Some of you have asked how we find the places we stay at…….. the truth is it is acombination of internet research, reading guide books and checking out some of the online booking sites.For instance I had heard about airbnb odd name, the idea being that it is a place for home owners from around the world who wish to rent out a spare room or the whole house. The advantage for the prospective tenant or guest is that the rent is paid directly to Airbnb upon booking. This money is then held by them, it is not paid out to the owner until 24 hours after your arrival…….. therefore giving you the security of knowing that your money is protected if all is not as promised!
Sounds great doesn’t it? That’s what we thought and had contacted several places listed in Belize and Honduras, the majority of the owners replied promptly, answered my questions and quoted rates etc. These can be negotiable by the way, especially if visiting off season……….
I had found what appeared to be a perfect spot at a great rate the owner seemed willing to accommodate us and offered us a larger two bedroom unit for the same price as a smaller one bed unit…. (the catch was that she was currently adding a bathroom to this second bedroom…… hhmmm visions of workmen wandering in and out of our pad). This set off some alarm bells, so I decided to do a little more research. Her house name was included in her listing so I was able to “google” the place (Airbnb does not allow people to post website links etc.) Surprise, surprise she did indeed have her own website with posted rates ………. Which were lower than the total rates I had been quoted!!!!!!
This of course is a bit of a shock; however I do know that many of these booking sites charge the owner a hefty percentage for using their services. Upon further investigation Airbnb do not charge the owner, at least according to the FAQ, they make their money by charging you an additional 6 to 12% of the rental rate all paid up front!
What this added up to was that I was being quoted the price for a one bedroom unit, plus being charged an additional 11% by Airbnb, add in a what appeared to be a slightly inflated US$ exchange rate……… not so much of a good deal after all.
I do have a tendency of being rather direct about these type of things and therefore contacted the owner via her own site and asked for clarification on the discrepancy…….. needless to say there was no logical answer, however I did get a somewhat terse email from Airbnb saying that I was breaking their rules by contacting the owner directly and circumventing them!
Hey! I am not saying don’t use them or any other similar site, just do your homework beforehand and know exactly what any additional costs are. You might also want to double check whether any of those neat places have an online presence of their own before you contact them through these sites.
You never know, it might just save you a ton of money and a whole lot of hassle! Happy hunting!
