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To make ends meet, many people rent their apartment during the holidays or weekends to individuals.

To save money while traveling, a great deal is also to rent an apartment to individuals rather than going to a hotel.

But with all the collaborative sites that have positioned themselves in this niche, it is difficult to navigate. So which one to choose?

We have compared for you the 5 main sites for short-term rental of apartments between individuals in France.

The first to launch and the best known is of course Airbnb. Its main competitors: the French Sejourning, Wimdu, HouseTrip and Bedycasa, have generated less buzz but are not to be outdone.

4 criteria vary depending on the site and must be taken into account before using one platform rather than another:

• The commission received

• Insurance

• Client service

• The accommodation offered

1. Which Site Will Get You The Least Commissions?

Whether you are renting out your accommodation, or even subletting your accommodation during your vacation, or whether you go through a rental platform to find a cheap apartment to rent, the first criterion to consider is that of the commission.

Among the 4 sites we compare, not all of them apply the same commissions to landlords and tenants. Which one will take the fewest commissions from you.

• On tenants:

- Airbnb charges between 6% and 12% commission depending on the duration of the accommodation and the total amount of the accommodation.

- Wimdu takes a fixed commission of 12% on the total rental price.

- Sejourning also applies a 12% commission on your trip.

- BedyCasa has chosen to be remunerated on a 15% commission taken from each transaction at the time of acceptance of the reservation. A commission "integrated" by the host when he sets his price per night. The prices displayed are therefore the prices to be paid. No additional booking fees are added for transparency.

- Housetrip applies between 10% and 20% commission overall without detailing whether it is on the tenant or the owner ...

• About the owners:

- Airbnb takes 3% fixed commission on the total rental amount.

- Wimdu takes 3% commission like Airbnb.

- Sejourning takes a commission of 4%

- BedyCasa with its 15% commission is less incentive to offer its accommodation for rent.

2. Which Site Offers the Best Coverage in Case of a Problem?

Most short-term apartment rental sites have set up comprehensive insurance contracts covering the tenant and the owner.

- Airbnb has taken out insurance covering the tenant and the owner up to € 1,000,000.

- Wimdu has put in place an insurance policy that covers you up to € 500,000.

- Sejourning, very focused on safety, tops the rankings with comprehensive insurance that can cover up to € 1,500,000 in the event of damage.

- BedyCasa, on the other hand, offers to take out optional insurance that insures the third party.

- Housetrip does not even address the subject of insurance in its FAQs. It seems that this one is not supported by the site itself. No information is available on this subject which says a lot about the importance given to safety.

3. Is Customer Service Easily Reached?

Renting an apartment between individuals has the advantage of being very flexible. Each tenant is different, each stay will bring its share of questions for the owner as for the tenant and in case of questions, it is important that the answer be provided quickly.

For a stay to go as smoothly as possible, for both the owner and the tenant, it is essential that customer service is responsive and can resolve any problem as quickly as possible.

While most sites make great efforts to have available and quality customer service, we can see some differences:

- Airbnb has quality customer service, easily reachable 7 days a week and 24 hours a day by email or live chat. Customer service will call you back very quickly. But beware, it is better to be bilingual, because you will very rarely come across a French speaking person.

- Wimdu is more difficult to contact. They can only be reached by email and it may take some time to get back from their customer service.

- Sejourning can be reached easily, by email or by phone directly on a landline number (therefore free) with customer service based in France.

- BedyCasa also has customer service easily reachable by email or phone 7 days a week.

- Housetrip can only be reached by email. These are the agencies that manage customer service. The answers are long overdue.

4. And the Accommodation Offered?

On each of these 5 sites, you will find a wide choice of apartments, houses, and even unusual dwellings for rent.

What differentiates them is the choice, on the one hand, of the number of accommodations offered and the quality / price ratio on the other.

- Airbnb offers the most choice with more than 30,000 accommodations available throughout France. The only downside, the price of housing remains quite high on Airbnb compared to others like Sejourning or Wimdu.

- Wimdu offers a wide choice of 20,000 housing units in France, however, the quality of housing is very questionable. Indeed, many accommodations are unqualified and they are also found on many rental sites.

- Sejourning, a French site, offers 5,000 private homes in large cities with very good value for money.

- BedyCasa lists 6000 accommodation units but these are "rooms at the inhabitant's", on the Bed & Breakfast model.

- Housetrip offers around 20,000 homes but it is difficult to know if they are offered by individuals or real estate agencies.

Finally, which site to choose?

To make it easier for you to choose, here is a summary table:

Among these 5 sites, 2 caught our attention.

Sejourning, for owners. This French site will allow you as the owner to be supervised by a transparent team at your service.

• insurance with the best coverage (€ 1,500,000),

• efficient customer service that is very easy to reach,

• trusted members due to a well-supervised community.

Click here to discover Sejourning now

And, Airbnb for travelers. The number 1 in the short-term apartment rental sector between individuals has, even if it is a little more expensive, many advantages:

• a very wide choice of apartments for rent,

• insurance with very high coverage,

• very efficient customer service.

A mention also for BedyCasa which offers a slightly different service since it is more about Bed & Breakfast at the inhabitant. If the commission on the owner is very high (15%), BedyCasa still has interesting advantages such as:

• efficient customer service,

• the proximity between the owner and the tenant,

• No commission on the tenant.

Have you ever gone through a short-term apartment rental site between individuals? Which one do you prefer ? Give your opinion in comments.

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Also to discover:

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