Cross pollinate site to book apartments

I've looked at the site but never used them as they never has as good a selection as Homeaway, VRBO, etc. Airbnb has the extra protection of not giving the money to the owner until after you have arrived and have no problem with the apartment. I've used sites like it for years with no problem before Airbnb became such a big thng.

I have never heard of Cross Pollinate. Looking at their website, they only cover a few cities.

These days, Airbnb isn't considered to provide good value in Europe, as their exchange rates are very poor and on top of that, their charges are expensive. Quite often, the same place maybe on VRBO, booking.com or Trip Advisor at 20%+ cheaper. Most of my friends have stopped using Airbnb other than as a last resort. Shop around.

Thanks Jennifer and kathyrnj. I will check TripAdvisor and booking.com as well. One of our concern is how many steps or how steep the stairs are which we will need to read the ask the host. .

The previous post is incorrect. You can still book and pay the property owner direct on Owners Direct and thereby avoid a booking fee or you can pay extra through OD themselves for extra security.

Cross-Pollinate is different in that they are selective, cover only 8 cities, and actually inspect and keep in touch with each property that they list. I'd expect their customer service to be good. I haven't used them myself, but would certainly take a look when staying in the relevant cities.