Bnb housing. Using the Airbnb service: renting and renting out housing around the world! The process of searching and booking accommodation

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

Absence mobile communications, the same Internet, problems in embassies - and these are just the beginnings. Whereas now, by opening an Internet browser, you can find so much information that it will be enough to ensure maximum reliability for your upcoming trip.

And what does the growth of our needs cost? Having visited some five-star hotel in Turkey last year, a person will no longer want to go to Croatia next year with no less comfortable conditions. Moreover, everyone strives to find a nest that is cheaper and with more comfortable conditions.

Today I will talk about an excellent service for renting apartments around the world from homeowners, which has found recognition all over the world, allowing the user to rent cheap apartments/rooms in any corner of the planet. We will talk about the site airbnb.ru.

By the way, Russians are reluctant to use the Airbnb apartment rental service due to ignorance of its existence. There are older services like hotellook.ru or generally “oldies” that stay 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 directly from the homeowners, 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 around the world. Airbnb offers not only hostels and daily apartments, for lovers of exquisite relaxation, there are offers to rent an expensive yacht or some oriental palace.

And what’s good is that on Airbnb (AirBnb) you can find a budget option housing in a very good location, where if you rent hotel room, you will give five times more money. Here's an example from Airbnb - renting a room in Barcelona with a view of the Sagrada Familia costs 1,848 rubles

The photo above is the view from exactly where you will live! Time passes and the exchange rate of the ruble against the dollar and euro changes, but still, as a percentage, 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 very story of the creation of the Airbnb website is quite funny. Two guys, being students in another country, did not calculate their finances when renting a room, and in order to somehow get off their knees, they began to rent out their air mattress on the floor. By the way, the name of the Airbnb website follows directly from the description of this story, and translated 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 I haven’t heard about the existence of the Airbnb service, or they have their own competitive site similar to Airbnb, but the Airbnb service is almost not represented here at all. Although, if you really want to and have Google translator at hand, you can also find good apartments here at an affordable price.

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

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

Benefits of the AirBnb service

1. Airbnb is awesomeaffordable prices

Even in the most major cities there are affordable housing offers around the world. Airbnb's website is proof of this. On Airbnb it is quite possible to find better offers for renting apartments compared to private advertisements for renting apartments or hotels. As a rule, the local representation comes down to people who are eager to make a little extra money on their home. In fact, the offers on Airbnb are completely different. If you are trying to rent an apartment in London for 100 dollars, then it’s better not to go anywhere, but you will be gladly provided with an air mattress in many parts of the city. On Airbnb you can actually settle in cheaper upon arrival, plus you will have a local resident “at hand”, who is also the owner of the apartment you rented, who will show and tell you everything.

2. Airbnb is comfort

If a cozy and comfortable life at the level of a luxury hotel room is very important to you, then Airbnb is the perfect service for you. As a rule, many apartment owners rent out their homes in order to earn money during that period of time when they themselves go on vacation or simply live in some other place with relatives. In this case, you will be absorbed in a homely atmosphere with complete autonomy.

I think you won’t refuse to see how the French or Italians furnish their apartments, or what household appliances used by the Germans or the British. I can say with confidence that you obviously won’t get such a vast amount of information while staying at a hotel.

Often, such apartments are rented fully equipped - you will be provided with everything you need to lead a normal life, including a washing machine, dishwasher and equipped kitchen with a full set of appliances and dishes.

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 forclear communication

During the rental of housing, the owners not only look for a potential client, they, just like you, are given a unique opportunity to communicate with foreigners. As practice shows, people are always happy to chat on a variety of topics, even to the point of giving you valuable advice on visiting a particular place, or, for example, giving you the number of the cheapest taxi to get to the place you need. Don’t think about it, this is not necessary - if you don’t want to, no one will oblige you

4. Airbnb is aboutdiscussing housing conditions in advance

The Airbnb service requires fulfillment of a mandatory condition before booking - you will definitely need to communicate with the owner of the apartment, where you will be provided with comprehensive answers to all your questions. For example, how is the infrastructure in the area where you live, are there cheap supermarkets here, is the metro or bus station far away. You have the opportunity to clarify whatever your heart desires.

5. Airbnb islinking accounts

If you are registered on Facebook, you will have no problem tracking the movements of your friends, especially if their profile is directly linked to the Airbnb service. Share your impressions!

Disadvantages of the Airbnb service

1. I don't argue that Airbnb is a great service. But Airbnb, like everywhere else, has its drawbacks. First of all, this is the lack of a professional approach. Most of the apartment owners are, as a rule, ordinary people who want to earn extra money, so be prepared for anything and have maximum patience (especially if you are booking an apartment for the first time) - some issues may take too much time to discuss.

2. Living conditions. Each person has his own moral values, so there is a high probability that your wishes will not coincide with the specified living conditions from the owner. Not because you are being deceived, but everyone has different preferences.

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

4. Virtually no privacy on Airbnb. To make a reservation on Airbnb, you will have to spend time. Registration, sending and checking documents, filling out a profile (which, by the way, is mandatory). The documents will be available only to 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, another important nuance on Airbnb is the possibility of communal living, when other people can potentially live with you in the apartment.

5. Don’t be surprised by the fact that you may be denied a reservation if the host of your Airbnb property simply doesn’t like you or your profile – this is also quite possible. Agree, everyone decides for themselves who they can move in with them.

Please note that it is worth reading in advance Airbnb accommodation reviews or view the owner’s profile in detail. You never know how he will behave in one case or another. And so you can already hint at some common interests.

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

To get started, go to AirBnb website and register. I think this operation is not worth describing in detail, everything is simple and clear. By the way, you may have heard that there is discount couponsairbnb. Would you like to receive $25 off your accommodation reservation? If yes, then follow this link, it is already included airbnb coupon code, and then, by registering on the site, you will receive a bonus of $25. That is, by ordering a rental property, the rental price will cost you $25 less! Agree, not bad!

The main page of the Airbnb website presents the hottest offers from the most different countries world, if you haven’t found anything suitable, enter the city where you are going. The Airbnb system will give you a comprehensive list of offers for a specific locality, and the location of the proposed housing on the map. Airbnb also has many filters available (just like an online store), which can potentially speed up the search for accommodation based on your request.

When choosing accommodation on Airbnb, you will receive a sufficient amount of information in the form of photographs, descriptions and numerous reviews, which, by the way, are checked by the administration for authenticity. As a rule, in the right corner of the page on Airbnb the price directly for renting an apartment per day is indicated. There you can also decide on the number of days and the cost of all services provided by the service.

Well, ultimately, after checking all the data when writing a request to book an apartment, you can make a payment using a bank card. In addition, for owners of electronic wallets, the PayPal service is provided.

Criteria for choosing accommodation on Airbnb

First of all, a verified user profile. Let me tell you that on Airbnb everything is serious about document verification, which is why scams rarely come up here. To register your accommodation (apartment, house, yacht, etc.) in the Airbnb system, you will need to provide everything Required documents, confirming not only your identity, but also your right to own housing.

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

The next item is the response rate on 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 anything there, since it’s unlikely that anyone will give you a complete answer.

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

Don't forget to update your service calendar. By updating it regularly, you will, first of all, save time. Imagine, you are looking for accommodation on the website, find a suitable one, look at the photos, compare with other offers (as a rule, this takes at least one hour if you are planning a serious trip, and especially if you are a woman).

And already when you agree to book accommodation, you are told that the apartment is occupied. Moral of the story: Update your calendar often to avoid wasting unnecessary time. Nice apartments They won't stand empty for long.

"And I changed my mind"

The “inflatable” Airbnb service, due to the huge number of different scammers, has provided various conditions for canceling a reservation. This opportunity allows you to select accommodation directly depending on your confidence in the upcoming trip. Don’t worry, the Airbnb service fee for making an apartment reservation will not be reimbursed in case of cancellation. Of course, serious circumstances are taken into account when refusing, but in this case much will depend on communication with the administration.

The Airbnb website has special “Site Visitor Compensation Rules” that allow you to get your money back if certain misunderstandings arise, including:

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

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

You personally discovered that your new home is incredibly dirty and, even more so, unsafe.

Of course, such nuances do not come up often, but anything can happen, and if you are not satisfied with something in your new home, just contact the service administration within 24 hours after moving into your new place.

Accommodation reservation certificate for visa

Everyone knows that when visiting many countries, the embassy will require confirmation of your solvency and a mandatory place of settlement. None of my friends have used this service, but based on reviews online and on the website, it becomes clear that a printed reservation made on the website is positively accepted at the embassy.

The downside of Airbnb

It is quite obvious that in addition to renting any type of housing, you can just as easily rent out your apartments: an apartment, a dacha, a yacht (whoever has one) :)

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

Plus, it's completely free. The system is as follows: to assure you of a guarantee (the so-called “safe transaction”), the Airbnb service imposes its own markup on top of your housing price. If there is a service office in your country, then in some cases the agency can take professional photographs completely free of charge.

In order to rent out 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 may seem incredibly complicated to some (which is why I gave such a detailed description of it). In fact, this service is quite advanced and easy to use, so at a minimum, you need to pay attention to it in order to keep it in mind or simply recommend it to friends. It’s not that I’m advertising it, it’s just that after using it, me and my colleagues were left with only the best impressions.

And don't forget that when you first sign up for Airbnb, you'll receive a small bonus of twenty-five dollars to your account, so don't waste time and get the most out of your vacation.

I have collected in one place links to all sites for booking travel accommodation 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 an affordable price or even for free! Or really find unusual place, a stay in which will be remembered for a long time.

The post contains the largest database of hostels in the world, the largest service for renting accommodation from hosts, sites for booking unusual designer hotels, overnight accommodation in exchange for help around the house or looking after a pet - in general, options for every taste. Choose!

Classic: hotel aggregator sites

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

Aggregators compare prices, look for discounts and special offers, where you can find not only hotels, but also hostels, guest houses- it’s very convenient to have everything in one place.

Read also:

Free overnight stay

The best way to understand a country and its people is to get to know local residents, and even better, live with them for a while. International hospitality sites provide such opportunities when people invite guests to their home. Just don’t see them as just a free overnight stay, rather it’s a cultural exchange, interesting communication, an opportunity to improve your languages ​​and find new friends around the world.

Source: instagram: @myinterior

Accommodation in exchange for housework

These sites should not be considered only as a way to stay overnight for free, but as a new unusual experience and an opportunity to help people and the ecology of the planet for a week, a month, or maybe more. The idea is that you work several hours a day, and in return you receive room and board.

Source: GettyImages

Rental services for cool and unusual hotels

If you want to live in a lighthouse, in a tree house, stay in 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 couldn’t go and is selling their reservation on the website. You are getting good discount, and the person - money for a non-refundable number.

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 are not involved in the apartment business, their approach in some matters 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 apartment owners - some little things that are invisible to the owner can become an annoying misunderstanding for you.
2. Speed. Unlike hotel booking sites, where you can choose the room you want and immediately go check-in, you should prepare for a trip using Airbnb 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.
3. 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 an entire apartment, but a separate room, then perhaps other guests or the owners will live in the apartment with you.
4. 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, read about a specific apartment on airbnb reviews previous guests. 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 a credit card or 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 has a variety of cancellation policies, allowing you to customize your accommodation depending on how confident you are about your 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 receive 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 is free, since the Airbnb service adds its own additional fee (about 10%) to the cost, 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. Wish great travels and have a nice 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 the airbnb service, share this article with your friends (repost on social networks).

Igor

Julia