friends, no one used this service, but according to reviews on the network and on the site, it becomes clear that the printed reservation made on the site is positively received at the embassy.

The flip side of the Airbnb service

It is quite obvious that in addition to renting any type of housing, you can just as easily rent your apartments: apartment, cottage, yacht (who has it) есть

Much, of course, depends on the location of your housing, but if there is free space and you do not shy away from neighbors unknown to you, then why not rent it out? Speaking of guarantees, the AirBnb rental service provides potential tenants with no less guarantees than tenants.

In addition, it is completely free. The system is the following, to assure you of a guarantee (the so-called “safe deal”), Airbnb service imposes a mark-up on top of your home price. If your country suddenly has a service office, in some cases the agency can take professional photos for free.

To rent an apartment on Airbnb, you need to go to the "Your Ads" section in the "Control Panel".

In conclusion, I would like to say that airBnb service   it may seem incredibly complex to some (that's why I gave such a detailed description of it). In fact, this service is quite advanced and convenient to use, so at least you need to pay attention to it in order to keep in mind or simply recommend it to friends. I’m not that I advertise it, it’s just that after using it, my colleagues and I left only the best impressions.

And do not forget that the first time you register with Airbnb, a small bonus of twenty-five dollars will be credited to your account, so do not waste time and get the most out of your vacation.

I recall my first independent travels - right the Stone Age. It was necessary to write off with the hotel or with partner companies, at the counter at the airport or look for accommodation on the spot, because there was no convenient payment on the Internet. However, in those days everyone used paper tickets, and electronic ones aroused distrust. It’s good that everything has changed, although some Southeast Asian countries, such as Myanmar, are still at that level.

What is AirBnB?

Features AirBnB

6. Host assistance

In my rental cases, all apartment owners helped me a lot. For example, in Turkey, attractions and walking routes were painted, to see everything, they advised inexpensive restaurants with vegetarian food, and helped book transfers. And all this without the imposition of services like "buy my tour". The owner of my apartment in Phuket meets guests at the airport and helps as much as possible. Write off with the owners, specify all the details: whether there is nearby, what infrastructure surrounds the house, how fast the Internet works. Live communication always helps. There are owners who indicate recommended restaurants, attractions and entertainment on the map below the property description. I would say that the hosts on Airbnb will, in a sense, replace you with a guide, help you navigate in an unfamiliar city and tell you how to have a better time. At the hotel registration desks, mainly visiting people who have little interest in the tourism component and sometimes do not even know the movement of public transport. So on Airbnb, a good host is a traveler's friend.

7. Long stay

Depending on the apartment on Airbnb, options for longer stays are available. 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 stays.

8. Airbnb is perfect in big cities

Cons of rental housing through Airbnb

1. This is not a hotel

Living conditions in a private apartment in comparison with a hotel room have their drawbacks. In some apartments and villas, cleaning is paid separately and is included in the final bill. In apartments, sometimes the maid service is not included at all or is provided once a week. Far from always serving breakfast to you. When checking into an apartment, check the condition of the air conditioner, TV, plumbing and the 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 it. 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 departure. I would say that such a guarantee is not a minus, since all the details are spelled out in the description of the housing. Compare that some hotels also take a deposit, but do not write about it on booking sites. It is better to know about the deposit in advance than you will be notified about it upon entry.

2. Speed \u200b\u200bof responses

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

3. Internet user ignorance

Sometimes the owner did not fully understand the functional part of the Airbnb system, and there will be serious errors on the apartments page. For example, the lack of written information about the additional bill for light and water can be an unpleasant surprise upon arrival. Or the owner incorrectly filled out information about the cost of living for the second and subsequent guests. Clarify these details if you intend 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, something seems to be missing.

4. Airbnb Commission

7. Cancellation

In rare cases, the owner may cancel your reservation, although there is a penalty for these actions. You can see all the cancellations of the owner in his profile. Carefully read the conditions for canceling your reservation. There are several of them, it all depends on the conditions and time of cancellation.

As you can see, the advantages of renting a house through Airbnb are more than the minuses. It is worth noting that the system presents 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 house through Airbnb in the comments.

AirBnb is the best rental service with which you can easily and safely rent apartments and houses in many countries around the world. On the site, homeowners place advertisements for renting out housing, and those who need it rent it. Everything is simple. All ads are placed with a description, photos, a list of what is and is not in the apartment. Moreover, renting Airbnb apartments is not limited to; on the service you can find excellent houses on the ocean, rooms, yachts and even medieval castles.

Airbnb rentals take place in several stages:

1. Direct housing search
2. Correspondence with the owner, in which you can find out everything to the smallest detail
3. Payment
4. Arrival and check-in
5. After your stay, you can leave a review about the accommodation (this is optional)

Renting an apartment on Airbnb is no different than renting a house, a separate room or a yacht. The process is the same. The service itself has proven itself on the positive side, it has been working around the world for many years and its popularity is growing every year, which is only numerous, and it is fully translated into Russian, so knowledge of a foreign language is not necessary. Compared to hotels, booking airbnb apartments is on average 2-3 times cheaper than a room in a three-star hotel. And if you eat with your family or friends, then Airbnb is what you need, because hotel rooms are usually designed for 2 people, and you have to book several rooms at once so that everything fits (especially for groups of friends of 4-8 people ), and having rented an apartment on Airbnb, you can accommodate everything together.

Why you need to rent a house on AirBnb:

• You will see the real state of housing in numerous photographs
• You are guaranteed rental security, i.e. You will not be “thrown”, all homeowners are checked by the service.
• You can find reliable housing information from reviews written by people who have already lived there.
• Each ad contains a list of available devices (Wi-Fi, washing machine, TV, air conditioning, etc.).
• You can set your filters by price, type of housing, amenities, etc., which will allow you to find exactly the housing you want.
• The site is very convenient to use, it is translated into Russian.
• The site has received thousands of positive reviews from travelers from all over the world.

How to choose the right accommodation on Airbnb

Knowing some features of the service, you can find airbnb apartments at the lowest prices and with a high level of comfort. Often, newcomers do not know these "rules of a good search" and find not the most comfortable housing. Especially for such beginners, here are some tips for booking airbnb apartments.

• Read housing reviews carefully. Reviews were written by those who already lived in this apartment / house / room, so that they reflect the real situation. Choose a home for which more than 5 positive reviews have been left.
• Prefer housing with verified photos. Photos of some apartments are labeled “Confirmed Photos”. This means that the landlord has provided comprehensive information, professional Airbnb photographers came to him and personally photographed the rooms.
• Ask your landlord for details.. Do not be shy if you want to know how fast Wi-Fi is, how long it takes to get to the city center, whether the windows face the sunny side, what pattern the entrance mat is - feel free to write to the owner, he will answer all your questions with pleasure.
• Better to book a host with a verified profile. Each landlord has his own profile on Airbnb, review it before booking, if the profile is not confirmed, then it is better to find a different accommodation option.

Comparison of Airbnb and Hotels

Is Airbnb Safe

Do not worry, renting an apartment abroad on airbnb is absolutely safe. Service is a guarantee of rent. When you have found a suitable housing option, then transfer money to the airbnb service and not to the owner, which excludes the possibility of the “disappearance” of the owner after the transfer of money (and this happens on some foreign services). Only after checking in Airbnb transfers the money to the landlord, and you calmly relax and enjoy life.

But not without a spoon of tar in a barrel of honey. The service is safe and in case of problems is a guarantee that you will not be left in trouble without help, but some owners may be tricky and provide false information about their housing. But such owners can simply be determined and not book anything with them. Be sure to read the article about that, and then you will be protected to the maximum.

Airbnb and visa confirmation

Booking on Airbnb is suitable for confirming the residence required for obtaining a visa. You will just need to print the receipt of payment from the site. There is no difference between confirming with and with Airbnb, all embassies accept both.

If you eat more than one, then when booking your accommodation on Airbnb.ru write down the names of all people who are going to live with you in these apartments and they will also be indicated on the receipt. If suddenly you did not do this during the reservation, then contact the support service, write the names and surnames (as in international passports) of all guests, and then the service staff will correct the receipt and send a corrected version to your mail.

Some embassies also require a copy of the owner’s passport: a page with his photo and a page with his signature. You can find out exactly whether these additional documents are required or not for your visa only at your embassy (call them or write to the mail). If you still need copies, just send a letter to the owner asking (if you do not speak English, you can translate the letter in an online translator) send copies of the pages and within a few hours or days (when) you will receive them. For almost never need to get a copy of the passport of the landlord.

Instruction manual

Understanding how to use the AirBnb website is easy, but, knowing a few tricks, you can find very good and cheap housing.

AirBnb is the best travel rental website. Travel and enjoy life! All the best!

Gathered in one place links to all sites for booking accommodation on travel that I know of. Here you will find out how easy it is to spend the night in almost any city in the world at the right price or even for free! Or find a truly unusual place, a stay in which will be remembered for a long time.

The post has the largest hostel base in the world, the largest host rental service, sites for booking unusual designer hotels, overnight in exchange for home help or pet supervision - in general, options for every taste. Choose!

Classic: hotel aggregator sites

Personally, I open these sites first of all when I am going somewhere on a trip. As the name implies, they combine information from various booking systems, such as: booking, hotels, ostrovok (some of the best prices in Russia), agoda (good for traveling in Asia), trivago, expedia and many others.

Aggregators compare prices, look for discounts and special offers, there you can find not only hotels, but also hostels, guest houses - it is very convenient when everything is in one place.

Read also:

Free overnight

The best way to understand the country and its people is to get to know the locals, and even better to live with them for a while. Such opportunities are provided by international hospitality sites when people invite guests to their home. You just do not need to see in them only a free overnight stay, rather it is a cultural exchange, interesting communication, the opportunity to tighten up languages \u200b\u200band make new friends around the world.

Source: instagram: @myinterior

Overnight in exchange for housework

These sites should not be considered only as a way to spend free nights, but as a new unusual experience and the opportunity to help people and the planet’s ecology for a week, a month, or maybe more. The bottom line is that you work for several hours a day, and in return receive accommodation and meals.

Source: GettyImages

Rental services of cool and unusual hotels

If you want to live in a lighthouse, in a treehouse, visit eco-friendly hotels or hotels only for vegetarians, try glamping (glamorous camping) or just have fun, then there are special sites for this.

✔ and - here you can buy someone else's reservation at a discount. Someone could not go and sells their reservation on the site. You get a good discount, and a person receives money for a non-refundable number.

Traveling to different countries, most travelers stay in hotels, pensions or in guesthouses. Since 2008, an excellent AirBNB service has appeared, where you can book a diverse and affordable accommodation from private owners instead of hotels. Moreover, the choice of housing on the site was more colorful, informative and around the world. Unfortunately, AirBNB have changed for the worse and negative reviews about Airbnb come across more and more. I was registered in this service almost from the very beginning and I have something to compare with.

For a long time I liked to rent apartments from private owners through AirBNB, so I always recommend this service to my friends with pleasure. But the farther, the service becomes worse and more expensive.

Now AirBNB is not always profitable and convenient for travelers, and I do not want to recommend it anymore. I myself am almost completely, because many options for apartments with Airbnb are now available at Bookings and they are cheaper. But what I will use tomorrow, I do not know. I tried HomeAway and others - everything is not right, and most importantly, the choice is too small. I really like the idea of \u200b\u200bAirBNB, so I hope soon something similar will appear, but better, cheaper and without hidden fees - and I will tell you about it (stay tuned for updates on FB and VK).

Airbnb taught us that booking apartments cheaply is only possible through them. Alas, this is no longer the case. Before you habitually book something on Airbnb, google it and look at the same option in other services - it will take a minute, and you can save almost twice (see the example below).

Here I’ll tell you what has changed in Airbnb, and below you can read my old article that once it was a really great service.

Important changes to Airbnb since 2018

What happened to Airbnb and why renting a house through them became unprofitable and even risky:

• Reservations canceled in Europe   at the last moment - there is a risk of being left without reservation at the height of the season.
    Since 2018, renting a house through AirBnb has become risky - there are more and more reviews that reservations were canceled at the last moment. This is due to the entry into force of new laws under which homeowners fall, which is mainly relevant for Europe and the United States. Most of the reviews about canceling reservations I have met from the cities: Barcelona, \u200b\u200bValencia, Lisbon, Amsterdam, New York, Singapore. However, instead of helping to solve this situation, Airbnb shifted all responsibility to customers - get out as you want.
• Booking via AirBnb is best not to apply for a visa
    In connection with the previous paragraph, they may refuse to receive or give for a shorter period - this has become increasingly common.
• AirBnb support is useless.
  It used to be the best support service I have come across. Now it’s impossible to even find where to contact the support service on the Airbnb website, the e-mail and the support phone number are carefully hidden, and when they manage to reach out not to automatic answers, but to a living person, they respond like robots and can not help.
    Especially when your question is about tricks with payment on Airbnb, the support service begins to “turn on the fool” and pretend that they don’t understand what they are talking about. And the screenshots, they say, we don’t understand where you got ...
• Removed prices from the calendar.
    Previously, you could look at the prices for every day in the calendar and select those days when it is cheaper, now this opportunity has been removed.
• Hide the final price.
    The price that you see on the main page may differ from the final one by 1.5 times! Guess in whose favor?
    Moreover, this is kind of like not Airbnb scam, because in the rules all this is somewhere and not to dig. We just learned how to cunningly hide the final price.
    For example, we want to rent an apartment in Milan for 3 days (see the picture below) - on the Airbnb home page, the price is 53 euros per day:

  Now carefully follow the steps with your hands: on the next page they already write that 50 euros is super! But commissions are added, a total of 205. I wonder where the price of 53 on the main came from.
    In Step 3, the price somehow turns into 206.36 and they write that this is a conversion fee. What kind of conversion? From euro to euro?
    And finally, in the end, we are converted to rubles and the total price becomes 213 euros for 3 days (for this day the Central Bank rate is 1 EUR \u003d 73.90 RUB). How much did you get in a day? (The answer is below the picture.)

  
    Airbnb pricing focus - stay tuned

  We believe: magically 53 euros turns into 71 euros per day! By the way, it is not clear where all the same 53 came from? In general, if you look at the screenshot, there are still many questions for Airbnb ...

  Therefore, do not rush to book, first go to the payment page and compare this price with the price on other services - always compare the total price, not the intermediate one! You will be very surprised.

• It has become more expensive and there are hidden Airbnb commissions.
    The commission has grown: now Airbnb charge 3% from the owner and 15% from the guest - as indicated on their website. In addition, many do not notice, but Airbnb does not force the conversion of currencies in favor of the client, and this adds up to 3% already at the final payment step. Total 21% - it's overkill! Therefore, I switched to Booking, where the commission is less, and the price for the traveler is final and there are no hidden fees - to the client immediately on the first page.
    Why booking? Yes, because it is there that the same apartments with Airbnb are now presented, but at a better price. It seems that the owners of apartments Airbnb became unprofitable, because even the initial price of apartments has become higher than, for example, at Booking.
    For example, here is the same apartment in Lisbon, which is on Airbnb and Booking (it’s easy to compare by the photo that it’s the same apartment). Let's compare the prices for the same dates:
  

  Total: 372 euros on Airbnb (no conversion fees, the exact price will be the last step) versus 233 euros on Bookings (final price).
    If you pay with a ruble card, in the end the Airbnb account will be at 28,449.04 rubles. with the Central Bank rate 1 EUR \u003d 73.90 RUB. That is, the final price is 385 euros !!!

  

  That is, the euro exchange rate in Airbnb is 76.47 rubles, which means a margin of the same + 3% for conversion.
    It would seem that it’s better to leave an account in the owner’s currency for payment, but no - Airbnb forcibly converts to the currency of your country that you indicated at registration, even if you pay by card in euros, and you only know this after payment (wrote about it in their support with all the screenshots at every step of the booking process, because at every step the price changed, it seemed strange and decided to take screenshots, but they replied that the fool himself had chosen the wrong currency, and it was unclear where I got these screenshots from ...). Interestingly, if the currency of the host is “Tugriks” (for example, in Thailand), will there be a double conversion? I did not check. Well, Airbnb have found a great way to make money!

• Airbnb absolutely don't give a damn about loyal users.
    If they offer promotions and discounts to beginners, then those who have been using the service for a long time only increase commissions every year. I think many people remember the commission at 12%.

Why did Airbnb spit on their customers? Maybe Airbnb will change their minds and turn to face us customers again? After all, there was a cool service and still occasionally you can find interesting options on Airbnb, but, alas, less ...

How AirBnb Worked Before

(Everything below was written in 2010 and is no longer relevant - I’ll leave it for history)
  My acquaintance with Airbnb held by accident. In March, while planning a trip to, I could not book an inexpensive hotel there. Prices started at $ 100 and went into space. As a result, on the advice of a friend, I found myself on AirBNB apartments on the 28th floor in the Bukit Batok metro area. For only $ 80, with great views and a great pool. Although the owner in the apartment was nominally present, but I practically did not intersect with him. For the first experience, I was more than satisfied, - I managed and well imagined “how I would live here” :)

Do not confuse rental housing through AirBNB with couchsurfing. “Subscription” through couchsurfing is free, but does not provide either privacy or comfort. Hotels, on the contrary, offer comfort, but they are expensive. By the way, hotels in some cities are not as many as you want. therefore rental housing through AirBNB   it’s something in between - more comfortable than a “fit-in”, but cheaper than hotels.

What do I like to book your accommodation with AirBNB?

1. Savings

AirBNB offers to rent a pleasant and comfortable accommodation cheaper than hotels. This is especially true of fashionable, expensive and tourist cities such as Nice, or Barcelona. Actually book accommodation through Airbnb   on holidays, when the cost of all hotels jumps to heaven.

2. Hotels are not everywhere

You can live in a variety of areas of cities where you simply do not. Booking via AirBNB, a traveler can test a variety of housing formats: apartments in skyscrapers, typical apartments, individual villas, romantic attics and even yachts :) Moreover, there are options to get both a room in the apartment and rent all the housing.

3. New experiences and interesting experiences.

To live a couple of days “as a local resident”, something like a “demo version” is a valuable experience and broadening one's horizons. A great way to evaluate the features of housing and the quality of local life, to feel like a “Barcelona” or “Singaporean”. Especially useful if you are thinking of going to this country :)

4. Chatting with new people

If you rent a room in an apartment, it is quite possible to improve your knowledge of a foreign language by communicating with the landlords. For example, to learn something about local, about the real prices and rules of life of this country and its inhabitants.

How to book accommodation through AirBNB

Register on AirBNB, fill in the contact details in your profile. To book good accommodation through AirBNB you need to “like” the potential owners. Post your most friendly photo, write what kind of “white and fluffy” traveler you are and landlords will be drawn to you :) By the way, landlords and residents on AirBNB have their own personal ratings. The more often you rent a house through AirBNB, the more recommendations you will have. This will simplify subsequent settlements.

What to look for when searching for housing on the AirBNB website

First of all, check the calendar for available dates and prices for these days. Prices may change on different days of the week.

Having picked up an interesting housing option, we study the final price, living conditions and reviews of other guests.

When renting a house through AirBNB you pay the actual price for the house + the commission of the site + the cleaning fee + guarantee amount (blocked / returned)

We study all the conditions of rental housing on AirBNB

Typically, the landlord indicates the following:

1. Type of accommodation: apartment (house) or room only
  2. The number of guests (in this example 4). If there are more guests, an additional fee will work for each subsequent guest.
  3. The amount of the security deposit (not always). This amount is blocked by AirBNB from your card in case of damage (in this example, 150 euros)
  4. Cleaning fee. Sometimes the landlord writes down more money for cleaning, thereby reducing the commission of the site for you (a percentage of the daily price of the apartment)
  5. Penalties for cancellation of reservations (flexible, moderate, strict) - be sure to read these conditions when booking.
  6. We study in the description what is in the apartment: parking, internet, washing machine, TV, etc.

If everything suits you, write a request to the landlord or just click on the red “Book” button. Then wait for an answer. Most landlords respond and confirm your request fairly quickly. Sometimes, however, it happens and they refuse.

If you see a lightning bolt icon, it means the apartment can be removed automatically without waiting for the confirmation of the owner. So convenient.