Having recently returned from 19 nights in France where we stayed exclusively in vacation rentals, I thought this would be a good topic for my morning coffee. There are many pros and cons to staying in an Airbnb versus a traditional hotel, and so I'll try to outline the differences here. Are you an infrequent traveller? Then you can probably stop reading this now; vacation rentals are probably not for you. It's not that you won't have a good experience - I just think that Airbnb and VRBO are for people who are more adept at travel, and know what to look for and what they can expect.
We were introduced to vacation rentals not by choice, as I had a business conference to attend, but all the hotels were sold out. It was 2006, and the 3GSM World Congress that took place in Barcelona brought in exhibitors and attendees from all over the world. By the time I had received my corporate travel approval, all of the hotels were sold out. It was my wife (then a travel agent) who suggested to look at a vacation rental site (now gone/absorbed by Expedia.com, I think). I booked a simple, one-bedroom suite for much less than what a hotel room would have cost, if they had been available. But it was very modest accommodations; comfortable, but sparsely furnished and equipped almost exclusively by Ikea.
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| View from Barcelona balcony |
But unlike a typical European 3-star hotel room, this had a nice sitting area, separate bedroom and a small kitchen and dining area. It was more than we needed, as she (tagging along on the trip) was out during the day exploring, while I attended the conference. The location however, was awesome - just a block or so off the busy Las Ramblas area, it was the perfect spot for Barcelona newbies. As we'd later find out, most business hotels are not in the neat old town area that most tourists want to see, so it ended up being a great stay for us, despite the spartan nature of the apartment.
What to expect in a vacation rental
There's no reason to describe a typical European hotel experience, as that is pretty standard for most hotels you'll encounter in Western Europe - except that the average 3 to 4-star hotel is going to be a smaller room compared to North American, chain-style ones. But just like hotels, Airbnbs and VRBO rentals will have photos, star ratings and reviews, so you can easily select the level of accommodations you would we comfortable in.
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| Living room in Reims Airbnb |
You should be able to get a good perspective of what the place will be like from the pictures listed on the owner's listing; we'd try to avoid ones that have few, or poor quality images. What you can't get from the images is the quality of the property - anything looks good in pictures, but what does the bed feel like? Or is the bathroom height too low for tall folks? These are things that get mentioned in past guest reviews. Similarly, some units will be sparsely equipped, with exactly four plates, bowls, etc., and only the bare minimum number of towels. Conversely, others might have ample supplies and amenities that you weren't expecting, like travel adapters/USB chargers, tea/coffee supplies, or beach items, if situated nearby. Obviously, you can check the listings prior to booking for things you want/need, like a fridge, coffee maker, A/C, or laundry machines.
What you don't get
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| Google street view is handy |
As a past, frequent traveller for business, I've gotten quite used to the typical hotel stay, and the arrival and check-in process is usually quite simple. Hop in a taxi and say, "Hilton downtown please" - and off you go; you roll up to the front desk, present your ID and credit card, and minutes later, you're in a comfy room. Conversely, getting to, and checking in is one of the conveniences that you'll forego with a vacation rental. You need to know the explicit information on your apartment's location, and entry information; sometimes, Google Maps doesn't picture the right address, as we found in Reims. Often, you'll be doing self-check-in, using either a lockbox or a secure keypad entry. Rare are the days where you meet your host at the door, but that is consideration to be aware of, as you may need mobile phone service to coordinate that.
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| Lockboxes take getting used to |
Even if you are well equipped with all the information you think you need, it can still be a little bit of a challenge; "which way to our suite?", or "do I press the code first, then enter, or star, code, then enter?". Once inside, you'll probably go, "ah, this is what I saw on the website", and wander around to check out the facilities. Of course, there's no bellhop (and usually no owner) to show you the features of your accommodations, so it takes a few minutes to figure that out sometimes.
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| "But where are the towels?" |
At our spacious place in Dijon, we had to search for the towels, which we found were stored in the bedroom (vs. bathroom), and plates/cutlery were housed in the dining room (vs. kitchen). Don't expect a lot of bathroom toiletries (we bring our own shampoo/conditioner), and Europeans apparently don't use bar soap (again, bring yours along, or buy there). Wash cloths or face cloths are also not commonly supplied (even in 3-star hotels in Europe), so she brings one of those too. You won't get daily housekeeping services at your vacation rental; we don't typically need this, but things that the staff would re-supply in a hotel won't be available to you. e.g. we had to let the owner in Colmar know that he hadn't given us enough TP for the duration of our stay (a communication error), so he popped by with some one day.
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| Some provide ample coffee pods |
Most will provide enough coffee or tea for one morning, but since there is no daily service, you'll need to get more coffee pods or what-have-you from the supermarket. To us, this is one of the benefits really, as we like to have a basic breakfast of fruit, toast and yoghurt in the apartment, versus paying 15€ for a hot buffet at a hotel.
In-room amenities that you might miss will probably be English-language TV channels (if there's a TV present). Unlike hotels that cater to North Americans' appetite for small screen entertainment, most European vacation rentals won't have any channels that will be of any value. Some better units will provide an Apple TV or similar device that you can stream your iPad to, but for the most part, if don't count on any TV services, you won't be disappointed.
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| Elevator to the top floor? |
Another thing to consider is accessibility; this isn't an issue for us yet, but something that you should look out for if necessary. Your Airbnb might be in a centuries-old building, on the top floor, up a steep set of stairs; even lugging your suitcase up without an elevator might be cause for not booking these. Or in our case, one bathroom was so tight that, um, people of a larger persuasion might not fit in - literally.
The other big thing that most might miss in a vacation rental is concierge services; i.e. a simple place to get your questions answered. Where is a decent place to eat closeby? Where is the nearest Metro stop? Can you arrange a taxi/trip to the nearby {xyz} attraction? That's the convenience of a normal hotel, but if you're a savvy traveller, you probably haven't needed a concierge in years. Also, most/many hosts will provide a number of destination recommendations for you. e.g. in Dijon, our host gave us the names of a few good value restaurants; we ate our best meal in town for 42€!
So why an Airbnb or VRBO?
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| Kitchen facilities allow for easy breakfasts |
Again, I'll reiterate that we're relatively savvy travellers, and know what we don't need, and what we want from accommodations while we're overseas. We would prefer to make something light for breakfast in the small kitchen, rather than having to get dressed etc. to go downstairs for to the hotel's restaurant. But what we do like, is to be really close to the heart of the city, so we can pop out easily for dinner, and have the local attractions and sights nearby. This isn't always going to be the case for hotels, as in many of these cramped old town areas, there is no space for a big, new US-style hotel. e.g. inside the city walls of Dubrovnik, you pretty much have to go with a vacation rental or a small, pensione-style lodging.
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| Massive bedroom in our Dijon Airbnb |
Another consideration that we find is a benefit, is the amount of space you get in a vacation rental. Of course, you can book small, studio-size places if supply or price is prohibitive, but we find that for our budget range, you can easily get spacious (~850 sq. ft. or larger), one-bedroom accommodations. When you compare to a typical European hotel room that is basically a small bedroom with an ensuite bathroom, there's no contest. Agreed - we don't spend a ton of time in there, but it is nice to have space for the two of us to move around and relax when we are back from our day's exploring.
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| Paris Expedia hotel prices! |
I mentioned it earlier, but pricing is also a factor that we like. For the most part, you can find reasonable, 3-star hotels in most of Europe for sub-$200 a night, sometimes much less. But factors like time of year, and other events can drive up the cost quickly, as we found with our September 2023 trip to France. With only the World Cup Rugby to explain it, we found that hotels in Paris were charging around 5x their normal prices! Most vacation rentals do have a season rate adjustment, but certainly it will not match with that kind of demand-based increases. A 3-star hotel around the Bastille in Paris that we had booked for September 2020 was CDN$175 per night; for the same timeframe in 2023, the price had jumped to $800! Luckily, we found a studio VRBO on the West edge of the Marais district for $180/night; after many days of logging 20,000 steps or more, we were thrilled to be in such close proximity to restaurants and shops.
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| Washer AND separate dryer! |
Since we typically only travel with carry on luggage, we choose vacation rentals that have laundry amenities. Many don't have any machines, so it's something you have to put in your search filter; some will also have a separate dryer (desirable), and some will have a washer only. The European combo washer/dryer units that we've encountered will do an adequate job of laundering your stuff, but it takes a loooong time. It's one of the reasons why we pack clothing that is relatively quick drying; even if using the drying rack or the glacially slow combo dryer, it will still be dry in the morning.
Ultimately, choosing whether to use an Airbnb or not is up to each individual's needs and desires, but we prefer it. Sure, we've had a couple of stays that didn't live exactly up to expectations, but for the most part, if you do your research, you shouldn't be disappointed.
