Rnb apartments. Worldwide rental housing with Airbnb. What to look for

Airbnb is a service that many avid travelers today prefer to use. What is he like?

It offers rental services for private apartments, houses and other accommodation options around the world. In its base you can also find hostels, villas, guesthouses and even very exotic options such as tents or wagons in a personal plot. The site offers a wide base of private housing at affordable prices (often lower compared to other well-known reservation systems). The portal is especially convenient for independent booking - it’s always fast, there are local versions for many languages, the mobile application is very convenient, there is a clear description of objects, many photos and reviews of travelers.

This service is great for those who:
  - wants to save rental costs;
  - travels to another country for a long period (for a long period special, lower prices apply);
  - prefers hotel accommodation to comfortable apartments with a homely atmosphere;
  - likes to communicate with local residents or is not averse to living in the host family.

In general, the service interface is very convenient and understandable, so you can easily navigate the site from the first minutes.

Inside look

So, any person who has registered on the site can rent or rent their housing, earning on this. In this case, the Airbnb service acts as an intermediary and guarantor between the client and the landlord - all payments are made directly through the service using PayPal or by credit card.

Registration is required for subsequent reservations. Add a photo to your account, write a few lines about yourself - this is all that is necessary to confirm that you are a real person. Now you can go in search. To do this, enter the necessary information about the dates and destination, after which you will see a page with available options and a map with a mark of their location. You can limit your search using filters (price range, region, type of accommodation, etc.). By clicking on the option that interests you, you will find a full description of this object, information about the owner and reviews of previous guests. It remains only to familiarize yourself, compare and choose the best option.

Booking Nuances

Using the airbnb website, first of all, pay attention to objects with a large number of photos and the most realistic description. You should not book accommodation with only a view from the window or photos of local attractions. Pay attention to the description: it should be as detailed as possible. If the landlord posted only a couple of lines about his property, most likely you will not be able to expect detailed answers from him in future communication.

Trust those sites that already have several reviews. Of course, if the object is completely fresh, but you like it, and the price and description are quite satisfied, you can take a chance. If after arrival you find that the description is not true, you have a day to contact the technical support of the site and talk about the current disputed situation. In this case, and a number of others (the host’s failure to appear, an unauthorized cancellation of the reservation), you can count on compensation for material damage from the portal administration. Certain warranties exist for owners. Airbnb provides landlords with an impressive amount of theft protection. More details on the terms of compensation can be found on the website.

When choosing an object, the booking conditions (flexible, moderate, strict, etc.) should be taken into account. So that there are no surprises, pay attention also to the need to make a deposit for the safety of property, cleaning fees and other reservations.

So, after the choice is made, write to the owner to clarify all the details for the selected object. And only after solving all pressing issues, you can request a reservation. Keep in mind that renting an apartment with airbnb includes a mandatory service charge - about 10% of the total amount for the reservation. After the reservation is confirmed by the landlord, a letter with the contact details of the property will be sent to your mail, and the amount for the rental will be frozen on your card. Money will be transferred to the owner only after 24 hours from the moment you enter. During this time, if necessary, you can file a claim.

That, in fact, is all that you need to know about AirBNB to safely use its services. Enjoy your travels and have a great vacation with this service!

- I regularly use Airbnb. Very satisfied, especially beneficial in expensive cities: in Paris, Munich, Hong Kong. There are always good options, certainly better than the tiny hotel rooms.

- How did you get the price compared to hotels? As far as I managed to notice, the site is not quite cheap housing, rather the average level. Although, in comparison, the apartment is larger in area, and the conditions are better and more pleasant.

- When all the hotels are occupied for one reason or another, airbnb saves. And the price / comfort ratio is incomparable. Very good, you can negotiate with the owner for a long-term discount. And if you leave a large company, then in general you can find a great option.

- My first experience with airbnb was not entirely unsuccessful. Found inexpensive housing by the sea. The price was so attractive that they did not even pay attention to the fact that there was not a single normal photo of the apartment itself, only some neighborhoods. And with reviews it is not clear what - obviously from friends. The hostess answered all my questions very briefly and too positively. Arriving at the place, it turned out that the studio is the size of a pantry, where even going between the beds is problematic. There is a water interruption, and there is a dump in the yard, it’s even scary to imagine. We immediately canceled the reservation, sent a complaint to airbnb, since the money was returned to the account. Before the next trip I’ll think a hundred times before I decide to return to airbnb.

- And we used airbnb when we went to St. Petersburg for the New Year holidays. We exchanged contacts with the hostess, talked, we even got a discount. We arrived, had a wonderful time, much cheaper than at the hotel due to the kitchen - this significantly reduced food costs. Service worked smoothly, thanks.

- We booked an apartment in Barcelona via airbnb, because the hotels there are unreasonably expensive. Even with the commission of the site it turned out cheaper. But I had to tinker with it — realtors came across, the owners didn’t answer for a long time, then they answered rather rudely… But still they found a good apartment, and close to the center. The hostess answered immediately, we wrote off, asked a ton of questions. She met us already in the apartment and even made a discount, since we decided to stay a few more days. In fact, a good service, albeit with its own nuances, but still worth the risk.

- The problem of the site is that it is necessary to book much in advance: you still have to wait until they confirm, refuse or simply do not answer. Such an attempt to search for an apartment in Amsterdam led to the fact that as a result we had to urgently look for a hotel, since almost no one of the owners answered in time.

- The service is good for expensive cities or for the long term when you can get a discount. And then with their commission runs hoo. If you’re traveling for a couple of days, I wouldn’t get involved again.

- Normal site! Maybe, of course, I was lucky with the owner ... But I was satisfied, everything went without a single overlay. The owner is very friendly, he told everything, he called us a taxi to the airport in advance without any extra charge. It cost a little less than 100 euros, given that we lived 10 minutes by metro from the center of Paris. Will definitely come back more than once!

- Well, for such a price you can rent any decent hotel with breakfast, all amenities and a view of the Louvre) If you orient yourself at these prices, then I don’t see any reason to use airbnb.

Updated 01.10.2020

The history of my relationship with Airbnb: 10 countries and 15 cities, 23 apartments and rooms for several days and 2 houses for a month. What have I learned for myself in 4 years and will I continue?

Honestly, there have never been any serious problems with airbnb.ru, and I am 99.9% satisfied with it. Stop, where did one hundredth go?

What type of accommodation can I find on Airbnb?

Almost any - rooms, apartments, bungalows, villas and even tree houses! It usually takes from 30 minutes to an hour to search for accommodation in one city - I look at the photos of the apartments, read the reviews of the "former" (I also translate foreign ones). I also compare prices with RoomGuru - it happens that the good-old number in 3 stars also wins.

My review on Airbnb

Our apartment for 4 people in Jerusalem - $ 100 / night

Note: if it’s not the first, then here’s a hack - register your mom / dad / friend (remember that the bonus is not entered, but is automatically taken into account when clicking the link), and the discount coupon will work again. 🙂

Step 2   Let's go further - search for accommodation for travel. Booking apartments is available in almost any city in the world. To do this, set the parameters you need on Airbnb:

• city
• dates (since 2019, numbers fall together with the cost - conveniently)
• and the number of people clicking “apply” and then “housing”

and here they are - all the rental options for your dates, from the luxury townhouse in the center to the homeless style tents by the lake (did I say any wallet? 🙂).

What filters are there?

• Type of housing   (whole housing, separate or shared room) - I usually don’t choose anything here, I’ll be guided immediately by the announcements. You can spank, for example, the first option, and the house / apartment will be completely in your - temporary - possession
• Price   - you can choose the border amount that you are ready to pay per day (from 0 to 50 000+ rubles)
• Book instantly   - see one step below
• Type of trip   (for families / business trips) - in my opinion, not a very relevant filter, because the option is more interesting and cheaper can be found simply in the tape
• Other   - if necessary, indicate the number of bedrooms, amenities, area, or check the box “unique housing” (a cabin in the forest, a yacht or a houseboat? 🙂)

Step 3   We study housing - a brief algorithm is as follows:

• see prices
• determine the location on the map to the right (when you hover over an ad, its price tag is highlighted on the map)
• open several attractive apartments
• read reviews

When you click on housing, you can find detailed information about the rules / conditions of living, photos of rooms, reviews of travelers and the owner. I advise you to CAREFULLY go through literally every letter. The site works in Russian, therefore there is also a magic “translate” button. Pay attention to the "Facilities" section. It happens that the owners also include breakfasts - they are quite simple, but still nice 🙂 Plus, this saves both time and money.

Our apartment in New York (Brooklyn) for $ 67 / night for two - it has a robot, a fireplace and even a movie theater (more details were written in @howtrip telegram)

My tips on how not to fly and not overpay:

1️⃣ I never choose apartments about which no reviews or a small number of them (2-4). Although I admit that everyone starts with something, and that cool loft with zero feedback in a month or two will become a super-selling offer. But I, perhaps, will step aside.

UPD: I changed my mind and now I am looking at the “new items”. And all because they, sometimes, offer a 20% discount to the first 3 guests. Armored so twice already, and successfully!

2️⃣ From the whole bunch of enthusiastic reviews, I note those that are automatically generated by the service itself "The host canceled this reservation ...". So, the owner canceled the reservation for so many days before the arrival of the traveler - if there are 3 or more, I pass by.

3️⃣ An important factor is frequency and response time   the owner (can be found below the reviews). They demonstrate a person’s attitude towards Airbnb - scoring or really responsible.

4️⃣ Above the red button “Request Booking” there are several lines that make up the final cost, but specifically these are not always found:

• Cleaning fee   - I don’t see the need if I’m going for 3-5 days or even a week. In principle, it is small - up to 2000 rubles for all accommodation
• Weekly / monthly discount   - this is your favorite 🙂 If you book an apartment from 7 days, some hosts drop 10-15% of the price, and if for 3-4 weeks, the discount can go up to 30-40%! That is why Bali cost me 400 rubles per night.

5️⃣ And someone introduces and security deposit. You can find out about this in the "House Rules" section, expanding them completely. Interesting that he not debited   and does not freeze on the card when booking (and even more so it is not given to the owner in cash). If, after the eviction, the owner complains of damage, Airbnb considers the claim (of course, with your participation) and renders a verdict - pay the amount or forgive. I have not had any collateral experience yet.

6️⃣ Do not click on “Request Booking”   At once. First, write to the landlord (in the "Landlord’s name" section, the "Contact" button): ask something about the apartment or just mention how you liked the option. But be sure to checkwhether the desired dates are free - the calendar may junk. In addition, it will save your money from insidious instant booking.

7️⃣ What is instant booking? The host set an automatic confirmation of the reservation, not manual. Accordingly, the money on the card is frozen immediately, without waiting for the final word from the owner. In fact, this is a convenient option, and overlays (cancellations) are extremely rare 🙂 The red button "Request Booking" is normal, and the "Booking" is instant.

8️⃣ Browse cancellation policy. Flexible, moderate, strict - the amount depends on them, which will be returned to the card if you decide to cancel the apartment.

Step 4   After your request, the owner has 24 hours to accept or decline the reservation. With a positive outcome, payment is made, and airbnb.ru provides access to all information about housing - the exact address, phone number for communication.

What to consider regarding finance (how is payment made):

• Airbnb takes commission from 10 to 15%, the value of which depends on the cost of the reservation
• Payment is always in rubles, not in dollars and not in euros, even if the cost is indicated in such currencies. And it is better to use a ruble card, in order to avoid mad conversion

• If you select "Share payment with friends" - a friend will not be able to pay with bonuses. Only those who book accommodation can use them.

Step 5   Wait for the trip and write to the host the day before to clarify the details.

For the first time we decided to try expensive housing on Airbnb - an apartment with a view of Manhattan cost 20,000 rubles / night for two (took 2 nights)

How to contact Airbnb?

Before booking   For all questions, write to support www.airbnb.ru/help. Unfortunately, they won’t be able to call, they simply don’t have such an opportunity.

If you made a reservation, and there was a need to contact, find a letter in the mail "Your reservation is confirmed." At the bottom there is a red button, go to the Help Center, specify the problem. You will be asked to write or call their Russian-speaking support service (number is free). Note: this same Russian-language support is often busy, there are few operators, so they throw it in English.

Recently I found their Vkontakte page - vk.com/airbnbhelp, there is also a good connection.

What happens if my reservation is canceled?

Canceled by the owner: full refund or transfer to another booking account. You have canceled: full / partial refund (depending on conditions).

If you choose accommodation with flexible cancellation, then there will be no problems. Always pay attention to this. In January 2018, we canceled a reservation in Thailand - the money was returned to the card within 2 days! 🙂 Important: Refund is made to the card that was indicated at the time of booking.

By the way, if you travel to only one country for a week or 10 days, I advise you to look at the cost of tours, it often happens that they turn out to be more profitable than an independent trip (applies to countries such as Thailand, Spain, Greece, Tunisia and other popular destinations):

What are the advantages of Airbnb.ru? Positive feedback from tourists

The apartment where we lived in Paris (August 2018) - 65 euros / day

1. Lowest prices for apartments worldwide. And it is true! This is especially noticeable in large and expensive cities. As mentioned above, many offers have discounts if booked for a week or month. It is also advantageous to rent an apartment with a company, when converted to a person it turns out to be more budgetary. So, in Phuket, I rented an apartment for 600 rubles a day with a swimming pool and exercise machine. Not bad, huh? And in Barcelona - a room for 600 euros for a whole month.
2. Simple and intuitive site. This, of course, is not a very tangible plus, but many services have big problems with this.
3. All sorts of options - you can find luxury apartments with a view of the whole city, a small and comfortable apartment in a residential quarter with locals. In general, the choice and prices for every taste.
4. When renting a house on Airbnb, you get to know the locals and feel the culture of the country. What is quite difficult to catch if you check in at the hotel and communicate with the employee at the reception, programmed to smile.
5. The service solved one of the main problems for many - full payment - and now it is not necessary to give the full amount when booking. It can be divided into two parts, and the second spend ≈2 weeks before the trip. Condition: total amount - from $ 250, date of trip - not earlier than after 4 weeks.

What are the disadvantages of the site? Negative reviews

Our accommodation for a day in Moscow on Bolshaya Sadovaya - 4200 rubles / day for three

First, I’ll say a few words. Here I read the messages, and I think if everything had been so bad, as some describe, then Airbnb would have been blown away for a long time. Well, and through one, of course, the blame for everything is the carelessness of the user himself.

1. If you were advised on a specific accommodation - for example, Michael’s cozy apartment in NusaDua - you cannot find it by name. This has repeatedly become a very uncomfortable moment for me.
2. Payment upon reservation. Now it is already possible to divide the amount into two stages, but back in 2017 this was not what I was wildly not happy with. Money, in fact, is in a "suspended" state for several months, and maybe quite a large amount. Airbnb has finally gone to meet customers. I know you will say that a hotel can be booked at all without payment. But here, when canceling a reservation, ordinary people incur substantial losses who are not so profitable. Yes, and this is offset by cheaper prices than hotels. On the other hand, you can always cancel your reservation (for a certain time before arrival) and the service will refund the full amount based on the conditions that were written in the apartment profile.
3. If you encounter any problems, the support service takes a very long time to respond to letters. And alright, that problems rarely occur, but still they happen. The last time I had a question about a refund. Surprisingly, the money returned faster than the employee answered - 2 days vs. 5 days 🙂
4. Negative reviews of Airbnb abound in the following: I got caught by a scam owner who tricked him into a bad apartment or canceled his reservation a week before arrival. But just for this case, and introduced responses about housing, host rating and the ability to contact before booking. Always carefully study each comment, see the registration date of the profile and housing photos. If you have any questions, be sure to write to the landlord - this is the difference between Airbnb and the hotel search engine, that it - about communication and expectation. In addition, the service is really customer-oriented - any cancellation is accompanied by a discount coupon, and money is returned for non-compliance with the conditions (after the proceedings). But this does not eliminate the need to look for new housing and unpleasant emotions. Here one missing hundredth is hidden.
5. Speed \u200b\u200b- people are not always online and after booking you need to wait for the confirmation of the owner. Therefore, if you book accommodation in the morning and plan to check in after dinner, it is better to look for hotels through either Roomguru or.

Is Airbnb booking suitable for a visa?

Embassies accept airbnb reservations for visas. For example, we did Spanish Schengen and applied several confirmations from this site. No problem can be done for a visa to the Czech Republic, France and other countries.

Click “View Travel Plan” and print a detailed receipt. Names and dates are displayed there.

What other features does Airbnb offer?

With a discount, accommodation for 7 days will cost less than 6 or 5. A monthly rental will be more profitable than 3-3.5 weeks. It happens that a monthly discount starts already from 27-28 days.

2️⃣ Why not take a chance and look for new offers (special icon nearby)? Some hosts make a discount on the first 3 bookings, and it can go up to 30-40% of the initial cost.

3️⃣ Some apartment owners add a flat cleaning fee. It amounts to a tangible amount (who will install it), especially if the reservation is for 3-5 days. Therefore, try to find housing without cleaning. You can write to the host and ask - what if I clean it up myself? :) Sometimes they go to a meeting, and the price goes down. But if against, it is not necessary to insist.

4️⃣ Naturally, the life hack that many people know about is a coupon of 2100 rubles. Select dates and compare prices.

We are looking for a discounted tour.

22.03.2020 Maria Glazunova

Cons of Airbnb

Of course, you cannot say that everything is perfect in Airbnb, there are also disadvantages that appear due to the human factor. Since most of the owners are not involved in the housing business, then the approach, in some matters, they may not be professional.

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

In order not to encounter confusion, carefully study the owner’s profile, the description of housing on airbnb, study the reviews of previous guests especially carefully. In addition, it should be borne in mind that most of these minuses are leveled by Airbnb's “Guest Compensation Rules” (see below).

What Airbnb Is For Us

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

Instructions for use

In order to register, you must go to the Airbnb website. If you register using this link, you will receive a bonus of $ 32, which 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 go, as well as the dates of residence

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

There are quite a few filters in the system by which you can choose suitable options

Choosing the right accommodation, you can study the details, see photos, read about the specific apartment on airbnb reviews of previous guests. The right side of the page shows the cost of living for one day and for the selected number of days, as well as the cost of Airbnb services

After that, you can send a reservation request.

After the owner confirms the indicated dates, you can pay for your reservation with a credit card or through PayPal.

What to look for when choosing a home

Verified Profile   - in order to confirm his identity, the landlord can provide his documents to the Airbnb system, after which an icon will appear in his profile indicating that he has passed 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, then they are made by a professional Airbnb photographer and are exactly true.

Response rate   - if the frequency 10% is indicated in the profile, then you can not waste time on such housing, most likely no one will answer you, and the frequency of 90-100%, on the contrary, indicates that you will definitely get an answer.

Response time   - This is an important indicator if not a lot of time is left before the expected reservation period. Choose, in this case, those who respond as quickly as possible.

Calendar update   - if the calendar is updated regularly, it will be easier to find housing for the desired dates, otherwise each time you will have to correspond with the owner.

Cancellation Policy- 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 - reviews about the accommodation and the owner

Reviews at airbnb   - This is probably one of the most important criteria. Anything can be written in the description of the apartment in airbnb, but if the vast majority of guests praise this place, then most likely it is really good there. Read carefully and be critical of the reviews - not everyone can write directly about any disadvantages. Sometimes a statement is veiled, for example, something like "living in such a small apartment - it was a curious experiment."

Cancel Reservation

Airbnb provides various conditions for canceling your reservation, allowing you to choose your own accommodation, depending on your confidence in the upcoming trip. It is worth considering that the Airbnb fee is not refundable, except in serious circumstances (of course, if the cancellation of the reservation was initiated by you):

• flexible
• moderate
• strict
• super-strict
• long term

Details on the types and conditions of cancellation can be found here.

Why is Airbnb Safe

At Airbnb there are " Guest Compensation Rules», Which allow you to get a refund of the money paid, in case there is any misunderstanding, for example:

• the owner canceled the reservation or did not provide access to housing;
• in reality, housing is significantly different from the description on the site;
• you find that the house is dirty or insecure

And although this happens infrequently, but if suddenly something does not suit you in the reserved accommodation, contact Airbnb within 24 hours from the moment you arrive. Read more here.

Visa Booking Confirmation

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

Rent your apartment through airbnb

As you might guess, in addition to renting accommodation while traveling, you can also rent your apartment / room / house with the Airbnb service /inflatable mattress. If you have a free room or if you are going to the country house for a few months or just want to earn some money in the summer, living in the office is a great opportunity, simple and convenient.

For homeowners, Airbnb provides no less guarantees than for guests, so it's also quite safe. Moreover, it’s free, because the Airbnb service adds its additional fee (about 10%) from above to the cost, i.e. you’ll get exactly as much as you specify in the ad. By the way, a professional photographer will make photos of an apartment for Airbnb for you, too, for free.

In order to rent an apartment, in airbnb you need to go to the "Your Ads" section in the "Control Panel".

Conclusion

As with everything new, at first glance, Airbnb may seem unusual and complex. But in reality, Sevris is very convenient, thoughtful and safe, so I recommend at least trying to use it in order to have one more travel tool in stock. I hope that Airbnb can become a good alternative for hotels, hostels and guesthouses 🙂

To use this service was even more pleasant, I remind you that you can get a bonus on your first reservation in the Airbnb system. To do this, simply register at this link. I wish you a great trip and a pleasant stay!

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 \u200b\u200bfinding housing through the airbnb service, share this article with your friends (repost on social networks).

Igor

Yulia