Would you ever rent a home/apartment on Air Bnb or VRBO etc. with no reviews?

Yeah, I might, depending on what I saw and what I heard from the owner/manager. Every place starts somewhere and so will have no reviews when they are new, and in some instances places switch managers and are not allowed to keep the past reviews they received while working with a different manager (ask me how I know). So......if I got a decent experience in chatting/emailing and I liked what I saw (and didn't see in the photos), I would.

In my experience, people are more willing to write a review when there's a problem than when things are fine, so not having a review wouldn't indicate to me the place had problems (i.e. people who didn't like it), only that it was untested.

Chiara, thanks, those are all great points to consider.

A significant number of "reviews" on most sites are completely fake anyway. One needs to really have a functioning BS-detector if you're going to put much faith in reviews posted by "users."

That said, I would be very, very wary of places with no reviews whatsoever. Lots of people get defrauded by AirBnB listings for places that don't even exist, or that are wildly inaccurate. Some are fine. But...it's a minefield. Be careful.

@David, that was my gut regarding units with no reviews at all. I'm headed to Paris in a few weeks for a two week stay and have booked a flat through Air BnB. Yes it is a bit of the wild wild west out there. Buyer beware! I never been burned so far but there is always a first time.

We rented a three bedroom house on santorini with only one review. I started correspond with the owner when there were no reviews. I rented it once there was one review.

Even then it felt like a risk but there were few options for three bedrooms. I would not have done it had there been any other reasonable options.

By the time we went, there were a lot of reviews.

I always correspond with owners several times before renting. I frankly am more leery overseas than in US of places with no reviews.
It would be more difficult to make other arrangements.

I have rented a lot of places all without any problems.

Beth

hey hey wvdthree
i agree with david, if gut has feeling there's a reason why. we rented an apt in london few years ago. it was the worst, said 2 bedroom which was a 1 bedroom living/dining/twin bed, kitchen table all were "2nd" bedroom. washer was locked shut with some other guest clothes and stinky water for how long ??? who knows, 17 year old daughter and friend gave us keys and left, owner "mom" out of country HUH? would not answer any messages and emails. we read reviews before renting, asked questions, and ended up with this horrible place, not on AIRBnB anymore.
when are you planning this trip and price in euros, how many people, mobility issues. what days in what city?
be careful of paris apartments, been cracking down on short stay/term rentals, make sure a 13 digit license number if not an illegal one. you may not have a place to stay when you get there and $$$ lost.
aloha

My answer to your big question is No.

You might try Booking.com for apartments, including the ones you've already identified. Owners often list their places on multiple platforms.

With Booking.com all the reviews come from people who have actually stayed in the apartment they are reviewing. One of the ways you can filter the results is by the review score.

I always pick 8+ and read the most recent ones. Requiring that high of a "grade" pretty much assures that all the reviews will not be of the "sour grapes" variety. Looking at recent reviews can provide insight into whether the place's score is based on old or recent reviews.

Each individual listing provides the review score, the number of reviews, the price for the time period, basic location information and the basics about the apartment. I find this convenient because I can easily decide which listing to click on for more information. It's also helpful for refining the search more or less.

Full disclosure: My first experience with Airbnb was my last. I'm not a fan. I also gave up on VRBO years ago, finding Booking.com's listings and filtering options more useful. But, after finding something of interest on Booking.com I might go to Airbnb or VRBO to see if there are more pictures.

Edited to add: Pay attention to what the Princess said about making sure that your Paris rental has the 13 digit license number. If not, it is illegal and you may indeed not have a place to stay when you arrive.

Yes I was sure that my Paris Air BnB had a reg/license number and I've had multiple contacts with the owner and everything seems like it's on the up and up.

It's seems like Air BnB is committing to having verified rental reviews but the end of 2020. I haven't read that VRBO is making a similar effort. I've made our last nights lodging outside of Rome through Booking.com so I'll trying using them for the two weeks we are in Emilia Romagna and Umbria.

No – I’ve found some beautiful looking places with no reviews, but I am too nervous to book!

🤞🏻Have rented from Airbnb before, but not in Europe. We booked a villa in Tuscany for May/2020. Reviews looked good, and all raves about the host, who had “super-host” status. She has responded quickly to all of my questions. Airbnb does not release payment to host, until 24 hours after you arrive.,This procedure puts my mind at rest... a bit. There is always a chance things can go wring... but I’m hoping for the best!

I would not.

I won’t rent any of those with less than 40 reviews and hold that same criteria for hotels or apartments on Booking.com. I’m not willing to run that much risk for a vacation trip, especially one out-of-country. One year when I was looking for an apartment in Spain in a smaller town, I noticed that several of the owners of apartments were giving each other’s positive reviews, so I knew their less than ten reviews weren’t even from real people who stayed overnight. I’d rather stay at a slightly inferior place with full knowledge of the expectations.

Heck to the no, especially in a foreign country. I’ve been burned twice in America by fraudulent or deceptive listings; there’s no way I’m using my valuable vacation time in Europe to deal with crap like that.

No way. I also only rent from Super Hosts.

I know people have to start somewhere - I don't think I've ever rented from any with no reviews tho - I have rented once or twice from some with maybe only a couple reviews as they were new-ish or in a not touristy place, and haven't had any issues. But yes - I find communicating with the owner first and seeing how that goes is a must. For me - if there are 10 more to choose from with everything I want that have lots of great reviews, I'm going to choose them first.

It's not possible to leave a review on Airbnb unless you've booked the place and paid for it, so reviews can't be 'fake', they can be a little kind sometimes.
When you book Airbnb they take the money from you but they don't pay the host until the day after the guests arrive, so if you were to arrive and find the accommodation didn't exist or some other big problem you contact Airbnb and they block payment. This system means it's highly unlucky there are non-existent accommodations on Airbnb because the fraudulent host would never get their hands on the money.
I know, I'm a host.
But also a traveller and yes, I have booked places without reviews, on Airbnb and elsewhere, all ok, but be careful.
Good signs - everything looks new and spic and span, but the photos shouldn't be professional looking, no reviews but hasn't been on the site for long, same host has excellent reviews for other accommodations (can't go wrong in that case), not an agency, cheaper enough to be enticing to attract first timers but not drastically so.
Risk factors to watch out for - is there a window in every room? Might the position be noisy, or in a not so pleasant neighborhood? (Check out Google Maps street view). What floor is it and is there a lift? If it's ground floor are you right on the street when you open the door? Are essential items such as sheets included? Are there any extra costs? What are the house rules?
Also you may feel happier to risk if you are staying a few nights and planning to be out and about and not so keen if it's a couple of weeks and you will spend more time actually in the accommodation....

I have, and it worked out great. Do your homework (especially in regard to location), and contact the owners to get any information lacking in the listing. Feeling them out could make all the difference.

All good advice from the experienced airbnb host!

It's actually the brand new inexperienced HOST that would worry us about an apartment with no reviews, not anything the matter with the apartment itself. However, the one time we tried out a new listing (after careful research and communication) it was absolutely fine.

I am obsessed with researching Hotels, Apartments and B&B's. I have had good luck with the reviews from Booking.com., recommendations from friends, relatives and many from the RS Forum. So far, so good!

...." not an agency,......"

I'll put a vote in for it not being a problem if it's managed by an agency, not by the owner. I used to be suspect, thinking owners would be more honest and take better care of their places, but I've changed my mind recently. Management agencies can and do provide a good service for owners and clients, particularly for owners who have nice places but do not live locally. I don't need to know an owner is renting their private place, I just need to know it will be a good place, presented fairly, and properly maintained. That can be done by owners or an agency; likewise, both owners and agencies can do a bad job. A couple of the places I rented in Italy last fall were managed by an agency, and they were lovely people who provided great service, even arranging to hire a car to pick me up at the train station, and providing good information about the neighbourhood.