Tips for Finding Cheap Accomodation

Do you like to travel a lot? Are you searching for cheap apartments in the heart of European capitals like Rome, Paris, London, or Prague? You can choose to stay in a small hotel room, or... rent a large apartment directly from the owner. As mentioned in a previous post, you can make use of one of the many websites which publish vacations rentals offers. Private holiday rentals are a good choice for many tourists as they offer great value for less money.
The most well-known websites to find a holiday rental are HomeAway and Homelidays.
HomeAway is the world’s most trusted vacation rental website with over 230,000 vacation rentals to choose from, while Homelidays is N°1 in Europe for private holiday rentals, 216.000 holiday makers visiting the site every day. There is a wide range of accommodations to choose from, and, as you can see, there are a lot of tourists who search on this websites meaning that you can find high quality renters.
Check these websites even if you book late as you will find many last-minute offers.

How to rent a property on Homelidays or HomeAway?

1. The first step is to create an account. You will need this in order to view full details of the adverts and to contact the owners.

2. Use the search form to find a property of your liking. You can choose its type (studio, apartment, house/villa etc.), the number of people it can accommodate, the availability period, and, of course, the location. In addition to these, you can perform a more advanced search based on criteria such as the price, numbers of rooms, bedrooms, amenities, location type, leisure activities, and special requirements (children, accessibility, pets, smoking etc.).


3. Review as many adverts as you can. When viewing an offer, you should look at its location on the map to see where it is situated and how far it is from the main attractions of the place you're visiting. I'd rather prefer central locations because I will not have to spent time and money on public transport.  Look also at the price (can you afford it?) and the methods of payment accepted by the owner. Many owners require to send them a booking fee via PayPal or bank transfer and pay the rest at arrival. Some will charge a cleaning fee and hold a deposit for eventual damages. Apart from location and price, you need to like it - see the photos and read the feedback from tourists who stayed there.

4. Send an email to the owner (you can do this directly form the page by clicking 'Contact the owner') and ask for availability and the exact price. Don't hesitate to ask for any details you want to know.

5. Make an agreement with the owner. You agree on the payment, check-in, check-out etc. Ask for his/her phone number and the property address.

Enjoy your holiday!