AirBnB vs VRBO vs ?? for family of 5 in Eastern Europe

I like Booking.com because it has all kinds of accommodations--private rentals and hotels.

When I search booking.com on this forum it came back with a bunch of bad reviews. Is that just a vocal minority, and those happy don't bother posting?

It's been years since I used VRBO. However, Airbnb is just horrible. Do a search in this forum and you will understand.

I use both booking.com and Airbnb often, and have never had an issue. I like booking.com a bit more as they have more options though.

I have never had a problem with any of them, have used Booking for a decade, at least yearly with multiple stops per trip.
You have to pay close attention to cancellation policies, and of course you can get bad luck anywhere. I pay more attention to the reviews on the site because they are individual to the place and verified. Of course I have also taken chances on new listings with no reviews as well, and it's always been fine!

Airbnb is just horrible. Do a search in this forum and you will
understand.

Not really. Not that i ever noticed. Since Budapest i on your radar, plenty of good hotels and short term rentals from every platform (but I think AirBnb has the edge). Read the reviews and the term carefully. Budpaest is a large city so location is a little more important. My opinion is you want within a few blocks of Andrassy ut (Avenue). Definately out of District VII and the lower (down river) half of District V. Confusing? If you see something that seems to work post it here or PM it to me and I might be able to track down the exact location and maybe know somehting about the locatin relative to a good visit.

followed by 4 weeks spread between Budapest, Vienna, and
Prague(although open to suggestions).

No idea of your interests. Unless you have some emotional ties or focused interest I would say no more than 3 full days dedicated to Prague, 4 full days dedicated to Vienna 5 full days dedicated to Budapest. Well, that 12 days and you have yet another 18 days, so it’s the day trips, the special interests, and the places in between that become important. To be helpful with that sorta gotta know where you are ending your skiing trip so a route can be developed and something about your interests.

And think out of the box cause you got time for fishing mountain rivers or beach time.

kapekodkari,
I have been using Booking.com for years and have always been happy with them. I think many people comment on them when they are unhappy about something, and those who are satisfied don't make it a point to post that. Be sure to put in the filters that apply to you, and your parameters regarding ratings and price range. One thing about Booking.com over Trip Advisor is that all reviews must be from people who have actually stayed at the places they review, unlike Trip Advisor. And when we have had to make a change it was handled seamlessly. I do always book refundable. The slightly higher price is worth it to me for the peace of mind. Many times I have found the same place at a lower rate later on, so I booked at the lower rate and cancelled the higher rate reservation. Just last January our Hilo, HI hotel stay was over $700.00 cheaper two weeks after my original reservation. Yay!
Best of luck in your search.

Used airbnb very happily more than 50 times, mostly in Italy. Booking.com mostly happily --- certainly nothing worse than the wifi in an apartment didn't work for five days. I read all reviews and examine all photos with a skeptical eye. And I am not trying to save money compared to a hotel --- we just like apartments. There are lots of other apartment rental agencies in Europe, but I have not used them.

When you find a place that seems interesting on any of the platforms, copy some of the descriptive text and use that to google. Often you will find that the same apartment pops up on more than one platform. Different platforms have different policies for cancelation, etc and that can be good. But the price may reflect the different policies too.

Unless you have some emotional ties or focused interest I would say no more than 3 full days dedicated to Prague, 4 full days dedicated to Vienna 5 full days dedicated to Budapest. Well, that 12 days and you have yet another 18 days, so it’s the day trips, the special interests, and the places in between that become important.

I will still be working east coast hours, 2-11pm European time. So i think i can double the time estimates you have given. Also with a toddler we want to try and keep travel limited. We live in wyoming(small town), so very interested in things the city has to offer, cafe, museums, pools, etc.

I just booked a hotel through booking.com for a ski race coming up. If all goes to plan we will use their site for our trip.

My opinion is you want within a few blocks of Andrassy ut (Avenue). Definately out of District VII and the lower (down river) half of District V. Confusing? If you see something that seems to work post it here or PM it to me and I might be able to track down the exact location and maybe know somehting about the locatin relative to a good visit.

I will 100% take you up on this offer thank you!

Always happy to help.

so very interested in things the city has to offer, cafe, museums, pools, etc.

And we have one bath house / pool here that welcomes children. https://bathsbudapest.com/palatinus-bath-budapest#:~:text=Palatinus%20Baths%20%E2%80%93%20Lido%20for%20the%20whole%20Family&text=Thermal%20Pools%3A%20Children%20under%2014,magical%20surrounding%20of%20Margaret%20Island.

And, if you want to really play "local" tourist https://www.aquaworldresort.hu/hu/aquaworld

And that link I gave you has a section on tourism for children.

Airbnb is just horrible. Do a search in this forum and you will understand.

We love AirBnB. We've had better experiences, on balance, with AirBnB rentals than with hotels. I understand other people may have had bad experiences, but this summer we stayed almost exclusively in AirBnB rentals for over 4 months, in over 20 locations. None was a horror story, and in only one did we have any serious issues (Bologna). And those were remedied promptly.

1. I have used none of the above for Vienna.
2. I have only booked hotels in Prague but used booking.
3. In Budapest, I use booking for hotels but apartments seem to be over on Air BnB.

It’s interesting that different countries and cities seem to migrate to particular platforms. So I always take a look at both. Sometimes I head to Google Maps and look for places (that’s what I did for Vienna). Some cities have their own centralized place to book (thinking particularly of Jasper or Mull). I haven’t used VRBO in decades so can’t speak to that.

And yes, I’d be looking at apartments as well.