Hotels vs VRBO’s

You can look on several platforms, I like Booking.com, since it shows a variety of lodgings, the range from hostels to houses, including small hotels and even chain hotels. But if you are going to be staying weeks in a place, then you are probably left to VRBO.

Probably one thing to consider, among many, is payment terms. A number of reports of VRBO and AirBnB hosts not taking credit cards, leaving cash, or as is common in Europe, bank transfers among individuals. Both present some problems, the issue with getting that many euros, carrying cash around, or a higher potential for fraud.

I like having a kitchen (especially for breakfast, and not having to be dressed in order to get it), plus often a clothes washer (bonus if there’s a dryer), and, hopefully, a dishwasher. Although we often got VRBO (now Vrbo for some marketing reason) rentals in many places, in some he past, I’ve pretty much switched to Airbnb, including the last two Italy trips.

I used VRBO exclusively for many years in Italy and almost always had great experiences. I used Airbnb once (in the states) and never again! For me, it's the kitchen (primarily for breakfast) and the clothes washer that wins out over hotels.

Great info. Thanks for the feedback! I agree, the ability to have breakfast handy is a key.

We have a trip coming up next April--Florence, Rome, Salerno, Taormina (Sicily), traveling by train. We have already booked our air, plus booked apartments using AirBnB in all places except Salerno, where I got a recommendation of a cheap but good hotel right across from the train station.

There will be 4 people for sure traveling, possibly as many as 6 meeting us in some places. Thus, we booked a 4 BR, 4 bath in Florence, a 3 BR, 2 bath in Rome, and a 4 BR, 3 bath in Taormina. These places run nightly from $350 (Florence) to $750 (Rome) to $640 (Taormina) but broken down 4 ways not bad at all. Washers in the Rome & Taormina apartments, otherwise we'd be utilizing a lavanderia, which from past experience sometimes is more a PITA than it's worth.

FYI I think on all three AirBnB's we've put 50% down, but can be cancelled up to 1 week before and get full refund. That is key, so watch for that. The other thing, read all the reviews. Descriptions by the owner don't tell the entire story. Also, once you get the address--after you book & pay--you'll get the exact address, so then you can get on Google Street View and really see where you're at.

Enjoy your planning!

How long is your trip? That's a lot of locations.

You might also consider staying at an agriturismo. We spent 7 days at an agriturismo 20km south of Florence near the town of Greve. It was wonderful. It included breakfast. We ate dinner there one night, along with two Christmas parties. They were an exhurberent bunch who adopted us and we joined their parties.

apartments hve risks that hotels don't. They can be suddenly unavailable leaving you high and dry. (many cities are cracking down on illegal rentals and some owners will just tell you there is a 'water problem' when they want to let their nephew use the place). They also usually don't hve any way to store luggage before and after check in and if there is a problem during your stay you may need to be there for the workmen.

We have been using apartments in Europe for over 40 years, back when you had to use a catalogue. they are good for longer trips when you want to cook in and not be dependent on restaurants for all your meals.

We usually book hotels for stay of 3 nights or fewer and apartments for longer stays and are very careful to read reviews and only deal with reputable vendors. So far we have not been cheated but the sophistication of scams is rising. Never unless you have experience with the landlord ever send money outside agency channels or not using a credit card. If you use a bank transfer the money is gone if the person is dishonest.

When I started planning my upcoming October trip back in December of last year I looked at a number of hotels, but found the prices much higher than what I found on Airbnb or booking.com. I searched VRBO, but did not care for the layout, and found the cleaning fees to be higher and some places requesting a deposit of some sort.
I ended up booking lodging via Airbnb for Florence, Naples and Rome and booking.com for Venice. The same property I booked in Venice is more expensive on Airbnb due to their fees. I have been reading the reviews of each property since I booked them and only chose those with very high ratings. Communication has been excellent. In fact, the owner in Rome just reached out to me to let me know that her neighbor is now hosting cooking parties and said that Airbnb is not offering her any support in that matter. She said she wanted to be upfront about the possibility of disturbance during my stay and said she would understand should I want to cancel. I told her there was no way I was going to let a cooking party ruin my Rome trip. Her place gets fantastic reviews and I am looking forward to my stay. For each of the Airbnb properties I paid half with credit card at booking and will pay the other half closer to my arrival day. They each have the option to cancel. The tourist tax is included in my payment, so no need for Euros.
The only times I have used VRBO was for the same Caribbean property several years in a row. We also communicated with the owner outside of VRBO. And the second time was booking a senior beach week trip for my daughter, which was not a good experience. The property was filthy, the cleaning company never touched the place after the previous guests left.

My wife and I have used AirBnBs throughout Europe, and we prefer this lodging alternative to any other. Much more positive experiences overall than hotels. We've not yet used the platform in Italy, but will do so for a month starting mid-September. We'll report back.

It doesn't entirely have to be an either/ or. Many smaller hotels offer a couple of apartments, or are all apartments. I used to use VRBO, but in the last few years since expedia bought them have moved away. The additional fees tend to make them less affordable too. If you do pick up a RS guidebook he often lists a couple of places that have apartments.

There is also a company in Venice I have seen recommended called Red House. I believe it is owned by Venetians. I haven't used it myself; we changed our trip and went to Sicily, but I had drooled over a couple of apartments before we decided).

good point. what we have changed to for short stays like a week in Berlin last year and a week in Montpellier -- is in places where we don't have a regular connection we try to use apartment hotels. Those have the advantages of apartments in kitchen and more than one room but also the advantages of hotels with luggage storage, usually laundry, breakfast if you wish and some front desk assistance. It is also legal and secure.

Many apartments will be on several platforms. Find some unique language in the listing and google it to find the other platforms. Then choose the platform you feel most comfortable with.

Apartment hotels are a preference for some. I dont much care for them. While short term rentals may occupy 5 units out of 50 in a building in a tourist district, the Apartment Hotel displaced all 50 units - forever, odds are they could never be returned for local use. Boutique hotels do the same. Living in a tourist dependent inner city, I prefer the streets where 20 tourists are dispersed the length of the street vs the street where 300 tourist are plopped down in the center of the street.

apartments have risks that hotels don't. They can be suddenly
unavailable leaving you high and dry.

Absolutely true. One study that just counted complaints posted on twitter found 125.000. That’s 125.000 out of nearly one half billion rentals last year.

(many cities are cracking down on illegal rentals and some owners
will just tell you there is a 'water problem' when they want to let
their nephew use the place).

And I have had a hotel cancel my booking because they got a huge group that wanted the entire hotel. These things do happen. No everyone is honest. Always do a little due diligence. Look for a registration number. If six listings for a city show one and one listing does not, then odds are that they are regulated in that city and the one without the number is operating illegally, or at leas unprofessionally.

They also usually don't have any way to store luggage before and after
check in and if there is a problem during your stay you may need to be
there for the workmen.

Also true.

We have been using apartments in Europe for over 40 years, back when
you had to use a catalogue. they are good for longer trips when you
want to cook in and not be dependent on restaurants for all your
meals.

I for one, don’t like to cook on holiday. But if you do, that’s a plus.

We usually book hotels for stay of 3 nights or fewer and apartments
for longer stays and are very careful to read reviews and only deal
with reputable vendors. So far we have not been cheated but the
sophistication of scams is rising. Never unless you have experience
with the landlord ever send money outside agency channels or not using
a credit card. If you use a bank transfer the money is gone if the
person is dishonest.

All good advice. Always pay through the system.

I looked back at your posts to see if there was any additional info about your planned "long trip" and found this:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/italy-itinerary-250a672b-45e0-4953-88af-39d8ba873566

You mention this trip to be "20+ days" for the six locations. If splitting your time equally between the six, 4 days apiece = 24 days + 2 additional travel days but you're probably looking at more days at some and less at others? Given the extra fees attached to many rentals, such as cleaning and whatnot, we tend only to book them for longer versus shorter stays where those fees aren't such a hit when averaged over more versus fewer days.

You might use the same strategy: rentals for your long stays and hotels for the shorter ones, depending on the added fees? That said, the inability to have our bags held if arriving early (or leaving late) and lack of 24/7 desk service are factors as well. We're finding as we've gotten a bit older that the peace of mind that desk support provides is figuring into the picture should either of us experience a medical issue. As well, should a transport snag have us arriving in the wee hours, an apt. host might be unavailable to hand over keys if necessary for entry; not an issue with coded doors, of course.

Editing to add: most of our rentals have been through property management companies with 24/7 local support, apt. hotels with onsite desks, or multi-unit clusters, such as cabins, with owner/staff available onsite regular hours + if needed.

I truly support the vacation rental for stays of 4 or more nights, regardless of platform. I tend to go with www.Booking.com as my preferred platform as I can usually find something with favorable cancellation plans. I hesitate to rent something with no out clause and I will not pay outside the platform unless I have stayed there before and now have a relationship with the owners.

For less then 4 nights, unless it is an Aparthotel it is just not worth the hassle of stocking the apartment with supplies even for a simple breakfast or take out dinners. All too often you won’t find so much as a drizzle of olive oil, coffee for the morning, or salt and pepper, much less dishwashing tablets or dish liquid. For 4 or more nights, it’s sure great to have a clothes washer, space to spread out, and the opportunity to relieve restaurant fatigue by preparing a simple meal.

Also be aware that many vacation rentals, regardless of platform, come with departure chores: strip the bed, take out the trash and recycling, don’t leave any unwashed dishes, and sometimes more. If you have an early departure, this can be a huge hassle.

Some very good points being made. We will compare “total cost” of Airbnb and Vrbo vs hotels, in each city. It has been nice when we have used Vrbo in the US to have a little extra space to relax.
Airbnb options that we have seen recently in the US have very restrictive cancelation policies so that is why we have started using Vrbo.
We will definite keep reading comments as we have some time to decide what to do in each city.

Again, thank you very much for all the feedback. Seems to be a popular topic.

re stocking the apartment. Almost always apartments we have rented have had some minimal kitchen amenities Usually olive oil (but give it a good sniff) and usually sugar, salt and pepper and very often a cabinet full of spices and foods and sometimes a bottle of wine and water. BUT sometimes you find a place that is stripped to the bone. We have one like that in Madrid. Not even salt and pepper. My rule of thumb is that if the place is generous in providing things, then I am happy to leave the things I buy. If it is totally empty I will literally throw out supplies before I leave any at all.

WE usually stay for long stretches. e.g. this fall we will be in a place for two weeks in Florence and 4 weeks in Paris so outfitting the kitchen and buying laundry detergent is not problem. But if we are moving around and staying in places for short stints, I will throw some ground coffee and my silicon pour cone and filters, a couple of dishwasher tabs etc into the luggage and then when I got there I get milk for the morning latte and we make a morning bakery run and add yogurt or whatever.

Even if we eat dinner out, it is nice to have the ability to have breakfast in and have snacks and drinks etc. For longer stays we love shopping the markets and taking advantage of the wonderful cheeses in France and produce in both France and Italy and we love butcher shops. And in both cultures there is a lot of decent take out food. We are past the point of traveling to see things and are into 'living' in the places we visit.

Our preference has always been to stay in small hotels for three nights or less. We usually wanted apartments if we were at one place for five nights or more. For apartments in Europe, I have always reserved them through Booking.com. Their prices are very apparent & it shows the address. Last February in Spain, one of them had a stipulation that I had to give them a cash deposit when we checked in for any damage. I think that was just a copy/paste from their VRBO-type listing because we never needed to do it.

One big disadvantage of the apartment rentals is that you can’t leave your luggage at the place when you arrive early. I have never had a B&B or small hotel tell me I couldn't leave them at their place when I enquired through the Booking.com messaging. I also really like the breakfasts provided in Italy. I have a cup of coffee in my room getting ready and then a nice breakfast in the dining room which can be enough sometimes to skip lunch.

They also usually don't have any way to store luggage before and after
check in and if there is a problem during your stay you may need to be
there for the workmen.

Also true

Actually, it depends. Last year, in Bergen, Norway, our Airbnb owner let us stash our suitcases until late in the afternoon. You can’t guarantee that somebody won’t be checking in right after you’ve checked out, but some apartments and buildings have a safe storage place. An apartment that we used several times in Nice, France used to have such a space, but as of last month, when we stayed there again, the space now has a lock for which short-term renters don’t get a key. It’s hit-and-miss, but not a definite impossibility.

The thing with Vrbo the past few years is that finding a small place for a couple is almost impossible. Everything on Vrbo now seems to be multiple-bedroom, multiple-bath properties, designed for groups and large families, and is priced out of our range. Airbnb has lots of small, relatively inexpensive places, although many are in the attic of an old (charming) building, at the top of lots of stairs, and not always with a lot of ceiling clearance for my taller husband.

Not sure how it is now, but I had 2 out of 9 AirBnb's cancel on me a few weeks before arrival, about 6 years ago. I'm very leery now.

We stay in apartments like many of you for longer stays-using booking.com and air bnb mostly. VRBO doesn’t have as many European listings.

However, we take most of what we bought from place to place!

In Sicily, we bought a huge bottle of olive oil in Taormina. It was the only size available. We took it on the train and in the rental car and then used the last of it in our last stop in Palermo.

Not sure how it is now, but I had 2 out of 9 AirBnb's cancel on me a few weeks before arrival, about 6 years ago. I'm very leery now.

Wow, that's terrible. Fortunately, it's never happened to us in nearly 30 separate stays.

I am a fan of renting an apartment even for short stays. You can ask about leaving luggage if your arrival/departure doesn’t fit in their advertised windows. You can ask what supplies are there.

We had a lovely experience in Bologna last summer: arrived at 9 am and were invited to access using the lock box (I didn’t even ask, I just said when we were arriving and they offered), able to stay until 6 pm day of departure ( I did ask then). It was 38° C so would have been awful to have even our backpacks. It was just so generous and gracious of the owner. I offered to pay because it was almost a whole day extra and so helpful to us. What hotel would let you overstay in the room?

Got insulted by someone on this forum for wanting to not eat out all the time because Bologna is such a foodie destination but I agree about breakfasting and enjoying local produce. Glad to hear I am not alone!