How to choose Airbnb accommodation in Europe

Indeed, what are our criteria ?
     Based on our experiences :

1. Availability of Free WIFI

2. Free parking on-site

Parking is expensive in the city.

3. Entire Home/appartment

It would also be good if the host is living nearby and not miles away, because if you need help, calling the host is not really a good option because you wouldn't want to spend money on an international call. If you have purchased a local SIM card for travel, then this should not be a factor.

4. Fully equipped kitchen (preferably with conventional oven)

• When you see fresh seafood, beef, meat or vegetables in the market, seafood shop or supermarket, well...you may want to try your hand at cooking it your own way. 
• We usually order 1 meal to share for 2 in a restaurant. Continental food is alright to try but it's heavy for us, so it's good to cook 1or 2 meals a day.
• Why the conventional oven ? If you want to grill your seafood and eat it naturally just seasoned with salt, well the oven is helpful. There are also walnuts, hazelnuts, etc... that you can try.

5. Washer, dryer, dishwasher if possible.

• This will take the hassle out of your daily cooking or laundry and leave you to enjoy your travel.

6. A lift.

• If you have suitcases to carry, a lift is definitely worth considering, especially in a low-rise accommodation. If it's a house with 2 storeys, it would be better to leave the suitcases on the ground level, if possible.

7. Heating, if you're going during the colder months.

• You may want to check with the host if heating is turned on or if heaters are available in all the rooms.
• When we went in Oct, the daily temperature varies from 4 to 16 deg C. The host may not turn on heating or turn it on minimally, as heating is expensive in Europe. Europeans may only turn on heating in the bedroom at night when they sleep. In the daytime, they wear enough clothes to keep themselves warm inside. So you will find the accommodation and bathroom pretty cold without heating.
• If there is a fireplace, you could buy firewood from the supermarket to burn wood for fun or to keep warm.

8. Non smoking.

     Budget of course will play a part in your choice of the Airbnb. Using Airbnb is the best alternative option if you want a kitchen, as compared to an Appart-Hotel, where the kitchen facilities are minimal. Cost savings will be more if you want to stay in a higher class hotel. It all depends of course on what you are looking for in an accommodation.

Airbnb issues you should take note

Indeed, things that you want to know but Airbnb doesn't tell you. Airbnb is not at all transparent in its documentation.

1. Airbnb hotline.

• Try searching for one on the internet and you will never find it.

2. Airbnb helpdesk.

• Try emailing them a message is the same as 1. There is no such menu item in the Airbnb interface, whether in PC or mobile version.
• If you need to report a problem, you have to use your mobile phone and keep exhausting the options presented by Airbnb until finally you can type a message to helpdesk.

3. Airbnb hell. 

• There is a whole website dedicated to people having Airbnb issues.
• Read through it and you will be scared off to attempt using Airbnb.

4. Airbnb undocumented.

• If the host has a problem with your reservation and informs you that it would be cancelled, let the host do it. Do not cancel the reservation on your side as it is understood you wanted to cancel and therefore you will be charged an Airbnb booking fee.
• Once the cancellation is done by your host, you will be informed and Airbnb will give you 2 options : either get a refund immediately, or use it together with a bonus credit given to you to offset the next Airbnb booking.

5. Airbnb hotline (US) - (correct as Oct 2016)

• US toll free: +1-855-424-7262

6. Airbnb hotline (Singapore) - (correct as Oct 2016)

• +65 6622 7306 
• +1800 723 1238 (toll-free)
 

Airbnb in Black Forest area, Ühlingen-Birkendorf, Germany

Name of Airbnb : Apartment - Wohnung @Black Forest
Host website : Schwarzwald Holiday
Room Type : Entire Home/Apartment 
Area : Ühlingen-Birkendorf, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Why did we choose this area ?
We wanted to stay in the Black Forest area, and my research indicated that I could do some walks in nearby Feldberg and Lake Schluchsee, and also visit Lenzkirch.

• Communication with Sue has been easy before our trip. We messaged her via Airbnb the night before that we expected to arrive just after 2 pm and she was there to welcome us. 
• She's a really warm and generous person and we felt at ease immediately.
• We stayed on the first floor, with our own entrance and Sue's family is staying right on site on the ground floor, with an interconnecting door between us.
• The apartment is spacious and we liked what she provides : her stainless steel pots and crockery, toaster, coffee maker, water heater jug, etc...things you'd use at home are there. She even places a service bell for us to ring her, but we never had to, cos she'd be looking out for us to see if we were alright. 
• My wife wasn't feeling too well and we asked to turn on the heating. Sue never hesitated in any way and even asked us to use her kitchen fully. 
• The house is located right on top of a hill, the view is wonderful and a wonderful place to be in the Black Forest. We walked around her neighbourhood at night after dinner to partake the fresh air. 
• Generous in every way, she gave us her garden tomatoes, a bit of salad and her home made berries jam. She offered to buy us bread in the morning, which we declined, and helped us with our laundry. She provided info on where to go, to eat and the local supermarket. We didn't manage to do a lot as my wife was a bit sick. 
• We visited Feldberg and Lake Schluchsee and found a good bakery and butcher in Tiengen. Sue gave us some parting biscuits the night before we left. 
• As this was our first Airbnb experience in Germany, we are very happy to have Sue as our host. She's very passionate about her work and we shared tips on health exercises. We really enjoyed our short stay with Sue and Roland.

Airbnb at Aeschi bei Spiez, Bern, Switzerland

Name of Airbnb : Pfrundmatte
Room Type : Entire Home/Apartment 
Area : Aeschi bei Spiez, Bern, Switzerland

• Communication with Andreas has been quite easy. He asked us to call his mum Julia about our ETA, which we did, and when we arrived, we were quite surprised to see him, waiting to receive us.
• He is very warm and that put us at ease rightaway. He then explained clearly and in detail on how to use his studio apartment. We were so happy to be using his place for the next 6 days. 
• Firstly, it's a chalet located at 750m altitude overlooking Spiez and Lake Thun. His apartment is on the first floor, with 2 other apartments but his balcony offers beautiful views morning and night over the valley and lake. 
• Secondly, it's very modern, comfortable and as it's quite cold, we turned on the heating in the living and bedroom.
• Thirdly, the kitchen has everything provided, tea, coffee, coffee maker, water heater jug, toaster, a big fridge and even a dishwasher. When we ran out of dishwasher tablets, more were brought over, as they don't stay on site. Julia. Andreas' mum, also came over the next day to show us how to use the washing machine, which is located in the basement. There's also a lift, which makes it easy to transport our luggage. We didn't have any issues, and when we asked them, their response or solution was quick.
• There's a supermarket, restaurants, butcher, and a good bakery nearby (the butter croissant is really delicious). 
• If you like native Swiss Alps music, you hear it everyday, cow bells ringing in the pastures right in front, as there's a cattle farm. And church bells chiming from behind... 
• It's only 35 min from Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald, so convenient a location to your Swiss adventure in the Alps.
• We also took small walks further up from his place, after dinner, to enjoy the fresh air. 
• Finally, we really enjoyed staying in his place, and we'd soak in the big bathtub to ease our fatigue from the mountain walks. It was our first Airbnb experience in Switzerland and we are delighted to have Andreas and Julia as our hosts.

Airbnb at Le Havre, France

Name of Airbnb : La Sanvicaise
Room Type : Entire Home/Apartment 
Area : Le Havre, Haute-Normandie, France

• Communication with Yveline has been easy and reponsive before our arrival. We told her our ETA and she was there to welcome us. 
• She briefed us on her house and we fixed a time for us to see each other again for the goodbye. 
• It's a 3 storey house located on a hill right above Le Havre city centre. Her son stays on the ground level only for the weekend but we didn't see him. We parked our car right inside the compound here. 
• On the first floor, the living room is on the right (when you face the house), dining room and kitchen on the left, and another living room right behind, with full height windows, facing a huge garden. 
• On the 2nd floor, 2 rooms, a twin bed and a double bed on each side of the staircase, with the bathroom in between. The front of the whole house faces the south, so it's bathed and warmed in the morning light as the sun rises. 
• It was pretty cold in Oct, so Yveline had the heaters turned on slightly. For us, it still felt cold. Fortunately, there's a portable heater that we could use and we place it to use wherever we felt cold. 
• She provides a lot of information in a file, what to do, nearby shops, restaurants to eat, etc... This was our 2nd time in Le Havre but this time we stayed longer, to know it better. 
• It's very convenient here, near to the Le Grand Cap Shopping Centre, where there's also the huge hypermarket Auchan, to the Parc de Montgeon, and to the city centre or the coast. 
• We visited Etretat for the 2nd time but at sunset, Le Tréport, St Valery sur Somme and Fécamp.
• In town, we shopped at Docks Vauban and Espace Côty and Le Grand Cap nearby. 
• We also enjoyed eating seafood : lobsters, turbot, "bar", "bulot", scallops, oysters and mackerel, all so fresh and cheap, that we had lobsters and turbot twice.
• Yveline's kitchen came in handy, her induction pots heat up really fast and of course, pretty well equipped for our cooking, and the dishwasher as well.
• Yveline also provides a paid option to engage a cleaning lady at the end of our stay. Though we always clean up the kitchen and clear trash at every Airbnb home, we may not have the same yardstick as to the standard of cleanliness, so we took up the option. 
• It's a quiet neighbourhood. It's also our first Airbnb experience in France and we had a wonderful stay thanks to Yveline.

Airbnb at seaside cottage in Brittany, France

Name of Airbnb : Seaside holiday cottage in Brittany
Room Type : Entire Home/Apartment 
Area : Trédrez-Locquémeau, Brittany, France

• We stayed 7 days here in Oct. People may be taken aback by signing a contract for the stay, but it didn't prevent me from trying this place in Brittany. 
• Emmanuel's mum Mme Guegan welcomed us, and had to drop by another day to give us toilet rolls. She came back on the final day to take note of the meter, and we paid her cash for the electricity consumed during our stay, which didn't amount to much, so it was really worth it.
• The weather however was about 4 to 16 deg C everyday, so the house was quite cold for us who are from SE Asia. Although we turned on the radiator to heat the shower rm, living or bedrm, it didn't work so efficiently(maybe due to humidity), so the heating may feel inadequate. Lighting up the fireplace helps, so people who come here in cold weather might have to buy firewood from the supermarket.
• The other difficulty is that the access road to the house is slightly steep and narrow, so parking, getting out, and moving suitcases may be a problem for some, and those with mobility issues might have also face some difficulty.
• All in all, we were quite happy with our stay despite these minor issues. We were lucky to have pretty good weather despite all odds, and we visited places that we like, especially the markets and the beaches.

Airbnb in Beaufort, Luxembourg

Name of Airbnb : Studio in Luxembourg's Little Switzerland
Room Type : Entire Home/Apartment 
Area : Beaufort, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg

• Chris was quite easy to reach via Airbnb and he responds quite readily. Normally, we were not supposed to see him on our arrival, but he turned up as he had to prepare our beds and other linen. 
• We hadn't been able to find his place and had to call him. Then later at his door, it was hard to hear him over the internet phone on how to open his apartment. So we were glad to see him arrive.
• Once you enter the correct road to the parking, you will see the Chinese restaurant Le Phenix on the right. Just head towards the end of the parking and take the lift to level 2. You have to go half a level down to his apartment. 
• As it was pretty cold in Oct, we were quite glad that his apartment was warm due to the presence of a huge radiator.
• Beaufort is situated at 700+m altitude. His place is a studio apartment where the bedroom, living rm and the kitchen are together. There's also a balcony plus a huge sitting area balcony extension. It's also located right next to the Mullerthal trails B1 and B4, so it was very convenient. 
• We also did another trail B2 near Berdorf. The leaves have changed colour, so it was beautiful.
• The Mullerthal trails are truly under-rated and for us, we were happy to make it here and to experience this wonderful area of Luxembourg.
• All in all, we enjoyed our short stay of 3 days here. It was warm and cosy, important for us as we come from SE Asia and so being warm where we stay is important.