Apartments are often a more pleasant accommodation option than a hotel, since they are much cheaper and no worse in terms of conditions, but you get more freedom, you can cook for yourself. Tourists from Russia are still, for the most part, afraid to book apartments, but their European colleagues use this convenient way of rest with might and main.
Instructions
Step 1
To find an apartment, the website for their booking is usually used. There are a lot of such sites, but the most popular ones are as follows.
www.airbnb.ru - not very old, but popular, especially among travelers under 35 years old, site. There is a Russian version.
www.homelidays.com - old site with the largest database, interface in English only.
www.rentalia.com is one of the best sites for finding apartments in Southern Europe (mostly Mediterranean).
www.homelidays.co.uk is a British site, but there are apartments in it in many countries around the world. You can also find inexpensive hotels.
www.only-apartments.com - this site also has a very good database of apartments in Europe.
Step 2
You may have to dig through several resources to find the best option. Conveniently, all apartment booking sites have approximately the same interface. First, register on the site. You can search without registration, but only after it you can talk to the owner and rent an apartment. After registration, start searching. The parameters are exactly the same as with hotels: location, number of rooms, available services (air conditioning, household appliances), accommodation conditions.
Step 3
After the apartments are selected, you can book them directly on the website. Sometimes after that, you immediately need to pay for the apartment, in some cases, payment is made upon arrival. Be sure to write to the landlord personally and specify the arrival dates. Even in hotels there are mistakes and overlaps, it is just that tourists usually do not notice them. Here, reservations are managed by a person for whom this is most likely not the main occupation. No one has canceled the human factor, so it is very important to double-check the dates and clarify with the owner that everything is valid.
Step 4
Money from your card is debited only when the owner confirms your booking on the website. Some sites write off funds when a day expires from the moment you start living in the apartment. This is done in order to protect the guest from all kinds of problems.
Step 5
To find the best options, start early. Even good and inexpensive hotels run out quickly during the high season, there is no need to talk about apartments, which are still much smaller than hotels.
Step 6
Be sure to read the reviews of previous tenants. It is possible that the description is not entirely true, although this is quite rare.
Step 7
At the time of check-in, the owner of the apartment will give you the keys, tell you what are the rules of living in this house. You will then be able to view the apartment and sign the contract. Inspect furniture and rooms and check the condition of the plumbing. If there are obvious problems, then immediately report it to the owner.
