Useful tips for renting apartments on Airbnb

Services for renting private apartments are gaining more and more popularity and have already become a worthy competitor to hotel booking websites. In this article, we will talk about one of the most popular sites—Airbnb. We have mentioned it many times in this blog, but today we will present practical tips for choosing and renting the ideal apartment or house for your trip.

There are countless hosts and apartments on Airbnb, it’s easy to get overwhelmed, so how do you choose the perfect option? It’s very simple, here are a few points to pay attention to when choosing accommodation on Airbnb or any other similar site. How long has the host been registered on Airbnb? If this is your first time, it’s better to choose a host who knows how everything works and already has experience hosting guests.

Response rate. Ideally, it should be 100%. This means that the host responds to all messages sent via Airbnb. Your request will definitely not go unnoticed. Response time: this is the period within which the host most often responds to messages from renters. The best option is within an hour.

Verified profile. This means that the host has provided Airbnb with a scanned copy of their ID (e.g., passport or driver’s license) and it matches the data specified on the website. In addition, the site also has online verification, meaning the data (name, photo) matches their profile on social networks Google+, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Verification is always double, meaning the host’s online and offline profile data must match. In addition, the host’s email and phone are verified. Quality and quantity of photos. You should be able to view the apartment from different angles. It’s not advisable to make a decision based on one or two photos. You might be in for an unpleasant surprise upon arrival. Are the photos verified? Such photos will have a “Verified Photo” badge. This means that a representative, or more precisely, a professional photographer who collaborates with Airbnb, has been to this apartment or house and taken the photos you see on the website. This is a 100% guarantee that everything in the apartment will be exactly as in the photos.

But keep in mind that in professional photos, things can appear a little, and sometimes much, better than they actually are.

Unfortunately, this service is not available in all countries, so don’t get fixated on finding accommodation specifically with verified photos; it’s possible that such a service is not provided in that city or country.

Does the host update the calendar? The last update date will be indicated at the bottom of the calendar. Not all hosts regularly update it, so when sending a request to such a landlord, you will never be sure if it will be confirmed or not.

Reviews from other Airbnb users about the apartment. If this is your first experience renting an apartment, it’s better to choose an apartment that already has reviews from previous tenants; this is an additional guarantee that there will be no problems or unexpected surprises.

Does the host rent out any other accommodation? For many, Airbnb is a business platform, and naturally, here you can rent an apartment not only directly from the owner but also from an agent. In reality, it’s more a matter of taste. Agent apartments can also vary. Perhaps the agent has a contract with an owner who doesn’t have time to deal with rentals, or maybe the agent himself rents or bought several apartments, minimally furnished them, and rents them out. As a rule, apartments from regular hosts are more interesting and atmospheric than apartments made exclusively for rental. But there are exceptions; a good agent knows that people use such sites not just to find a place to sleep, but also to feel a bit like a local.