Airbnb: tips, tricks, and little tricks

You may ask yourself: why should I read this if I already use the Airbnb service? You may ask yourself: who are they and why should I read about them? We will not be able to answer the second question - in this article there is not a word about what Airbnb is, why and who needs it. And there will be no FAQ on using the service. But we can share interesting tips with those who have already used our services or know enough about them to be ready to use them. We have advice from the obvious to the veiled, but all of them in the same style are aimed at making your work more effective than your trip to any of the 190 countries represented in our country.

How to rent a house

A little secret, for those who are looking for accommodation for two. Search through the apartment / room for one person, and then in the selected option add the second guest. Please note that rooms for two or three guests may be more profitable even those that are in the single category.

Search filters greatly facilitate the choice of housing: Internet, parking, the possibility of events, smoking - this is not a complete list of criteria by which you can choose suitable options. In addition, the ability to search by keywords is implemented, which allows you to find apartments with an office / workplace / next to key locations. It is convenient when you need housing exclusively for work or business negotiations; the choice of housing on a map of the area will allow you to stay exactly next to the office of the company you need.

The issuance of housing in the search depends on many factors, including profile data and the specifics of the trip.

Verified Photos

The photo in the ad can tell a lot about the rental location. The Airbnb sign in the upper right corner of the photo means that the photos have been uploaded to the site by the owner. And the Verified Photo sign indicates that there was an Airbnb photographer in this place and made a photo shoot. That is, the photo exactly corresponds to reality.

Do not be afraid to live in a room

If you are not a social phobia, try renting a room, not an apartment. Firstly, the room will cost you less. Secondly, communication with the owners of the apartment will solve many domestic issues: will anyone ask about the nearest pharmacy / ATM, or maybe have a drink together in a nearby bar. Carefully read the apartment descriptions and user profiles - it is usually indicated there whether the owner wants to spend time with guests or not. To maintain your privacy, check if the room is locked.

Response rate

Do you want the owners to quickly answer any of your questions? Pay attention to the number that appears under the photo of the owner in the ad. “Frequency of responses” is an indicator that indicates how often the landlord answers requests. Hosts with this indicator above 90% respond as quickly as possible.

If you need an apartment right this second - look for options with the “Instant Booking” button, which allows you to make a reservation without waiting for confirmation from the owner.

Reviews

Read the reviews! Travelers who lived in this place honestly write about how they spent time there. However, the lack of any feedback is not a cause for concern. Just ask all the most important questions for you on the site so that you understand exactly where you will live. In addition, an apartment that has few reviews can be cheaper. Travelers also publish reviews about homeowners - you can find out in advance their nature and manner of communicating with guests.

We monitor the behavior of users on the site and do not allow cheating positive reviews. For example, when the tenant and the landlord constantly book a room with each other, the system may regard this as an attempt to create a positive rating on the site.

Security

Booking, payment, communication between the tenant and the landlord, reviews are the information that we carefully monitor. Airbnb’s analytic information collection system takes into account many factors based on patterns of potentially dangerous actions (in many ways this is similar to what was successfully implemented in eBay). Each facility hosted on the Airbnb platform is assigned “credibility points”. Low-scoring housing is automatically flagged for more detailed investigation, which helps track cases of money laundering and other forms of fraud. The system works perfectly - for 6 million residents in 2013, conflict situations requiring compensation from the company were noted only 700 times. And do not forget that our customer service hotline is constantly operating, do not hesitate to complain.

Do not forget to study the profile, this will avoid cases of communication with "random" people.

Communication with the owner

It is customary for us to communicate kindly with the owners. Discuss the standard set of questions in advance: how will the keys be transferred, is there Wi-Fi in the apartment, adapters for sockets, a hair dryer, pets, is it possible to use the kitchen, where are the nearest store / pharmacy, how quickly and by what transport can I get to the city center and so on.

Bargaining with the owners for housing is possible and necessary. You can convince the owner to change the rental price. When booking at the last moment, it may be more beneficial for the owner to receive you than to leave the apartment empty. Is it possible to significantly reduce the cost of an air mattress, folding bed or sofa? Not. But when you check in with your family for normal money, you can rent really nice apartments.

Some owners worry about their property and usually ask for a small security deposit. After you leave the place of residence, the deposit is returned to the card (provided that you left the apartment safe and sound). The term for returning to the card is determined by your bank. To avoid contentious issues (in case the landlord tries to accuse you of property damage), it will not hurt to offer the landlord to make a detour or photograph the premises upon eviction from the apartment.

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Of course, you can perfectly do without all of the above. But you can get a lot more good impressions (or even get them at all), and in some cases, save money with our tips. If you have any of your observations or questions not mentioned here, leave them in the comments.