Airb&b in Paris

I mean try it in the search bar. Filter for forum, then 1 year or newer.

Just make sure that there is a license number which is issued by the city of Paris on the page describing the B&B you're interested in. For what it's worth I always use VRBO. It always worked for me.

The problem I had was about 2 months before my trip they cancelled the reservation. I think they had probably reached the restricted limit for that apt. They tried to switch me to another apt, but it was not in my preferred neighborhood and not as good as what I had reserved. It was very disappointing, but this is when I discovered Hotel Diana near the Sorbonne and loved it. They are under new management, but I hope to stay there again when next in Paris.

AirB&B doesn’t protect its guest customers much. You’re open to last-minute cancellations by the property. And when that happens, it’s not fun trying to find a decent place to stay for a reasonable price at the last minute. VRBO is a good alternative.
Buyer beware!

Stayed in an Airbnb in Paris in May for 13 days. No issues with booking in mid-February. Many options were available. I stay in Airbnb's exclusively on my European travels. Very few cancellations or non-responses. This year, the strangest one was in Frankfurt. They accepted the reservation, but a few days later, cancelled, saying their apartment was restricted. Don't know if the law changed so quickly or if they didn't like my profile. I found another place quite easily.

My Wife and I were in Paris in May 2025 and rented a wonderful 1 bedroom via Air B&B without any issues.

hey hey pollocktoni
there have been lots of issues with airbnb and vrbo for several years. STR (short term rentals) have so many restrictions, 30 days for a rental, owners must have a license issued by paris city, housing for local residents gets ugly, the cost & fees they charge, so many last minute cancellations (water leaks, another person willing to pay more, trying to find another place last minute ain't fun, etc)
it's not only in paris, it's all over europe. we have so many issues on the hawaiian islands, owners of condos/apts don't live there, losing money and wanting to sell off the place, plus the lahaina fire didn't help much. too much overcrowding/overtourism. all over the world. some people have no issues, some do. in the search line at top of page, type what you're looking for with the one year or less will list some places and sites to check out. some have used citadines aparthotels within paris, booking.com they offer apartments, on left side click your filters, tripadvisor.com (vacation rentals) we used this 5 years ago and ending up staying in the 14th arr, was nice place but too far away so we took taxi into town.
don't know how many people in your group, may be better for 2 rooms that each room has a bathroom. you have to decide what's important/wants/needs to you and lots of research. prices have gone up everywhere, stay closer to attraction more than staying further out. read cancellation policies, what floor (lift/elevator needed for steps/stairs) be prepared for the unexpected.
just be patient and persistent to find what you want and at the right price. with amenities. good luck & enjoy
aloha

I don't generally recommend renting short term in Paris. There are a lot of unknowns. I can say that the city has a full time staff of 20 inspectors doing nothing but shutting down illegally operated apartments and fining the apartment owners. Additionally Paris reportedly collects millions of euros per year from fines collected from apartment owners operating short term apartments illegally.

There must be a number of stories about disappointed renters losing their planned Paris accommodations. I do occasionally hear about them, but owners who are fined, up to 50,000€ per occurrence, do not necessarily publicise the fact they were fined, and do not make announcements about being forced to convert their properties from short term rentals for tourists, to long term rentals for residents.

Paris is a location that demonstrates that when the citizens have an issue they can solve it the way they see fit. They have chosen to regulate the heck out of short term rentals. Respect it. Rent legal. Look for the license number. Great that the government is searching out the violaters and fining the begeebers out of them. Means odds are good that the listings are legitimate.

VRBO or AirBnb? ... well a lot of units might be on both. Then there are some local brokers that might actually be a better place to start. Google around for them.

As for some of the other warnings. Do keep in mind that despite perception that AirBnb and VRBO are glorified high tech WantAdds like the NY Times had in the 1970's. You are doing business with the apartment owner with regards to most issues.

What ever you choose, enjoy!!

I just sold the apartment I had listed on AirBnB. In order to get my last couple of payments, I had to supply a bunch of additional information about myself, the business, taxes, etc. This leads me to conclude that AirBnB has heard the complaints and is addressing the issue (at least here in the US where I live) to the extent possible. They want to stay in business, I guess.

Just make sure that there is a license number which is issued by the city of Paris on the page describing the B&B you're interested in

The inclusion of a license number on the AirBnB listing is proof of nothing, at least nothing a potential renter can confirm with the authorities as a legitimate license. That was true as recently as 2 years ago when I last tried to find a way to confirm the authenticity of the number, and I found nothing. I asked the owner for a copy of the license, but they refused to provide it. If someone has such a link, specifically for Paris, please share it...

Jojo

DUE DILIGENCE: reasonable steps taken by a person to avoid committing a tort or offense.

But the authorities have the list so it would sort of dumb to put fake numbers on a site that is currently turning over the database to the French authorities.

But the authorities have the list so it would sort of dumb to put fake numbers on a site that is currently turning over the database to the French authorities.

But there is no way for a renter to verify if it is a legit number, and also whether the rental unit is still legally available later in a calendar year after they have hit the max number of rental days. I don't get the impression that AirBnB itself does any due diligence whatsoever, they just accept whatever the owner tells them about the license.

Yes, it would be very dumb to put fake numbers on the site, but the owner should be able to show a prospective tenant a copy of any official license paperwork and approval, and when I asked to see something like that, the owner refused (actually, they referred me to the number on the AirBnB listing)...so I walked away from it, too much BS for me.

I prefer hotels anyway, on site management, etc.

Nope, no way for you to verify that the prescription drug you just bought is counterfeit. Or tge flight you are on had tge required safety inspections. Or the Toyota Uber you are in went in on the brake repair recall or . ...