Are you used to booking your accommodation on a platform like Airbnb, Booking or Abritel? Perfect. But did you know that you can often pay much less by booking outside of these platforms?
How to bypass Airbnb
Like many people, you may be wondering how to bypass Airbnb, how to avoid Abritel service fees and pay the best price for your rental. By booking directly with the owners, you save on average 15% on the price of your stay. Yes, as you can imagine, the platforms are not free and the rental companies pass on the amount of commissions they charge. And if this is not the case, you will have to pay a “service fee”.
Avoid service fees
The trick is simple to pay less. Locate the name of the accommodation in the ad and type it into your favorite search engine. If the owner of the accommodation has a website, you can contact them directly or book directly on their site. If he does not have a website, he can have a Google MyBusiness listing which will be displayed with the first results and which will indicate at least his contact details. As simple as that! It doesn't work every time, but it's worth a try to save 15% on a stay of €1000 or more. Do the math, it’s pretty well paid per minute!
The Jaden Kreyol cottage in Guadeloupe offers a better price by booking directly.
Le gîte à Lamentin Guadeloupe Jaden Kréyol a choisi de mettre en place un site web avec un moteur de réservation. Cela permet d'offrir aux internautes une expérience identique à une plateforme dans le sens ou ils ont la disponibilité et le prix en temps réel comme sur une plateforme, le paiement sécurisé, mais à un prix bien plus attractif pour les voyageurs, et plus compétitif pour le loueur. C'est aussi une contribution pour un meilleur pouvoir d'achat! Alors je ne sais pas ce que vous en dites mais moi, je préfère m'offrir quelques bons petits restos créoles ou des activités pendant mes vacances plutôt que de payer des commissions à une multinationale, pas vous ?
Soit dit en passant, notez qu'une bonne partie des commissions que nous payons à Airbnb (américain) finit dans les caisses de nos chers amis MM Google et Facebook (américains). Saviez-vous que Booking à lui seul paie chaque année 6,5 millards de dollars en achats de mots-cé pour des campagnes de "liens sponsorisés", autrement dit de la pub ? Vous avez sûrement remarqué que, quoi que vous recherchiez comme hébergement dans le monde sur votre moteur de recherche, les premiers résultats sont toujours des annonces des plateformes, Booking en tête. Ceci explique cela.
Why do some Airbnb listings not include a guest service fee?
It does not depend on the traveler but on the host. Airbnb distinguishes two statuses for hosts: individuals and professionals. Professionals are owners who have the status of non-professional furnished rental company (LMNP), which is in reality a compulsory tax regime from €23,000 of rental income per year. Or, it could be a concierge service that manages several accommodations.
For private rentals, Airbnb charges fees of 3% to the owner, and 15% to the tenant. When the owner has Pro status, Airbnb shifts the guest service fee to them, which is then called a commission. The traveler no longer has to pay service fees, but you can imagine that the owners pass this commission on to their rental price. It therefore doesn't change much for the traveler who will simply see a clearer total price displayed.
How to avoid Airbnb fees?