Hi Chad, if you do a search here for airbnb you will get lots of threads with people's opinions. I havent used them myself but the search should give you a start.

I've read some negative reviews of it. You can get a lot of suggestions on this forum if you post what you need and your budget/itinerary.

Air BnB is just a service that connects you with owners of apartments. They are not an apartment management company.

You need to do all your own checking to see exactly what you are getting if you use one of the places they list. That is - confirm they exist with google earth, check out neighborhood, look for references, get full information (not just email) but also phone and address of the owner and find out who you are to contact if there is any problem on the spot (address and phone number).

(Per the posts here some people have had good experiences and some awful ones - with the posters not providing accurate info on the accommodations.)

There are apartment management companies in Paris and Rome that are reputable. There may be some for Florence too. Airbnb gives you no recourse if the person listing the apartment is scamming you. You will be in a foreign country, with a foreign legal system. In much of Italy and especially Tuscany the legal system is farcical (read The Monster of Florence and then realize the same prosecutor still had a job and is the one who brought the ridiculous claims against Amanda Knox).

Use a reputable company that requires payments by credit card (so you can challenge later if the company screws you) and you can find very nice apartments for less than hotel prices (especially in Paris, where decent hotels run 180E or more per night) without risking a fiasco from cheaping out on an airbnb "steal."

Big Russ, as an Airbnb host for our guest room in the States, I can tell you your information about Airbnb is not quite accurate when you say you have no recourse if the apartment owner is scamming you.

The way that Airbnb works is that you request a reservation for your dates with the owner through Airbnb. You can ask the owner all the questions you may have, again through Airbnb. When you are satisfied, and book, they put you in direct contact so you can then talk directly with the owner if there are details you need to check.

Your rental money is paid via credit card or PayPal to Airbnb when you make your booking. The money is not transferred to the owner's account until 24 hours after you arrive. If things are not as advertised when you inspect the property, you can contact the 24/7 Airbnb hotline and stop the payment until things are made right.

I'm sure there are screw ups with Airbnb, just as there are with any rental agency, but at least you can take some comfort in the fact that the owner is motivated to have things in order so that he gets his money. This contrasts to other services, like VRBO, that often require 50% payment when you book, and the full payment a month before you arrive. Don't get me wrong, I have had only good experiences with the numerous VRBO places we have rented, and did have one really bad Airbnb experience in Amsterdam before they had the 24/7 hotline established.

As with all agencies like this, be sure to read the reviews carefully and ask any number of questions of the owner if things are not clear. If you don't get straight and prompt answers -- look elsewhere.

With that $10,000 budget of yours, AirBnb wouldn't be where I'd be looking. I'd be checking out Paris Perfect. I'm sure AirBnb works out fine for a lot of people, but if you want to read about one person's experience with it, check out my Not A Trip Report by clicking on my screen name.

nukesafe does defend airbnb - and is reasonable. But me personally would never (EVER) use airbnb overseas. Ever. No more than I'd use Craigslist.

In the States maybe (still not that likely but possible)

If you have a problem in Europe--how the heck are you going to resolve it? It's not like you can't haul the owner into small claims court.

If I was on a very limited budget I'd stay in hostels. Otherwise I can always find acceptable accommodations w/o resorting to airbnb.

Several posters on Fodor's are near-hysterical about AirBnb. I've never used them, but I've read plenty of positive reviews on other message boards like Frommer's and TripAdvisor from well-seasoned travelers to Europe.

Just because you have $10,000 budget doesn't mean you should spend more than is necessary to make you happy and comfortable in your hotels. It is very common mistake Americans make going to Europe that they overspend on hotels -- especially in the multi-star category of hotel, out of an erroneous belief they MUST be in the 7th arr to be right on top of the Eiffel Tower, or the BEST hotels in London are looking up the horses' rear ends of the changing of the guards.

You needn't take AirBnB out of the mix, but you might want to start soliciting a wider range of opinion and rigid absolutist response than you are getting here on Fodor's about just about everything. Having identified yourself as a first time traveler, you can expect a lot of yelling at you that "I would NEVER do this" and "if I had YOUR money" etc etc., and a lot of anxiety about every little thing going wrong.

You'll need travel insurance. You really don't need this.

For what it's worth, I think Paris Perfect is suburbanized American Paris for tourists and charges a fortune for hand-holding super-nervous anxious travelers. They really are overpriced and almost all of their apartments are out of walking range of the most interesting parts of Paris unless you are going there to shop and be around other American tourists. A lot of people on Fodor's ADORE them -- but honestly, you don't realize if you just showed up here that Fodor's is distilled to a fairly small and uniform demographic of traveler to Europe, with a pretty narrow idea of what traveling is to Paris or London. It is worth your money and your trip you check out other resources for advice, unless you want to go to "Fodorite Paris." You might prefer going to Paris. It's a great, varied city.

Nukesafe: perhaps you need to re-read both the post and my response. The OP is going to a foreign country with foreign laws, not another state in the US. Paypal to an airbnb owner in another country who is not legit is as good as money down the drain.

As for goldenautumn's posts - it seems like flanneruk has a Paris equivalent: strident, bumptious, accusatory and full of rot.

Thank you all for the suggestions. We'd much rather save money on the accommodations and have more to spend on experiencing the cities (food, museums, food, wine, etc). Our goal for Paris, Florence, and Rome is to have a home base in the best walkable locations. Whether that be a hotel or flat is completely undecided. In saying that, what are the best districts in these cities to be able to walk or use transit to see the major attractions? Thanks again for your prompt attention.

BigRuss, I think we are really in agreement on this issue. When you rent in another country, and pay up front, you are at the mercy of a different legal system, complicated by a language barrier. All I am saying is that the Airbnb practice of not paying the owner until the renter has a chance to inspect the property gives one some level of protection in being able to recover your bucks. If you have paid in advance you are not in the driver's seat.

I agree that if the accommodation is unsuitable, or you have been scammed, you are going to find yourself out on the street with no place to lay your head for that first night, no matter what agency you use.

<<strident, bumptious, accusatory and full of rot.>>

Perfectly stated,

And there is nothing at all "American" about Paris Perfect. Obviously, zeppole knows nothing about the owners/operators.

zeppole: "but you might want to start soliciting a wider range of opinion and rigid absolutist response than you are getting here on Fodor's about just about everything."

What a load of crap. Why the heck can't you just respond w/ your opinion w/o attacking everyone else???? What did anyone say that deserved that sort of nastiness?

Oh - and BTW "You'll need travel insurance. You really don't need this."

If one finds a place through airbnb (or any other site really) and it exists but isn't as nice as represented . . . that won't be refunded by travel insurance, nor will travel insurance find you another place to stay.

And if you think Fodors gives such awful advice, why do you keep re-registering w/ new screen names?

(BigRuss: goldenautumn is zeppole back yet again)

I have a friend in Ireland who rents out the ensuite bedroom in her house on AirBnB and has done very well with it.

She's had good guests, and the place is immaculate - so it's not such a black hole process to go through.

HAH! Love you, janisj. If she ventures into the Dordogne, her a&& is arugula!

burnstock - You need to state how much you want to spend on rooms per night and what amenities you need. It makes no sense to just talk areas without that. There is no point in someone suggesting a place that doesn't meet your budget/needs.

>>>She's about the most offensive person on all the travel/food sites combined and has been booted from many of them justifiably for being so.<<<

Stepsbeyond aka zeppole aka goldenautumn aka multiple other banned screen names, I think makes the rounds of the various travel boards. When she is banned from one website, she moves on to the next only to be banned there also after a few posts. I think she is on her 7th or 8th name here.

I have never used them, but here is a thread from the France forum on tripadvisor concerning them:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187070-i12-k5104319-o30-Airbnb-France.html

I have used Craigslist with much success. I rented an older house that had been renovated and made into 3 flats. The owner and I corresponded through e-mail a few times and at the end of the last chat told me I could pay in full when we arrived.

The flat was wonderful and so was the owner.

Did the same in Rome with no trouble.

You can also look at this site for apartment/hotel advice;

www.slowtrav.com

Have a great trip !

Paris - extensive metro makes getting almost anywhere pretty easy. I like the 7th, yes, near Rue Cler. Area IMO has neighborhood feel and fairly calm. Yes there are other tourists but plenty of locals too.

Rome, I used to stay up on the Aventine Hill - gorgeous but a bit of a hike. Now I stay near Termini for convenience - it gets some bad press but it makes arriving, departing, and day tripping easy and most sights are walkable from there. I would like to stay in Trastevere in the future if I was staying for a longer period.

I've always used hotels, usually under $200 a night - we tried an apartment in Barcelona but since our stays are usually not more than 4 nights, the hotels are a bit less complicated IMO.

I have used Homeaway with great results in Italy and note that they have properties in Paris too.

As for Airbnb in general, I will stick with them in the future. They were very efficient regarding my recent cancelation situation.

I booked two beautiful apartments through them, for Bangkok, as I was to be on vacation there for 29 days. But, unfortunately I had to cancel my trip due to a parent medical emergency. I was to be at one of the apartments right now.

I had great contact with the apartment owners and both of them reduced the price of the rental for me. They were on regular e-mail with me. Before having to cancel, I contacted both owners and explained the unfortunate reason for my cancelation. They were very understanding. I then canceled the reservation online and within 30 minutes, Airbnb had e-mailed me stating that I had been refunded the full amount, minus the booking fee. The refund actually appeared back to my credit card within 3 days. It was great to get the money refunded that fast as it needed to be used to book 2, very-high-airfare plane tickets, to the sick parent.

One of my best friends uses Airbnb regularly for European bookings. He now lives in Europe and he and his wife travel around Europe a lot to visit friends and family. They have gotten some really great places. He has had no complaints. He also likes the fact that he can just pay for the places in US dollars. The company is just up in San Francisco area. So, that way the money can just come out of his U.S. account.

Of course one has to do one's homework and read reviews, and ask the owners questions on the Airbnb page to them. I felt comfortable and then booked the two apartments and was contacted immediately by the owners saying that I had been accepted. They were very prompt in replying and being back and forth on e-mail with me as after one has booked, then one gets their e-mail address and the address to the property.

Happy Travels!

I like the idea that the owners don't get paid until 24 hours after the guest has arrived. So, if the guest doesn't feel comfortable, then he/she doesn't have to take the place.

As for Paris, I found my perfect apartment through www.homeaway.com and that's the apartment that I've stuck with. I've also booked through www.vacationinparis.com for a Paris apartment rental.

Happy Travels!

Oops....We need an edit button! LOL!

Happy Travels!

Guenmai, my experiences with AirBnB in the US and in Europe have been similar to yours and I have a very high opinion of the company and the people I've dealt with through the site. So I won't repeat what you've said, just say I agree, recommend the site and, as with anything, shop carefully so you know what you're getting and what you're not. I've never felt tricked by owners on AirBnB, have always gotten what I believed was being offered.

Hi Chad,
I just came back from both Paris and Italy last week. I used airbnb and booked hotel rooms most of them at 4 or 5 star hotels. All in all my experience renting with airbnb trumped my hotel experiences. I guess I liked the personal touches from the people I rented from. I'd be happy to pass along the links for the apartments that I rented on airbnb in both Paris and Florence.
You both are going to have a great time!

I have used VRBO ( in US and Paris) and AirBnB ( in US only) and have had great experiences all around.

Rather than debate the merits of the systems, let me recommend the place where we have stayed twice in Paris. Other folks from Fodors have stayed there as well, based on my recommendation.

http://www.vrbo.com/339804

The owner, Sylvain, is wonderful to work with and speaks excellent English. He has another nice apt, a bit smaller and a bit less money but I can't find the link now (if you search my posts here, I have linked it in other similar threads).

The apartment is in a terrific location and the price is equally good. Tell him Deb sent you.

I have been pleased with VRBO in Paris and Airbnb in London. For longer stays I would first look into VRBO, for short stays, or to save a bit more money, look at Airbnb. Airbnb does provide owners and renters with protection.

Enjoy Paris. It is fantastic.

I'll piggy back on this and ask about AirB&B. Do they broker entire apartments or just rooms in people's homes or rooms in bed and breakfasts, or both or what?

Asking about neighborhoods will probably create as much kertuffle as the AirB&B question. Everyone likes something different.

Paris: arrondisements 3 to 7 get the most recs here, IME.

My favorite area to stay in Florence is near Piazza Santa Croce.

In Rome I've stayed in most areas in the center, but my favorite area is at the top or north end of via della Scrofa.

Sites like AirBnB and VRBO exit for the convenience of owners, not for renters. Everybody's experience depends on the individual owner. Most people will have had good experiences, but some people have found the unit didn't exist or belonged to somebody else or did not resemble the photos or was dirty.

If you can't use your rental, you'll have to scramble around to find some where else to stay, maybe pay more than you want to just to get a room. You may get re-imbursed later, but what about your hardearned vacation time?

I always advocate using a reliable rental agency which guarantees their rentals. And pay with a credit card as additional insurance. You can always dispute the charge.

They do apartments and rooms, not sure about rooms in B&B's, but I don't think so.

tuscanlifeedit: "Do they broker entire apartments or just rooms in people's homes or rooms in bed and breakfasts, or both or what?"

They don't 'broker' anything. They are a listing/ad site more similar to craigslist than a rental agency/broker. Mostly rooms in private homes, but some vacation rentals.