 Poster: A snowHead
|
|
As part of planning for a month ish road trip with my son in early January I have been searching for places to stay in resorts mainly in Austria for staying for a week at a time in different resorts. Is it just me, Airbnb places appear to be well over priced with much better value deals to be had at hotels. I know the two can be completely different but when you factor in some of the benefits a hotel can have ( ie food included, be it breakfast or 1/2 board) I’m finding hotels to be better value.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
@Shaggy39, have you also checked on Vrbo?
I've got an apartment booked in Saalbach for mid January, Friday-Saturday (8 nights) for €884 which was as cheap as hotels, but in a far better location.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
@swskier, It's perhaps worth noting that VRBO/Expedia (yes, it's the same operator) only allow listings from companies who are VAT registered, so there's potentially an extra cost built-in to the price, compared with a smaller operator with a similar property.
Similarly, I'm always astonished at the number of our guests who book through booking.com or airbnb (neither of whom have the VAT requirement) without having looked to see if they can find us cheaper directly. Both of those charge us quite a high commission, so our direct prices are always cheaper, so it's always worth trying to find a direct booking link if you can; just five minutes web searching could easily save you 10% on your trip.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
@Shaggy39, in Austria AirBnB properties are all registered tourism accommodation. It is not legal to use main residences or even second residences for this purpose. More often they are apartments suitable for whole families so may be more expensive for only one or two guests. Of course Hotel accommodation can also be found using AirBnB, Booking and other such websites.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
@Shaggy39, just book Hotels then 
I've used airbnb on occasion but certainly for ski trips I find booking through tourist office/agency/direct with owner is simpler, have more options, is at worst no more expensive.
I've used airbnb occassionally. Like once I was going to a wedding in Oxford and Hotels were stacked or expensive. I wouldn't say the airbnb was a bargain but it was available, convenient and reasonably priced.
Seems to be going the way of ebay a bit and losing it's original raison d'etre.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
@Chaletbeauroc, we are not VAT registered but we are (I think) up on VRBO ...
I could never understand people not tracking us down and avoiding commissions. We were previously extremely easy to find ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@Shaggy39,
Reasons are:
*Austria has always been and still mostly is a hotel/gasthof/pension focused markt, much more than France and Switzerland. Apartments are relatively scarce in Austria, also because traditionally Austria has been very strict on second homes. It is the reason why -luckily- in Austria you hardly see the ugly "second home suburbia" which is so prevalent in France and Switzerland.
*January=low season. Hotels are contracting staff for a whole season, making most of their money at Christmas and in February. In January they are covering fixed (labour) costs, hence good deals. AirBNB's in generally have little or no staff, so less fixed costs.
*January=Russian season (due to Russian New Year). But not this coming winter....
*Still many people believe AirBnB is a great deal, whilst it is not at all in many places anymore (Check Amsterdam!).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
We use airbnb/vrbo and booking.com for initial searches then always try and find chosen places direct to save money if poss and help the owners.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
| Chaletbeauroc wrote: |
@swskier, It's perhaps worth noting that VRBO/Expedia (yes, it's the same operator) only allow listings from companies who are VAT registered, so there's potentially an extra cost built-in to the price, compared with a smaller operator with a similar property.
Similarly, I'm always astonished at the number of our guests who book through booking.com or airbnb (neither of whom have the VAT requirement) without having looked to see if they can find us cheaper directly. Both of those charge us quite a high commission, so our direct prices are always cheaper, so it's always worth trying to find a direct booking link if you can; just five minutes web searching could easily save you 10% on your trip. |
Thats interesting on the matter of Vrbo and only having VAT registered businesses, could be why as of late when I search Booking.com, Airbnb & Vrbo, Vrbo always seems less competitive.
I would book direct but can find that the aggregator sites are better when having no penalty late cancellations than on the direct sites, somenthing which I value. I did go to the website of somewhere I had booked on Booking.com in Nice to see if it would be better to book direct, and their booking link takes you to ..........Booking.com!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| under a new name wrote: |
@Chaletbeauroc, we are not VAT registered but we are (I think) up on VRBO ...
|
They've changed their policy at least twice in the last couple of years, so I guess you must have registered with them before they put this in place.
When I first tried to register with expedia a couple of years back I was informed that they were no longer (i.e. this had recently been implemented) listing apartments, just hotels, and pointed me to a German-focused sister site instead, which wasn't appropriate for us.
FF to Feb this year when VRBO popped into my view again, and I went some way through the setup process before discovering this VAT requirement, which was mentioned by our CMS and then confirmed directly by VRBO when I queried it with them; they declined to give any explanation for this policy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
@ster,
| Quote: |
the aggregator sites are better when having no penalty late cancellations than on the direct sites
|
Yes, that would probably (there are circumstances where not) be the case with us.
@Chaletbeauroc,
| Quote: |
They've changed their policy at least twice in the last couple of years
|
Ah, of course, hadn't thought of that.
|
|
|
|
|
|
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
|
| Quote: |
Airbnb places appear to be well over priced with much better value deals to be had at hotels. I know the two can be completely different but when you factor in some of the benefits a hotel can have ( ie food included, be it breakfast or 1/2 board) I’m finding hotels to be better value.
|
Some Airbnb places will give you far more space than a basic hotel room, with your own private sitting area, facilities to keep drinks cool and prepare meals if you wish, peace and quiet. It might well be cheaper to live in an institution with meals provided in crowded, noisy, surroundings and nowhere to sit in peace except your own bedroom. Whether it's "better value" depends, as ever, on your criteria. I would always prefer to have my own space, and choices about where, and what, to eat than to stay in a busy, middling sort of hotel on half board.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Quote: |
opted for a hotel resort where I've stayed before. The experience was fantastic – the amenities, included meals, and overall convenience made it worth every penny
|
You see, that doesn't appeal to me at all. I've just booked a VERY self catered nice chalet in Les Saisies for Christmas. It has its own terrace with outdoor furniture, 5 proper bedrooms, lots of bathrooms, a sauna, ski and boot room and a laundry room and is well located for easy short walk to the front de neige. It's expensive - over 6000 euros for that peak week but it's lovely, and as a non skier these days  I will hugely appreciate the big communal area with great views of the mountains to sit and read a book, with coffee, or a beer or glass of wine at supermarket prices, when they are all out! That was booked through Gites de France. Five of us will be travelling from the UK in one van, and the other five have recently gone to live in Provence, so travel will cost very little. The five adults are very competent cooks to share work and the three older kids will do their share of clearing up after meals. We have all ski holidayed together before, and overcome all the predictable problems, mostly in much less palatial accommodation.
The fundamental choice between a hotel, with meals served up, and having your own place is always going to be a personal choice. There are some stories here on Snowheads about Air BnB being cancelled at the last minute whereas I think that's much less likely with resort websites, which would always be my first choice - all the big places except ultra luxurious unaffordable chalets were booked when I looked at the Les Saisies website, far too late.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
For Austria i do not think it will be something better way to search , than the ski - resort own website.
Sometime (especially for hotels) you could find nice offers in weg.de or ab-in-den-urlaub.de or holidaycheck.de
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
@Shaggy39, I found the same thing with private AirBnBs in Austrian resorts. The Austrian equivalent to Airbnbs seem to be apartment hotels (Appartementhaus in German) these are self catering but with facilities and a front desk. When searching these will look a bit like hotels.
If I want my own space I look for an apartment hotel.
If I'm on a budget I tend to go for the pensions (i.e. boarding houses) including breakfast and then eat out or get takeaway for supper.
If I'm treating myself (or find a good deal) then I go for a hotel.
If you are interested in the pensions this thread might help:
https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=5306112
A couple of example apartment hotels that I have stayed in and have been good:
Innsbruck: https://inncomer.at/en/innsbruck/
Seefeld: https://birkenwald.at
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
