To make ends meet, many people rent their apartments for holidays or weekends to individuals.
To save money while traveling, a great plan is also to rent an apartment from individuals rather than going to a hotel.
But with all the collaborative sites that have positioned themselves in this niche, it is difficult to navigate. So, which one to choose?
We have compared for you the 5 main sites for renting apartments between individuals for the short term in France.
The first to launch and the best known is of course Airbnb. Its main competitors:the French Sejourning, Wimdu, HouseTrip and Bedycasa, have created less buzz but are not left out.
4 criteria vary according to the sites and must be taken into account before using one platform rather than another:
• The commission received
• Insurance
• Customer service
• The proposed accommodations
Whether you are renting or even subletting your accommodation during your vacation, or whether you are going through a rental platform to find a cheap apartment to rent, the first criterion to examine is that of the commission.
Among the 4 sites we are comparing, not all of them apply the same commissions to landlords and tenants. Which one will take you the least commission.
• On tenants:
- Airbnb takes between 6% and 12% commission depending on the duration of the accommodation and the total amount of the accommodation.
- Wimdu charges a fixed commission of 12% on the total rental price.
- Sejourning also applies a 12% commission on your trip.
- BedyCasa has chosen to be remunerated on a 15% commission levied on each transaction at the time of acceptance of the reservation. A commission "integrated" by the host when he sets his price per night. The prices displayed are therefore the prices to be paid. No additional booking fees are added for the sake of transparency.
- Housetrip applies between 10% and 20% commission overall without detailing whether it is on the tenant or the owner...
• About owners:
- Airbnb takes 3% fixed commission on the total rental amount.
- Wimdu takes 3% commission like Airbnb.
- Staying takes 4% commission
- BedyCasa with its 15% commission is less encouraging to offer its accommodation for rent.
Most short-term private apartment rental sites have multi-risk insurance policies covering the tenant and the owner.
- Airbnb has taken out insurance covering the tenant and the owner up to €1,000,000.
- Wimdu has set up an insurance policy that covers you up to €500,000.
- Sejourning, very focused on security, tops the ranking with multi-risk insurance that can cover up to €1,500,000 in the event of damage.
- BedyCasa, on the other hand, offers to take out optional insurance that insures the third party.
- Housetrip does not even address the subject of insurance in its FAQs. It seems that this is not supported by the site itself. No information is available on this subject, which says a lot about the importance given to security.
Renting an apartment between individuals has the advantage of being very flexible. Each tenant is different, each stay will bring its share of questions for the owner as for the tenant and in the event of a question, it is important that the answer be provided quickly.
For a stay to go as smoothly as possible, for the owner as well as for the tenant, it is essential that the customer service is reactive and can solve any problem as soon as possible.
While most sites make significant efforts to have available and quality customer service, we see a few differences:
- Airbnb has a quality customer service, easily reachable 7 days a week and 24 hours a day by email or live chat. Customer service will call you back very quickly. But be careful, it is better to be bilingual, because you will very rarely come across a French-speaking interlocutor
- Wimdu is more difficult to contact. They can only be contacted by email and the return of their customer service can be delayed.
- Sejourning can be reached easily, by email or by telephone directly on a landline number (therefore free) with customer service based in France.
- BedyCasa also has a customer service easily reachable by email or phone 7 days a week.
- Housetrip can only be reached by email. Agencies handle customer service. Responses are highly anticipated.
On each of these 5 sites, you will find a vast choice of apartments, houses, and even unusual dwellings for rent.
What differentiates them is the choice, on the one hand, of the number of accommodations offered and the quality / price ratio on the other hand.
- Airbnb offers the most choice with more than 30,000 accommodations available throughout France. The only downside, the price of accommodation remains quite high on Airbnb compared to others like Sejourning or Wimdu.
- Wimdu offers a wide choice of 20,000 accommodations in France, however, the quality of the accommodations is very questionable. Indeed, many accommodations are unqualified and can be found on many rental sites.
- Sejourning, a French site, offers 5,000 private homes in major cities with very good value for money.
- BedyCasa references 6,000 accommodations, but these are "homestays", based on the Bed&Breakfast model.
- Housetrip offers about 20,000 accommodations but it is unclear whether they are offered by individuals or real estate agencies.
To make it easier for you to choose, here is a summary table:
Among these 5 sites, 2 caught our attention.
Sejourning, for the owners. This French site will allow you, as an owner, to be supervised by a transparent team that listens to you.
• insurance with the best coverage (€1,500,000),
• an efficient and very easily reachable customer service,
• trusted members because of a well-managed community.
Click here to discover Sejourning now
And, Airbnb for travelers. The number 1 in the short-term apartment rental sector between individuals has, even if it is a little more expensive, many advantages:
• a very wide choice of apartments for rent,
• insurance with very high coverage,
• very efficient customer service.
A mention also for BedyCasa which offers a slightly different service since it is more Bed &Breakfast homestay. If the commission on the owner is very high (15%), BedyCasa still has interesting assets such as:
• efficient customer service,
• the proximity between the owner and the tenant,
• No commission on the tenant.
Have you ever gone through a short-term apartment rental site between individuals? Which one do you prefer ? Give your opinion in comments.
