Airbnb apartment booking service. Airbnb – reviews about using the service, personal experience, useful recommendations for finding accommodation in airbnb and a $20 discount coupon

Hi all! In this post we will talk about how to use a website for renting housing abroad. And also about some interesting nuances that we recently encountered.

Surely many of you know about this resource, and perhaps you have already discovered it for yourself a long time ago and are traveling this way. Nikita and I first used airbnb services in the summer of 2014, after which we were absolutely delighted and since then we prefer to look for travel accommodation only there.

So, let's start in order. What is airbnb?

Airbnb stands for Air Bed and Breakfast. The name came about after two guys from San Francisco hosted guests at their home because they themselves needed money to pay for their rent. They had three air mattresses at home, which they offered to temporary residents. Every morning the guys prepared breakfast for the guests. After some time, these guys saw a great business idea in their actions and founded the Airbnb website.

The portal itself says the following about itself:

Airbnb began operating in August 2008 in San Francisco, California. Airbnb is a safe and secure place to rent, find, and book unique accommodations anywhere in the world, right on the website or via your mobile device.

Whether it's an apartment for a night, a castle for a week, or a villa for a month, Airbnb brings unique travel experiences to people at every price point in more than 34,000 cities and 190 countries. Add to that global customer support and a rapidly growing travel community. Airbnb is the easiest way for people to make money by renting out their spare space and offering it to millions of people.

In other words, on Airbnb you can find exactly the kind of accommodation that suits your level of comfort and price. The cheapest option is common room. You rent a bed or sofa in a room where someone else lives. At the same time, you naturally use the shower, kitchen, Internet and all the benefits of civilization that are present in the apartment.

The next option is separate room. An apartment may have several rooms; you rent one of them, but other travelers or apartment owners may live in adjacent rooms. This option is very good for those who have little money, but want some privacy. The advantages of the first and second options are that you can always communicate with the owner of the property, and he, as a local person, will tell you how best to get somewhere, where to go, etc.

And the last option for renting apartments on Airbnb is entire housing. This could be a separate apartment or even a house - it depends on your goals and financial capabilities.

Today, more than 25 million people around the world use Airbnb and more than one million apartments are available for rent. The choice is very large for any budget and for any expectations.

Is it safe to travel with Airbnb?

The answer is yes. The service pays great attention to security. If you are afraid of going to unknown people in an unknown apartment, then think about the fact that the owner allows people unknown to him into his apartment, full of his things. In theory, both are at risk, but in practice we have never heard or read about security problems.

The Airbnb community is built on trust. A verified profile is one of the necessary elements that allows guests and hosts to decide who they want to host and stay with.

Airbnb has provided several levels of verification and identity confirmation. When registering, the owner of the apartment attaches a scan of his documents and links his accounts to in social networks, the guests do the same.

There are two main rules that will help you ensure safety:

1. Please review carefully landlord profile. If your profile is missing any information or photos, write to the owner to update your profile. We always pay attention to the comments left previous occupants. If there are a lot of comments and they are positive, then the landlord is an active participant in Airbnb and can be trusted.
2. Pay for your reservation only through site payment system. Do not agree to transfer money to the owner’s personal account, because... In this case, Airbnb will not be able to help you if problems arise.

What's good about Airbnb?

Let's look at the undeniable advantages of renting housing through this site:

1. Cost. For those traveling alone, the cheapest accommodation option is either a hostel where you can rent a bed, or even free Couchsurfing. Both options are not very comfortable, noisy and not always pleasant. Especially if you are on a long journey and need to work.

For those traveling as a couple, like us, the hostel is not suitable at all. Because renting the two cheapest beds in a room with 16 beds costs more than renting one separate room in an apartment. This is true. Tested in all countries and cities we visited. Particularly noticeable in Scandinavia. But there is an exception - Riga, there are really very cheap hostels there!

Moreover, if you are traveling with a group of 15 people, I don’t even know what can save you except some camping and Airbnb.

2. Feeling of home. The idea behind the Aibnb community is the slogan “Welcome Home.” This is true. A hotel room is, of course, convenient and comfortable, but real housing, a blanket like at home, mugs with funny inscriptions, a guitar in the corner and morning coffee in the kitchen is completely different. Walking around the city, you feel not like a tourist, but a local, because after the walk you will not go to a room cleaned by the maid, but home.

3. Immersion in culture. Not the longest excursion, not the most ancient monument, and not even the most important National Museum, will not help you understand as keenly and deeply the mentality of the country in which you find yourself as the unexpected everyday little things that you find at home. You will see the city and the country as the locals see it. Because you will have the opportunity to become that local.

Airbnb lets you stay in unique homes real people- these can be ordinary houses and apartments, or even tree houses and igloos.

4. Comfort and coziness. The good thing about Airbnb is that it makes you feel free. You paid money for housing, they gave you the keys - that's it. You don’t have to hang out with the owner of the apartment, how nice it is on Couchsurfing, you don’t have to endure the snoring of your roommates in the hostel, your things are safe, you don’t have to leave them in the safe every time. You have full rights to the apartment for the rental period - do what you want. The accommodation is usually very cozy, comfortable and pleasant. Everyone, of course, has different concepts of what is convenient and pleasant; more on that a little later. But when traveling around Europe, you can be sure of the cleanliness and beauty of the rented apartments.

But a coin always has two sides, and a stick has two ends. During all our travels, we have more than once encountered various situations in the process of renting through Airbnb, which are better to know about in advance.

What to look for when renting on Airbnb?

1. The service takes a commission ranging from six to 12% of the booking amount. The larger the booking amount, the less Airbnb service fee. It would be hard to call this a minus, because... It is clear that the company's employees must receive a salary and have the means to develop this wonderful resource.

At the end of the booking, you will immediately see the full amount, which includes all fees and the commission of the portal itself. Example below.

2. Some owners, in addition to the rental price, set additional charges. Cleaning fees and damage deposits are common. The deposit for property damage will be taken from your card when you pay the rent and will be returned to your card 48 hours after check-out. If you damage the property, the deposit will not be returned.

As a rule, a deposit is set for those apartments that are quite expensive and have expensive furniture. If you rent cheap housing, most likely there will be no such deposit.

3. Default for people from Russia prices on the website are indicated in rubles. If desired, you can select a different currency in the settings. Given the unstable ruble exchange rate recently, the rental process sometimes turns into an attraction. Because the price of the apartment you choose may change within a few hours. Don't be surprised by this. It's not the owner of the apartment who's being naughty.

4. The cost of the same apartment may be different depending on the rental period. Often renting for a month is cheaper than to rent for two weeks, and then for another two weeks. Because the hosts offer discounts for long bookings. Therefore, if you want to spend 25 days in a certain city, consider whether it might be worth staying for 30 days and thus saving several thousand rubles.

5. The owner of the apartment is not always a virtuoso Internet user, so his profile may contain very serious mistakes. One of the situations that we recently encountered would have been completely unfunny if the owner had not eventually agreed to meet us.

The situation is as follows: the landlord indicated the price per day per person. However, he did not enter into the system the information that for each additional guest the same amount must be paid. Airbnb is a very well thought out system that automatically calculates the total payment amount based on the number of people, number of days, etc. But, of course, if the owner did not indicate any data, then this system does not work. For our part, we indicated that there would be two guests and paid the full rental amount from the card.

When we checked into the apartment, the owner asked us to pay in cash for the “second part of the rent,” which we did not know about. He explained this by saying that we paid with the card for only one tenant, and there were two of us. After much investigation, we explained to him his mistake, but it turned out that all the tenants had previously agreed to his conditions and paid for the accommodation of the second tenant in cash on the spot. Wow! Either he really wanted to deceive us, or he really wasn’t very smart.

The moral is: Airbnb charges you in full! You don't have to pay anyone anything extra! To avoid misunderstandings, before paying, talk to the owner of the apartment via correspondence on the website, discuss the final amount and talk again about how many people there will be. Discuss all the conditions with him and make sure that you understand each other.

6. Although the Airbnb name suggests that you are entitled to not only a bed but also breakfast, you can only count on breakfast if it is indicated in the description of the accommodation. Read the description very carefully! Not everyone has the Internet and a washing machine. To avoid disappointment with your apartment, simply consider your options carefully and don't be afraid to engage in correspondence with the owner.

7. Correspondence with the owner It’s better to only conduct on Airbnb. Because in case of any claims from one of the parties, it can be used as evidence.

8. When you move into an apartment, together with the owner, look at everything carefully and point out broken things, if there are any. Perhaps one of the previous tenants spoiled something, but the landlord did not notice and will blame you in the future. We also had a similar situation. It is almost impossible to prove that you didn’t break anything.

9. All apartments and all owners are completely different. It is almost impossible to get a complete picture of the property from the profile on the website. For example, twice we unexpectedly found ourselves in the slums, although, of course, this was not written about in the profile.

Sometimes housing is very expensive, but on site you find a lot of dirt, dust, lack of towels and necessary utensils. The owner gives you the keys, and you don’t see him again until you leave, although according to Airbnb rules he must help you in every possible way if something breaks, etc.

And sometimes, you find the cheapest accommodation in the whole city, and the owner goes to meet you at the airport, prepared toiletries, fresh bathrobes for you, stocked the refrigerator with food and comes to cook dinners! All in all, price is not always an indicator of the quality of housing.

Three times already we have received a pleasant surprise. We usually book a private room because... This option suits us best in terms of price. But three times in a row, having paid only the cost of the room, we received the entire apartment at our disposal, because... either the owner of the apartment was away, or constantly spent the night with his girlfriend, or decided to live with his parents. There's always a little bit of uncertainty with Airbnb.

10. Airbnb is a large and busy resource. It's no surprise that glitches and errors sometimes happen. One day my card was charged twice for a month's rent. After contacting the support service, my money was returned and, as a gift, I was given a coupon for further bookings in the amount of four thousand rubles, valid for a year. For active travelers this is a very useful and pleasant bonus.

So if something goes wrong during the booking process, don't worry! The support service will definitely solve your problem.

11. It’s better to register your account on Airbnb at email you actively use. You won’t receive any unnecessary mailings, but you won’t miss any important emails from the service. For example, if you contact support, all responses will be sent by email, personal account you won't see them on the website.

Another nice functionality of the site is SMS sending. Your phone will receive replies from the hosts, even if you do not have access to the Internet. This is very convenient, so we recommend that you also include your real phone number.

12. Please note that some owners install minimum booking period, for example, three days. And also keep in mind that Airbnb provides an option to cancel a reservation, but each landlord chooses flexible, moderate or strict cancellation conditions.

13. This hasn’t happened to us, but nevertheless sometimes it happens - the owner himself can cancel reservation. The site provides fines for hosts, but force majeure events happen not only to guests, so you should treat such situations with understanding. As a rule, in the host’s profile there will be a note that he once canceled a paid reservation for someone.

14. Lastly, remember that renting on Airbnb is this is not the same as booking a room in a hotel or hostel. Some landlords do not respond immediately, the available dates may be incorrectly indicated in your profile, and in addition, you may be refused to rent if the owner does not like your profile, and this is his full right.

Therefore, it is better to look for accommodation on Airbnb in advance, have your profile filled out correctly, and also expect that during the “hot” seasons it can be very difficult to find an apartment. For example, during the carnival period in Rio, inexpensive housing on Airbnb was sold out in another two months.

25$

Friends, we hope this post was useful to you! We talked about all the nuances that we considered important and worth your attention. If you don't yet have an Airbnb account, we suggest you follow this link: www.airbnb.ru/c/ndatsko1?s=8 and register (copy and paste the link into the address bar). You'll immediately receive $25 that you can use on any booking. Well, we will also get $25. :)

If you have experience using Airbnb or you prefer another way of finding accommodation when traveling, write in the comments, we are interested to know how our friends and acquaintances travel. Also, if you have any questions about renting housing, we will be happy to answer them, write!

The booking procedure, meeting with the host, check-in and check-out is written in detail in Countries for living, traveling and remote work | Nomadlist How to book a hotel on your own and cheaply: booking hotels on Booking.com

P.S. By the way, all blog subscribers receive from our partners.

Useful note for travelers who use the Airbnb service. Find at least some technical support contacts on the site Airbnb.com almost impossible. I don’t know if Airbnb purposely hid their phone number or if these are original usability features. But the fact is that there is no public support phone number anywhere on their website. But this is very important.

Airbnb phones in Russia

Where can I order a transfer from the airport?

We use the service - KiwiTaxi
We ordered a taxi online and paid by card. We were met at the airport with a sign with our name on it. We were taken to the hotel in a comfortable car. You've already talked about your experience In this article.

It’s strange, of course, that such a reputable company hides its contacts. If their phones are ringing off the hook, we should introduce a modern telephony system and increase the number of operators. Users overpay for service fees, and in the event of a refund or a technical error on the site, it is not very clear how to contact Airbnb in Russia.

There seems to be an Airbnb technical support service, but it doesn’t have a phone number or email. More precisely, there is a phone number, but to find it out, you need to ask in groups on social media. networks, then maybe one of the moderators will give you a phone number... This is such a confusing system.

So, here are the Airbnb phone numbers:

• +7-495-465-8090 (number for calls from Moscow)
• 8-800-301-7104 (toll-free)

Airbnb support numbers in other countries around the world

I managed to obtain these phones by cunning through the source code of one page of the official website: airbnb.ru/help/contact_us. That is, somehow, apparently, it is possible to get a list of these numbers, but logically I still did not understand how to do this. And a client who urgently needs an Airbnb support phone number certainly won’t figure it out. Next, see the list of telephone numbers in different countries Oh. Please note that the language of communication on these numbers will be English.

Today I’ll tell you about the service, which was created in 2008 and is increasingly gaining popularity among travelers. Read also about ours in Bangkok.

You will learn how to register and book accommodation on Airbnb, how to get a $25 discount coupon, and also tell you why the service is interesting and profitable.

What is Airbnb and how does it work?

Many travelers are already accustomed to accommodation booking systems, such as Booking or, where you can choose a hotel to suit your taste and budget in almost any country in the world. But hotels are not always the best option for accommodation - sometimes apartments and apartments are more convenient to rent. This is what Airbnb helps with. We must admit, we just recently started booking accommodation through Airbnb, and now we will help you figure it out too.

Airbnb is rental housing around the world from apartment owners. Housing can be either individual rooms, houses, apartments, or interesting options such as trailers, castles and islands. Now the system already includes more than 34,000 cities in 190 countries.

It turns out that Airbnb acts as an intermediary between those who want to rent out their apartment, house or room and those who want to rent this property. Naturally, the service takes a commission for such a bridge. For this fee, Airbnb provides a financial guarantee against all sorts of troubles, when you can contact a 24-hour support center and get a refund or resolve other issues if something goes wrong.

Why is Airbnb interesting and beneficial?

• The service is especially relevant for expensive cities such as Singapore, Paris, other capitals and major cities, where hotel prices are steep. But you can rent an apartment in Airbnb for 20-40 dollars, and at a decent level. For that kind of money, in some cities hotels only offer small rooms.
• The possibility of live communication over a cup of tea with the owner, a conversation with whom will help you get to know the country even more deeply and get interesting information.
• Apartments are especially profitable to rent big company or a family with a child, when having a kitchen and separate space is very desirable. Per person, it is often cheaper than a hotel, even very decent apartments, the equivalents of which in hotels are very expensive.
• An Airbnb reservation is visa-compliant, meaning a printout of the reservation can be provided to the consulate
• Interesting accommodation options, not the same type of chain hotels. For example, here.

How to register with Airbnb and get a $25 coupon

Upon transition you will receive from us personal Airbnb coupon for $25 for your first booking (works if its value exceeds $75). For example, if you rent an apartment for 3 days for $27 per day, then you will pay not $81, but only $56! This coupon is stored for a whole year, and even if you didn’t use it the first time, you can do so later.

$25 Airbnb coupon from us!

2. Click on the “get discount” button

3. Now you need to register. You can do this using your Facebook or Google+ accounts, or as usual via e-mail.

4. After registration, you need to confirm your profile - it’s simple and won’t take more than 3 minutes, follow the service prompts in your personal account.

Account verification methods

Account verification methods:

• Email
• Phone number
• Your profile photo
• Linking social networks to your account
• Sending a scan of your passport/driver's license.

Why do you need a verified Airbnb profile?

By confirming your profile, both you and the owner prove that you really exist, thus increasing trust. After all, Airbnb is not only a booking service, but also a community of travelers.

Often people choose to live with a confirmed owner of the apartment (the corresponding icon appears opposite him) and I advise you to do so. Also, confirmed guests are more highly valued))

How to rent a home on Airbnb

Now is the time to book your accommodation on Airbnb. We go to the official website and enter the city and dates we need into the search bar.

Search for apartments around the world on Airbnb

All available options appear, and to the right of them is a map, which is very convenient to look at by area, moving and moving.

Booking on Airbnb - search results with filters and map

Pay attention to the filters - there are several of them. You can select the type of accommodation, price range and others. More filters are available by clicking the “More filters” button - you can clearly define your housing requirements.

How to rent an apartment on Airbnb - choosing options

We choose the options we like and read about them carefully. There is a section “House Rules”, there are various conditions: is it possible to smoke, is it possible to have pets, what kind of beds, internet, bathroom, etc.

Read the description and house rules

Pay attention to reviews and whether the owner's account is verified. If not, then there is some risk, and perhaps this is just a new participant, and they did not have time to write reviews. When viewing photos, it is very good if the photo has a “Verified” icon in the upper right corner - this means that an Airbnb photographer visited this place and the photos correspond to reality.

Reviews of the apartment on Airbnb

Reviews of the property owner and his verified profile

Also pay attention to the cancellation conditions, there are several types: in some cases you can return the entire amount minus the service fee, in some cases the money is partially returned or not returned at all. You can read more at.

Cleaning fee. In some cases, a cleaning fee is included and is quite large. Be careful.

In some variants it is taken deposit for the safety of property. Nothing is deducted from you; in case of property damage, the host must send you a request for payment through Airbnb after you check out.

The description says how many people the housing is designed for. In some cases, additional people are paid (the amount is indicated in the description), in some cases it is free.

We contact the owner of the apartment, find out the details that interest us and determine its adequacy, if required :-). If you don’t know English, then enter the Russian text into Google Translator and copy it.

Button to contact the property owner and booking button

Airbnb accommodation reservation and payment

1. Next, send a reservation request. Here you will need to enter data bank card or PayPal wallet. The billing address is your address, more precisely the one that you indicated when you issued the bank card with which you pay for this accommodation. The host has 24 hours to confirm your request.

2. Instant Booking is available for some options. In this case, the reservation occurs immediately, just like in Booking or other similar services.

3. After the owner has confirmed the request and the payment has gone through, you will receive a receipt by e-mail and detailed instructions with the owner’s contacts and housing address. An SMS is also sent to your phone. Your money remains in the system and is transferred to the owner only after the first day of your stay.

A confirmation receipt appears in your personal account

If you registered using , and your booking is more than $75, then you will receive an Airbnb coupon worth $25. This amount is reflected after clicking the “Book instantly” or “Request booking” button in the “coupon” column, as in the screenshot.

Airbnb $25 discount on first booking!

We will be very grateful if you register using our link - you will feel good, and we will receive a small bonus from Airbnb. :-) Thank you!

That's all we wanted to tell you about how to rent a home on Airbnb. We will soon publish an article with answers to frequently asked questions. See you and happy travels!

The history of my relationship with Airbnb: 10 countries and 15 cities, 17 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?

To be honest, I have never had any serious problems with airbnb.ru, and I am 99.9% satisfied with it. Wait, where did one hundredth go?

What kind of accommodation can you find on Airbnb?

Almost anything - rooms, apartments, bungalows, villas and even tree houses! Searching for an accommodation option in one city usually takes from 30 minutes to an hour - I look at photos of apartments, read reviews of those who have been there (I also translate foreign ones). I also compare prices with RoomGuru - it happens that the good old 3-star room wins.

My review of the Airbnb website

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

Note: if not the first time, then here’s a life hack - register your mom/dad/friend (remember that the bonus is not entered, but is automatically counted when you click on the link), and the discount coupon will work again. 🙂

Step 2. Let's move on - looking for accommodation for the trip. Apartment booking is available in almost any city in the world. To do this, set the parameters you need on Airbnb:

• city
• dates (from 2019 the numbers appear along with the cost - convenient)
• and the number of people by clicking “apply” and then “accommodation”

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

What filters are there?

• Housing type(entire housing, separate or shared room) - I usually don’t choose anything here, I’m guided directly by the advertisements. You can click, for example, the first option, and the house/apartment will be completely in your – temporary – possession
• Price– you can choose a limit amount that you are willing to pay per day (from 0 to 50,000+ rubles)
• Book instantly– see step below
• Trip type(for families/business trips) – in my opinion, not a completely relevant filter, because a more interesting and cheaper option can be found simply in the feed
• Other– if necessary, indicate the number of bedrooms, amenities, area, or check the box for “unique housing” (hut in the forest, yacht or houseboat? :)

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

• look at prices
• determine the location on the map on the right (when you hover over an ad, its price tag is highlighted on the map)
• We are opening several apartments that you like
• read reviews

When you click on an accommodation, you can find detailed information about the rules/conditions of accommodation, photographs of rooms, reviews from travelers and the owner. I advise you to CAREFULLY go through literally every letter. The site works in Russian, so there is a magic “translate” button. Pay attention to the "Amenities" section. It happens that owners also include breakfast - they are quite simple, but still nice :) Plus, it 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 cinema (we wrote more in the telegram @howtrip)

My tips on how not to fly by and not overpay:

1️⃣ I never choose apartments that no reviews or a small number of them (2-4). Although I admit that everyone starts somewhere, and that cool loft with zero responses will become a super-selling offer in a month or two. But I’ll probably give him a wide berth.

UPD: I changed my mind and now I’m looking at the “new items”. And all because they sometimes offer a 20% discount to the first 3 guests. I’ve booked this way twice already, and successfully!

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

3️⃣ Important factor - frequency and response time owner (can be found below reviews). They demonstrate a person’s attitude towards Airbnb – whether he’s scoring or really being responsible.

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

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

5️⃣ And someone enters and security deposit. You can find out about this in the “House Rules” section, expanding them completely. I wonder what he not written off and is not frozen on the card when booking (and certainly not given to the owner in cash). If, after eviction, the owner complains about damage, Airbnb reviews the claim (with your participation, of course) and makes a verdict - pay the amount or forgive. I haven't had any experience with collateral yet.

6️⃣ Don't click on "Request Booking" At once. First, write to the owner (in the “Owner’s name” section there is a “Contact” button): ask something about the apartment or simply mention how you liked the option. But be sure to check whether the desired dates are free - the calendar may be acting up. Plus, it will save your money from the insidious instant booking.

7️⃣ What is "Instant Book"? The host set up an automatic confirmation of the reservation, not a manual one. 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 cancellations (cancellations) are extremely rare :) The red “Request Booking” button is normal, and “Booking” is instant.

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

Step 4. After your request, the host has 24 hours to accept or decline the reservation. If the outcome is positive, payment is made, and airbnb.ru opens access to all information about housing - the exact address, phone number for contact.

Things to consider regarding finances (how payments are made):

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

• If you select “Split payment with friends,” your friend will not be able to pay with bonuses. They can only be used by the person who books the accommodation.

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

Entrance to a house in the center of Barcelona where we rented an apartment - 30 euros/day

How to contact Airbnb?

Before booking For any questions, write to support www.airbnb.ru/help. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to call, they simply don’t have that option.

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

I recently discovered their VKontakte page - vk.com/airbnbhelp, there is also a good connection there.

What happens if a booking is cancelled?

Canceled by the host: full refund or credit towards another booking. You canceled: full/partial refund (depending on conditions).

If you choose accommodation with flexible cancellation, 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: The refund is made to the card that was specified when booking.

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

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

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

1. The most low prices for apartments all over the world. And it is true! This is especially noticeable in large and expensive cities. As mentioned above, many offers are discounted if you book for a week or a month. It is also profitable to rent an apartment with a group; when calculated per person, it is cheaper. You can find cool offers for quite reasonable money. So, in Phuket I rented an apartment for 600 rubles a day with a swimming pool and a gym. Not bad, right? And in Barcelona - a room for 600 euros for a whole month.
2. Simple and clear site. This, of course, is not a completely tangible advantage, but many services have big problems with this.
3. All kinds of options - you can find luxurious apartments with a view of the entire city, a small and cozy apartment in a residential area with locals. In general, there is a choice and prices for every taste.
4. By renting accommodation on Airbnb, you get to know the locals and get a feel for the culture of the country. Which is quite difficult to grasp if you check into a hotel and communicate with a receptionist programmed to smile.
5. The service has solved one of the main problems for many - full payment - and now it is not necessary to pay the full amount when booking. You can split it into two parts, and spend the second ≈2 weeks before the trip. Condition: total amount – from $250, travel date – no earlier than 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. I read the messages, and I think if everything was as bad as some people describe, Airbnb would have gone under a long time ago. Well, and through one, of course, everything is to blame - the inattention of the user himself.

1. If you were advised of a specific accommodation - for example, Michael’s cozy apartment in NusaDua - you will not be able to find it by name. This has become a very uncomfortable moment for me more than once.
2. Payment upon booking. Now it is possible to divide the amount into two stages, but back in 2017 this was not the case, which did not suit me at all. The money, in fact, is in a “suspended” state for several months, and maybe even quite a large amount. Airbnb has finally met its customers. I know you will say that you can book a hotel without paying at all. But here, when canceling a booking, significant losses are incurred by ordinary people, for whom this is not exactly profitable. And this is compensated by cheaper prices than hotels. On the other hand, you can always cancel your reservation (a certain time before check-in) and the service will return the full amount based on the conditions that were specified in the apartment’s profile.
3. If any problems arise, the support service takes a very long time to respond to emails. And it’s okay that problems arise rarely, but they still happen. The last time I had a question about a refund. Surprisingly, the money was returned faster than the employee responded - 2 days vs. 5 days :)
4. Negative reviews about Airbnb abound with the following: you fell for a fraudulent host who tricked you into getting a bad apartment or canceled your reservation a week before check-in. But just for such a case, reviews of accommodation, host ratings and the ability to contact before booking have been introduced. Always carefully study each comment, look at the profile registration date and photos of the property. If you have any questions, be sure to write to the landlord - this is the difference between Airbnb and a hotel search engine, that it - about communication and waiting. In addition, the service is truly customer-oriented - any cancellation is accompanied by a discount coupon, and for non-compliance with the conditions, money is returned (after proceedings). But this does not eliminate the need to look for new housing and unpleasant emotions. This is where the one missing hundredth is hidden.
5. Speed ​​– people are not always online and after booking you need to wait for the owner’s confirmation. Therefore, if you book accommodation in the morning and plan to check in in the afternoon, it is better to search for hotels through Roomguru.

By the way, if you chose Booking, check: did you receive a refund of 1,000 rubles >> from a booking of 8,000 rubles? :)

Is Airbnb booking eligible for visa?

Embassies accept airbnb reservations for visa. For example, we did the Spanish Schengen and attached several confirmations from this site. Without any problems, you can apply for a visa to the Czech Republic, France and other countries.

Click "View Trip Plan" and print your detailed receipt. Names and dates are displayed there.

What other options does Airbnb offer?

In addition to housing on Airbnb, it has become possible to book various entertainment and events with locals. For example, we booked:

• surf lessons in Bali for 450 rubles instead of the usual 1500 rubles on the beach
• yacht trip in Barcelona for 4200 rubles per person
• cupping and a coffee lecture from a great barrista in Barcelona for 1,400 rubles
• jeep safari in Dubai for 1500 rubles (morning)

Profitable? Without a doubt. Using the site in Los Angeles you can learn how to make ice cream, in Paris you can book sightseeing tour, in Rome, buy tickets for a local concert. All this is available by clicking the “Impressions” button.

And since 2018, the search for luxury housing Airbnb Plus has been introduced. Options marked with this sign are cool homes with maximum amenities and hospitable hosts (and a corresponding price).

FAQ

1. What to do if the apartment turns out to be completely different from the one in the photo?
   Immediately send photos and videos of your property to the Airbnb Help Center. The complaint is usually considered within 3-4 days, but the entire amount + moral damage is returned.
2. What should I do if, after confirming the reservation, the owner asks to pay extra or informs me that he is forced to cancel the reservation?
   Under no circumstances do you cancel yourself, otherwise, if something happens, you won’t be able to get the full amount back. Contact the Support Center.
3. What does the review mean: “The host canceled this reservation _ days before arrival. This is an automated posting"?
   The owner canceled the reservation so many days before the tourist’s arrival. If there are a lot of similar marks, I close the ad. Although, in fact, owners also face fines for “draining”, and considerable ones.
4. I canceled my reservation, but lost/replaced/stolen the card specified in my profile. How to get my money back?
   Funds are returned not to the card, but to the account to which it is linked. If you have reissued the card, the issue is resolved by transferring the amount from the account to new map. If you have closed the account itself, then you need to contact the bank with an application. I recently came across this issue myself - everything was quickly resolved within a week.
5. I want to change/shift the dates of my reservation, the owner approves, what should I do?
   In the “Trips” section there is an option to change/cancel. Enter new dates, the host confirms, and you receive an updated reservation.

This is my review of airbnb.ru. I’m friends with the service and haven’t caught any hint of “fraud” in three years. What will yours be? 🙂 Share in the comments!

Airbnb coupon and 3 more ways to save

1️⃣ It is more profitable to rent housing for a week or a month, because... Usually from 7 nights a discount of 5-15% is given, sometimes more.
If you need to stay for 2-3 days, then it’s easier to book a hotel or hostel on RoomGuru or. On the second, by the way, you can also get a 1000 rubles discount (on any booking)

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

2️⃣ Why not take a risk and look for new offers (special icon next to it)? Some hosts give 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 fixed cleaning fee. It amounts to a significant amount (who knows), especially if the booking is for 3-5 days. So try to find accommodation without cleaning. You can write to the host and ask - what if I clean up myself? :) Sometimes they agree to a meeting, and the price is reduced. But if you are against it, there is no point in insisting.

4️⃣ Naturally, a life hack that many people know about is a coupon of 2100 rubles for the first booking. BUT! Even if you already have an account, follow the link, register a new one for your mother, sister, aunt, friend and voila. So far in 2019 it's working. And you can even apply to yourself if you have changed your international passport or have a driver’s license.

Additionally: keep an eye on the conversion. We already wrote about this in our article, in short - at the bottom right of the Airbnb website there is a currency switching feature.

Copying of materials is permitted only with the obligatory indication of a direct, active and indexable hyperlink to the site.

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 is the cost of the growth of our needs? 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 very good location, in which if you rent a hotel room, you will pay 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 is running and the exchange rate of the ruble to 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 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 that were 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 really settle down cheaper upon arrival, plus you’ll have it at your fingertips local, he is the owner of the apartments 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 the Germans or British use. 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 be as patient as possible (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 could 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 home 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 reviews of accommodations on Airbnb 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 all over the world. If you don’t find 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 be credited with a small bonus of twenty-five dollars to your account, so don't waste time and get the most out of your vacation.