Airbnb in Paris… yay or nay? I’ve always stayed in hotels but I may spend 4-5 nights and thought it would be a great way to save money and have more space. Any recommendations? Reasons not to? Thanks!

Why AirBnB????? I much prefer VRBO. In Paris, we rent from Paris Perfect - but they have giant-sized Olympic Rates now.

We've rented 76 gites from Gites-de-France. None in Paris however.

Stu Dudley

Hi Stu, I have used Airbnb a lot, we used them in Italy with great results. I have heard bad things about VRBO. Why NOT Airbnb? I respect your opinions. Thanks!

I see you have to check in with Paris Perfect to get a quote. 🤨

I have had horrible experiences with both Airbnb and vrbo and refuse to use them again. In both, the respective hosts canceled on me while I was on my plane overseas (two separate trips) and the customer service of both left me out of money and having to scramble for lodging at the last minute in high season. Not to mention, I do not clean when I am on vacation. And the fees that both charge for said cleaning - you are rarely "saving" money, though having a kitchen is sometimes nice - then again, I also do not want to cook anything more than a sandwich on vacation either.

As a solo traveler, I personally prefer hotels, especially those with a 24hr front desk. But, I choose hotels over apartments in places I have not been to previously and unfamiliar. I may opt for an occasional apartment via booking - if I do not have to clean and/or pay a fee for cleaning. Edit: The one time I had a last minute cancelation via a Booking.com booking, the customer service found me a comparable lodging when I was in a lurch. Luckily, I had not left the US when this occurred like the others.

Whatever you prefer, OP, your choice. Topics such as this will have opinions in many ways. And you seem to have your preference. Your preference, your choice.

We've rented perhaps 5 homes in Europe through VRBO and 3 with AirBnB. We have not had any problems with any of the places we've rented & stayed in with either firm. However, this Sept we have an AirBnB place reserved and I feel quite nervous about it. There has been very little communication about the property with either the proprietor or AirBnB itself. All I have is a somewhat messy 5 page scramble of sentences that says I paid some $$$ & owe more later. I communicated with the proprietor about something regarding the location of the property, and she refused to give me any info at all until I made my final payment. With VRBO, I communicated with about 3-4 proprietors before I chose the one I wanted last year in Provence. I did this with 3 VRBO places. I asked them how much time it took to walk from their property to the Cafe de la Poste in Goult. They all replied.

Our closest friends reserved an AirBnB in Strasbourg for Christmas 2021. It was a disaster. When our friends arrived by train at 4PM and phoned the proprietor to get her to open up the place, she said she was still at work & wouldn't be available till 7PM to do so. Our friends walked to the property hoping to find a way in, and people were departing the complex and indicating it was not a nice place to stay. Our friends scrambled & stayed in 2 hotels - and had a heck of a time getting a refund from AirBnB. They own an apartment in Tuscany and rent it out through VRBO, so they are not neophytes.

Stu Dudley

You might also consider staying in Versailles or another satellite community around Paris that is served by the RER transit. We did Versaiiles last summer and found it to be great: we spent the days and early evenings in Paris, caught the RER back to Versailles for a quiet night's sleep. And we found our place on AirBnB. Very painless.

I'll note that there's nothing about VRBO, AirBnB or Booking.com that means you'll get a better host with one site vs. the other. We just find the AirBnB website to be more user-friendly. (Many places list on more than one of these sites.)

This is concerning, Stu. Good luck.

We’ve stayed in many apartments in Paris and never had a problem. We’ve used rentmyhomeinparis (Picasso apt) and Paris Autrement for 9 or 10 years. All the apts were in the Marais. This was all pre Covid and I’m not sure if the companies are still going. We usually had a kid and their spouse with us so it was much more economical and pleasant to have a 2 bedroom with a kitchen to come home to (my husband was usually working when we were in Paris). I’ve found that in the US many places are on both VRBO and airbnb.

Well, this is all great food for thought. I found a couple of really neat looking apartments all with very good reviews. Hotels are about twice the cost, which is really a bummer. I also found a cool apartment in Rouen, which is a potential stop en route back to Paris. But I do not want to mess around with crappy hosts and those negative stories concern me. I’m glad I asked. Thanks all.

""I do not want to mess around with crappy hosts and those negative stories concern me""

We've rented over 85 gites & apartments in France, and so far we have not experienced any crappy hosts. Just the opposite, actually. Some have hosted us for dinner at their house and we've exchanges many Christmas cards & e-mails with several of the them. Two have let us know of deaths of their partners.

Stu Dudley

I'm with Stu on this one, I've rented across France especially with gite-de-france but also using local town websites to track down places, never had a problem .... but, as with all things abroad, they do it different from here.

I am really interested in this thread because I am going to Paris for a week and will be staying in a hotel. I have looked on airbnb and vrbo as I would love to have more room but there are a few things that bother me.
The cleaning is always suspicious, and I do not want to be cleaning as soon as I put my bags down.
There are a lot of people that make quite a bit of money by renting their own apartment to tourists. The pics of these apartments look as if someone just made the bed and took a photo.
The beds also look really dodgy with really bad sheets.

Those that do look like they would be good to rent are the same price as hotels or more. And you need to pay some or all of the rent up front. On Bookings.com you can select a hotel with free cancellantion and pay at the hotel options. Just in case you need to change

We have almost always rented through VRBO, Airbnb and a few others both in Paris and France, actually all over Europe and haven’t ever had a problem, either with the host or cleanliness, etc. Check the reviews and ask questions, most hosts are happy to give you details of the property. Yes, you have to pay in advance, but you can look for options which give you free cancellation upto a week ahead.

We much rather prefer the extra space of an apartment, especially since hotel rooms in Europe are quite small.

I do wonder, if they are so-called super hosts, and they have a lot of good ratings, how can they get away with cancellations or bad communication? I spent most of last evening looking at hotels. I may start the booking process with an Airbnb to see how the charges stack up. That’s something I always forget.

Stu - great that you’ve made friends with your hosts! I was simply referring to others’ comments and your own regarding your friends’ experience.

Rocket79, you can look for apartments on booking.com too, just set your filters. Two years back I found the same apartment in Greece both on Airbnb and booking.com, the latter offered free cancellation. So obviously I went with them, it was the same place and price, only different terms. The owner told me Airbnb sets the cancellation terms and he couldn’t do anything about it.

That’s interesting, Geetika. I’m pretty much leaning toward a hotel or something that I can cancel if need be. So that rules out Airbnb. I will be in Normandy and I could actually change my mind and stay out there for a longer period of time. Thanks for this conversation everyone! Helped me think through some things.

Are you solo on this trip, or in a group? I just stayed 5 nights solo in May at the 34B Astotel, and had a big, bright room with balcony, very clean at check in and refreshed every day with free waters, orange juice, and sodas, and opted for the breakfast, which was great as I didn't want to deal with finding breakfast each day. Plus, a 1 minute walk to the metro and a bus stop. I often walked everywhere, though.

For 5 nights, if solo or a couple, I recommend the Astotel line. Very affordable and highly rated on tripadvisor. For me, their rates kept dropping from when I booked several months out (with no cancellation fee) until 3-4 days before I was to travel. (I paid $117/night in early May, which had dropped from around $180/night when I was booking in Jan-Feb.)

Have fun planning, and good luck with your search!

I communicated with the proprietor about something regarding the location of the property, and she refused to give me any info at all until I made my final payment.

I often use Air BNB and this would put me off. Owners don't usually provide exact addresses prior to booking, but I've never run across one unwilling to give info regarding general location. When I encounter an unhelpful or unresponsive host, I move on.

As I think someone mentioned upthread, I often find the same properties listed on various sites, Air BNB, VRBO, Booking.com. I usually pick the one with the best cancellation policy, as the prices are generally the same.

Wow, thank you! This looks right up my alley! I’m with a group in Normandy but solo female at the end for this Paris part of the trip.
Really appreciate this. ☺️

Yes, then I personally wouldn't deal with an apartment if you can get a decent rate. Though it seemed Paris rates can swing greatly from week to week. I think I was there at a relatively slow week in early May, hence a very easy rate for Paris--I wish I could stay that cheap in London!

I only rent when I'm in a larger group, and staying a longer time (for the washing machine). I just had a 5 night and 4 night stay in hotels (Paris, then London), and I didn't miss having more space. (As a solo woman, I actually dislike having too many spaces where my imagination tells me an intruder can be lurking.) As for having snacks in the room, the Astotel line has a generous breakfast, plus a free "happy hour" from 2 pm till midnight or sometime very late, with coffee, tea, drinks and pastries, and I stayed at a Resident hotel in London which has a wonderful kitchenette. (And I hit the laundromat in London 1X.)