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I had this impression for a while now, but now it seems impossible to find a monthly stay over airbnb for a decent price. Just now I was looking at Utrecht which averages at 2500 euro per month for a studio. People seem to provide only small monthly discounts. In my last few trips I relied on Facebook groups for finding stay. I do have decent budget but paying โฌ1500+ for a studio in a European city simply seems ridiculous. How is everyone else finding accommodation?
New regulations and restrictions, such as in Berlin for example, make it increasingly difficult to rent out whole flats on airbnb. Hosts can not just sublet the appartments they rent themselves anymore that easily without the suspicious eye of tax authority and quite high fines. (Its another discussion but Airbnb certainly has/had quite an impact on local rental prices and availability of flats).
With lower competition and a lot of places run by (semi-)professionals the availability is lower and prices increase.
90% True, but depends on a location.
In most cases a private room in booking.com would be cheaper, but I am now in Malaga, and have to say Airbnb is much cheaper and better than anything else. I wish it would be the norm.
I used to use airbnb all the time, it used to be great for avoiding scams when you arenโt in the area you are looking to rent long term. Now though a lot of the prices are more expensive than hotels in many cities. Even in US you have places where rent is much cheaper with prices similar to cities such as NYC of SF.
When I started as a nomad I would sublet a place of someone leaving just hoping to get someone to cover their rent. Now everyone is looking to profit, but the demand is there and that is why prices keep rising. When I was looking for a place in SF no one even wanted to rent for a month unless I took it at weekly rate since they would be losing money discounting it to me.
Airbnb prices are definitely getting more expensive, as lots of people have started using the platform to create a new source of income.
Theyโre looking at it as a business, and theyโre trying to maximize their earnings. Youโll see hundreds of hosts renting houses for the sole purpose of subletting their apartments on Airbnb.
This said, for long-term bookings, there are ways to land extreme discounts. Iโve been traveling for a year now, and whenever I can always prefer staying in an Airbnb as it gives me the comfort and feeling of being home.
If you are flexible with your dates (and destination), I guarantee youโll be able to negotiate over 50% discount on bookings that are 2 weeks are longer.
Here are are a couple of reasons why hosts will give you discounts:
They are getting started with Airbnb and they want to rack up positive reviews as soon as possible.
โ They prefer to make a guaranteed amount of money through one guest rather than an undefined amount with multiple guests.
โ They care more about the guest being a good fit (good reviews, trustworthiness etc.) rather than making more money.
โ It is off-season and they are unsure about their potential earnings.
โ You are not targeting a prime location where demand is consistently high and hosts are showered with new offers every day.
โ You are offering to stay for a longer period of time. This makes maintenance (cleaning, guest relations etc.) much easier for them. They get reminded how much work it is to screen, welcome and maintain guests.
I recently wrote a step-by-step guide with real-life examples on how I get huge discounts on every single one of my bookings. And by discounts, I donโt mean the automatic discounts that have been pre-set by hosts. I mean 50% on top of that.
I hope it helps!
Yes! I have definitely found this recently, owners are focusing on short stays <7 days where they can maximise profits, and not accepting longer stays where they may have to discount. Yes you can still email owners to try and get a good deal, but increasingly this is becoming harder.
I actually got so annoyed with my last AirBNB search that I put together my process of finding digital nomad accommodation and how to find the best place to stay at the best price 
I think the discounting process is great on an individual basis, obviously, but as itโs become more common could be one of the factors driving prices up. If hosts expect you to negotiate a substantial discount then they will pad the price to compensate for that.
Maybe Airbnb is not getting more expensive, maybe digital nomads are getting poorer 
Seriously I agree, Airbnb is for the foreign market, locals jack up prices for foreigners. You need to find local market websites, usually with the .* extension of the country. Or other aggregator sites. Forget English speaking sites like Airbnb if you want to stay like a local. Despite what AirBnb says about โliving like a localโ you are doing so at foreigner prices!
Totally agree (on both points)! When I find an apartment I like on Airbnb, I Google Search the photo listing image and find the apartment rental company so I can rent directly from them and avoid Airbnbโs fees. The rental company doesnโt care, they save on their end as well.
I do the same on flight booking sites. I use them to search but book directly on the airlineโs website so they canโt blame the booking site for any mishaps. Works great every time!
This is to make it 15% cheaper http://www.ebay.com/itm/Get-a-200-Airbnb-Gift-Card-Gift-Card-for-only-170-Email-delivery-/252649332772
Hi Serge,
i totally agree with you. Thatโs why on Quora, i asked if Airbnb used to encourage hosts to increase their price. People answered me that usually Airbnb prices are below what hosts setup. So, thatโs the hosts who setup the prices high.
Before Hotels were more expensive than Airbnb, now Airbnb is more expensive than Hotel. Furthermore, the quality of Airbnb accommodations really lowered. It attracts lots of people who just donโt care.
I go back and forth to Hotels and Airbnb accommodations. Before, it was always better to go Airbnb. Now, lots of time, there are problems at Airbnb accommodations: Internet does not work, it is noisyโฆ
If you go to Dublin in Ireland, you will see the same thing as in NL. Overpriced rubbish places everywhere on airbnb. It is really difficult to find something decent.
We hosted in New Orleans, in 2013-2015, and the AirBnB suggested prices initially were always way above what we felt was right. By the time we stopped, it was the reverse. So I would say the opposite of your Quora results, that AirBnB probably was a factor in raising the prices. But another factor in our case, maybe the biggest, was clearly that once the number of AirBnBs hit a critical mass the prices went through the roof.
There are a few solutions emerging out there, which is great to see because thereโs definitely a largely untapped market opportunity here. The one I know off the top of my head is horizonapp.co. Their value prop is basically what this thread is all about: short-term subletting rather than a few days on vacation.
I believe it works by connecting you with friends of friends (FB) and allowing you to join interest/location groups. Looks like thereโs a โglobal nomadsโ group here: https://api.horizonapp.co/groups
Thereโs also a website called uniplaces.com which I just used in Barcelona to rent an apartment for 3-4 months - seems like they try to be something like airbnb but for longer stays (1 month is minimum). Itโs actually them that are making all the photos, and the interface & offers descriptions are clear , which is cool, because avoids looking through all the bullshit agencies, badly-photographed apartments, hidden fees, and so on.
They describe themselves as โstudent accomodationโ but I think they forgot about us, digital nomads? =D
It only works in a couple cities in Europe for now though.
Iโve noticed this too. Iโm trying to make only very short-term bookings via Airbnb now, and find local accommodation in the same way as the locals, which is pretty easy to do if youโre happy sharing a flat and have at least some command of the local language (it doesnโt take a lot). I also plan to do more house-sits in future.
The problem with AirBnB for 1 month or more is that most listings are optimized for a few days stays.
So if a bedroom rents for 300 eur / month in long term, if occupancy is around 60%, The apartment will likely be >600 for short term.
What I usually do is look for listings with decent monthly discounts, and if none available then start negotiating for long term stays, clearly showing them that renting for 30 days will give them 100% occupancy and save A LOT of hassle from moving people in and out.
For even longer stays (3 months or more), because I usually look for bedrooms, I contact the hosts if theyโd like a mid-term housemate and if they can make a fair (regular) price.
@johndbritton and @WanderingJo get a Revolut credit card, free transactions, free card, free withdraws (!!!), and at fair exchange rates.
This strategy wonโt work for all places, but when I was looking for apartments for a 3 month stay in Berlin, I decided on a whim to just check out Craigslistโฆand found a ton of great options that were pretty significantly cheaper than the options on AirBNB. They also tended to be in the less touristy spots. We ended up going with a space in a neighborhood called Friedrichshain for 1200 euros/month. Still not cheap by normal Berlin standards at the time, but it was very nicely furnished, centrally located, and short-term โ and cheaper than AirBNB listings, most of which would have cost us ~2000 euros or more per month.
Yep, the first time I lived in Tokyo, I found my place via Craiglist. Did have to sort through a lot of crap though, mainly commercial advertisers who had a ton of hidden charges not mentioned on the site. If you can find someone who is looking for a housemate or got a genuine sublet then itโs sweet.
Iโve also used Sakura House in Tokyo. They are one of the biggest agencies and are upfront about charges.
It might be good to get a list together of what works where. I might start another thread for that.
I just make my own idea of the market price and the average occupancy rate a guest may have in a given city at a given time. From this I intuitively decide a price window that should indicate a host could rationally match my budget after negotiation. I then send a very straightforward and polite email stating my budget, requirements and the upsides of hosting us to any flat we like within this price window.
I totally agree! My husband and I have been staying in Split for over a month. We are staying in a three bedroom apartment (80msq) 5km outside of the town for $1750 USD per month on AirBnB. It is quite funny actually because the apartment was initially listed for $185 per night (and we thought it was ridiculous) but after our multiple negotiations, the owner came down to $58 per night because of its off peak season. But we are beginning to accept the fact that we will have to pay $1700-$2000 per month (for an entire apartment) in Croatia even during off peak seasonโฆ
We are going to Australia next. If I must mention, by the way, AirBnB rental prices in Australia and NZ are outrageous! For an one bedroom apartment in Sydney/Brisbane, hosts are charging $3000-5000 per month and we couldnโt find a decent apartment for less than $2500 per month. So I did some more research out of frustration and found out that new and modern serviced apartments in the heart of the city (with weekly housekeeping) were much cheaper than AirBnB. And these serviced apartments can be booked through any third party travel agency sites (etc expedia, priceline or others) so you can cancel up to a few days prior to your arrival (Unlike AirBnBโฆeven if you get refunds, AirBnB service charge is non-refundable).
I have a couple of suggestions, (1) what if we buy properties as community properties like a timeshare. We can find 12 or 24 people to buy an apartment, then each owns it for a month or two weeks per year, respectively.
(2) Or we find rental owners who are not computer savvy and we help them make their apartments more rental friendly for nomads and bring in customers (from our community). The owners will be happy because itโs better to have the room occupied (even for a cheaper price) than vacant.
What are your thoughts?
Wow, this thread sure is a hot one I quite like @OCnormadโs idea about finding people to work with nomads. Iโm not entirely sure how it would work but Iโm pretty damn sure there is a gap in the market for something like that: a group of trusted renters who work together to help each other out.
Definitely much more realistic. Could be a freemium (or even free) โproductized serviceโ. But of course youโll compete with airbnb who pays more. Youโll have to sell the nomad profile to people who wants longer term / safer / cleaner (???) /quieter (???) people. And youโre still competing with airbnb 
Iโve been wanting to find a like co-working / co-living network - where you pay a certain monthly โrentโ to the consortium, which has properties all over the world (clean, comfy, good wifi) and you can move around / book your stays in them as you please.
That would be perfect. That most certainly would be a blessing for all Nomads, Iโd sign up for that, a subscription for places to stay.
I think it was stated by someone else earlier, basically a timeshare type of deal for all nomad that have subscribed
Tbh, when I started seeing bloggers posting about how to get cheaper Airbnbs, though negotiating lower prices, I wondered if hosts would start padding their prices to counteract that. If you expect that a high number of guests are going to hit you up for say a 20% discount then it would tempting to add 20% to your original price and then look like youโre offering a discount.
Airbnb must be making a killing though. Charge the guest fees, charge the host fees and get the payment sometimes months in advance!
I assume hosts use airbnb auto pricing tool which suggests and changes the price based on supply and demand. Itโs questionable whether that algorithm takes into account the benefits of long term letting, or just attempts to maximise short term gain for the host.
Wow, I thought Airbnb prices were getting too high too, even with the 10-50% monthly discounts offered. Iโve been traveling 100% for 2 years now and my experience with Airbnb has been great, except for the prices! (Hint: business opportunity to rent at slightly lower prices that someone needs to capitalize on, if Airbnb doesnโt put the brakes on)
Assuming youโre looking to rent the entire home and not a private room or shared, try this:
I started copying the photo image and searching online to find the host source (in many cases, itโs an agency not an individual) and found other listings for the same place at a lower price. Then I contact the host on Airbnb and offer to rent at the lower price (not mentioning I saw it listed elsewhere). Sometimes negotiating works, sometimes not. Then you have to factor in Airbnb fees, which I consider steep, but a fair price to pay for using their platform.
Also checked out HomeAway, Wimdu, Agoda, and other platforms but none are as easy to use as Airbnb.
Thatโs exactly the thing. Airbnb seems to be good only for weekend trips, anything more than a couple of weeks, Iโm searching for an agent over Facebook groups. I agree that it should be more expensive for less than 3 month stay, but not 3x as much.
I used Airbnb in four different countries this year and in Budapest I felt cheated for first time using the platform. Normally I rent for 1 month completely and I try to get the home before arrive to the city.
Now, Iโm in Budapest and I rented a room for 750โฌ (with a discount from the owner)โฆ and my roommates have normal prices for long stay and are paying 250โฌ and 230โฌโฆ so is x3 less the Airbnb prices.
Normally, I understand that we need to pay more for short or medium stay but that is so expensive.
Iโm thinking to start with a new strategy but I think that if we want to get a โlocal priceโ we need to stay for long term or will be complicated.
Looking forward new websites or techniques for rent cheaper.
We book short periods with Airbnb and then when we get there, we use local sources for finding longer term.
Youโre right. Prices are outrageous.
Iโm really noticing it! And itโs not helped by the rapidly dying GBP & Airbnbโs insistence on paying in your home currency and charging a 3% currency conversion (when all my cards are free to use in any currency).
I feel safer using Airbnb than say finding an apartment on Gumtree, but I am struggling to find apartments I can afford. I am still getting lucky though - Iโve got a good deal in Pula at the moment, but it took a lot of searching.
This really annoys me. They used to let you choose which currency you want to pay in, now they force you to pay in your home currency and pay the 3% on top of standard rates. For longer stays this can add up to be really significant on top of the already expensive Airbnb fees.
Weโve been using Airbnb for a few years now and have noticed some places are more expensive, but it depends on when your visiting and how you go about booking.
We were planning a stay in Split and cancelled last minute because of accommodation costs during peak. The prices were literally double off-season. Maybe you were catching the tail-end of peak?
Also, we message (donโt reserve w/ CC) 2-3 hosts asking them for a discount beyond their advertised monthly rate. This usually involves agreeing with the host to book on ABB for a day/week and then pay the rest in cash to side-step ABB fees.
Big cities everywhere (and especially Western Europe) are rapidly getting more expensive, both housing prices, rental prices, hotel prices and Airbnb prices.
EUR 1500 gets you a very average 1 bedroom place in Amsterdam now, if you sign a lease for 12 months.
You can usually get 25% off most Airbnb prices though, but I think you have to face the reality that Western European cities are simply not affordable anymore to live and they donโt give a lot of value for their price either.
Iโll second what Levels said. I found Netherlands very very expensive and Iโve seen prices rising in other European cities as well (same thing for US cities, only at an even more rapid pace). I donโt think itโs AirbnbโฆI think itโs the overinflated markets.
I will be traveling/working through Mexico with my dog February to April. My plan is to stay in Sayulita for about 2-4 weeks, then travel south along the cost.
Is there anyone who wants to share an airbnb apartment? I was thinking of renting a private villa, but because these are large and have multiple rooms, I was wondering if there are fellow nomads wanting to share? Iโm open to other locations as well (Puerto Vallerta, Oaxaca, and everything in between these two locations.
We are hoping to become nomads soon and have booked an AirBnB in September in Goa for our first destination. We are considering what would be the best option for accommodation after that. We are trying to decide between co-living spaces, hostels, or Airbnbs.
What are your experiences of accommodation in terms of the following: reliable wifi, social aspect, pricing, cleanliness, cooking facilities?
On New Yearโs Day this year, I was refused entry to the UK due to not having proof of funds, an outward-bound plane ticket (I was road-tripping out with a friend via car) and not being able to prove that I had indeed canceled the lease on the apartment I had leased during a prior recent trip.
I havenโt had any entry issues to any of the several countries Iโve visited after, but now Iโm applying for a 462 visa (work and holiday) visa in Australia, and since Australia and the UK share an immigration info system, I want to make sure getting refused entry wonโt keep me from getting a visa. None of the issues that cropped up in the UK (the proof of funds, the plane ticket, and the apartment) will be an issue in Australia, as Iโve never traveled there before, donโt know anyone and will have proof of more than sufficient funds for the trip and an outbound plane ticket.
Anybody have any suggestions on how to make the approval process go as smoothly as possible?
Many thanks in advance! 
Hi everybody!
I just joined this community because Iโm currently in a place in life where I can live the digital nomad lifestyle and I feel like I would really be missing out if I didnโt catch this opportunity. I work fully remotely, no fixed hours, I currently live in northern Italy and I basically have no partner or kids.
So, the question isโฆ where to? I would love to hear the advice of more experienced digital nomads!
Laptop and internet is enough for me to work but I need decent internet for conferencing and I really have to put in the hours: some days are more relaxed, others Iโll have to work all day and night.
I enjoy more temperate climates, so no torrid heat or unbearable humidity, if possible.
I like decent food but Iโm very adaptable in terms of tastes: anything is fine as long as quality is good and sanitary conditions are acceptable.
I absolutely do not enjoy the club life and would just rather go hiking during the weekends and pubs (or breweries) during the evenings. Iโm a social person though and I donโt particularly enjoy places where people are too introverted (been in Seattle for four monthsโฆ the freeze is real); I really look forward to making friends or acquaintances wherever I end up.
I enjoy decent transportation so places where thereโs a viable metro system or Uber actually works would be nice.
I prefer places with a bit more of history and culture (this is one of the reasons why I absolutely loved Portugal, for example).
Iโd like to spend under $3k average per month for rent, food and going out.
For now I was thinking either:
When? Ideally I would leave anywhere from mid to late March and stay away for 2 or 3 months.
Sorry for the long read, I hope to get some input. Thank you for your time, if we ever meet in person I owe you a beer (or whatever youโd prefer).
We just finished our first stint around South East Asia and somehow survived 3 days of way too many flights, leaving me to feel like death.
Too much shitty airplane food, not enough sleep, big time difference from Mexico to SEA.
Anyone have tips to prevent that more in the future (aside from better flight plans)? More importantly, how do I recover faster from this horror?
Hi all,
So, for the last 5 years or so Iโve been working in the travel industry - which means Iโve not had to worry about things like accommodation, because my employer provided it wherever they sent me. This means that , although Iโve been hopping around the world for some time, some of the typical nomad tools like airbnb are relatively new to me now that Iโve crossed over to the world of freelancing.
I was looking forward to adopting a โgo where the wind takes youโ mantra; never booking anything more than a few days ahead so that, if Iโm in a bar and someone talks about a place really cool, I can justโฆ up and go.
Well, Iโm beginning to realise, that may be an unrealistic ideal! Iโve been taking a look through airbnb (granted, itโs for Europe Summer), and Iโm looking about 2 months in advance and everything is booked! Most searches I perform give back statements like โCareful, only 5% of bookings with your search criteria are leftโ - in fact one of the places I planned to pass through only had 1 result left available.
It appears to me that if you want a reasonable period (letโs say 2 weeks), with a few basic conditions like wifi, space to work, etc and you want it at an affordable price that you need to start hunting whatโฆ 6 months in advance? Doesnโt seem very spontaneous and nomadic.
Those of you that have more experience booking with airbnb - how far ahead are you booking to get what you need?
Thanks,
Joe
I am an English/American currently in Israel, and heading in a week to Georgia/Armenia for two weeks and then want to head to Russia for a week.
As I am only in Israel for another week, would it be possible to apply for the visa in Israel and ask to receive it in Armenia (my last stop before I want to go to Russia)?
Or perhaps there is another better option that I have available?
Hey guys,
My question might be blunt ahah but โฆ how do you get your stuff stolen?
Do you stay in hostels, or shady hotels? Or do you get robbed?
I stopped using hostel with outsiders and I pretty much only use budget hotel now.
I have heard about an app that take screenshots of your room and send it to you if it detects movement too so you can alert the hotel staff.
I donโt want to make everybody paranoiac too ;).
Bali was at the top of my short-list of places to go DM for 1-3 months until I saw it had the โZykaโ tag on Nomad List 
. Iโm not super read-up on the whole state of Zyka, other than occurrences of infection being on a decline (for now), but I am a worrisome enough person about such things that it has got me reconsidering. Though, it still seems to not be stopping the rate of DMs visiting Baliโฆ
Is there cause for large concern here, or I am just being a nut? โฆItโs been known to happen pretty frequently over such things 
Hi All,
My question is about banking when it comes to being overseas/working etc. How do you avoid getting charged large fees by your bank when withdrawing overseas?
Iโm originally from Australia and do my banking still in Australia. I live in the UK and most recently was living in Vietnam where I found I had to withdrawl money just to get charged very large amounts from my Aussie bank.
How do you get around this? What can you recommend.
Thanks
Hi,
I wondered how everybody deals with getting data on their phone in each country they travel. Is there a way around it? It is always such a pain having to buy and activate sim cards everywhere. I have tried the company โworldsimโ and had an international sim for a while, but they where terrible and ended up to be super expensive.
Soโฆ Trump is Prez. The world looks to the US as a role model. He doesnโt think Climate Change is real. Weโre !@#$ed.
Canadian Citizen here. Was considering Costa Rica for a long term solution, but they wonโt deal with the impact as well. We were always fond of NZ and my parents spend at least 3 months of the year there along with knowing some citizens.
Questions:
Thanks!
Iโm ticking off my lists before I venture off again and am starting to purchase stuff like 4G Routers, Wireless speakers, Mice, etc.
The only thing isโฆ all of the stuff is shipped from Asia in the first place. Are all these gadgets readily available in a place like Bangkok and is it worth waiting to save on costs?
Iโm toying with the idea of hosting on AirBNB, in a city that doesnโt have a large digital nomad presence (Calcutta, India). What would the ideal hosting ad look like for a digital nomad?
My personal preferences:
I know thatโs a pretty specific list, and most AirBNB hosts arenโt developers, so much of this isnโt likely on their radar. What would you guys ad to the list? What makes you AirBNB over a hotel, and / or what would be a must-have AirBNB feature?
Thanks,
D.
What are some good strategies on taking care of Airbnb managment while on traveling mode?
//Chris
At the moment Iโm scouting AirBnB for a good place to stay for september. Which houses have you been & can you recommend? Iโm looking at all kinds of locations.
Thanks in advance!
In Colombia, I have heard people telling me that once you have a work visa you can enter and not care about what happen if you get fired.
Unlike the USA where if you lose your job, you are *****ed.
Is it a possibility to get a job, get in, open a bank account(not sure if thatโs a good idea since itโs not going to receive a consistent flow of cash from a Colombian company), then quit and work as a freelance remote.
Does anyone know of a service where I can buy SIM cards for countries before actually getting to the country? My mobile coverage doesnโt work most places out of the US (or itโs an exorbitant cost). I just want to land in the country, and pop in a SIM card right at the airport.
So far, everywhere Iโve lived, Iโve been able to book an apartment in advance on Craigslist or Airbnb. Sometimes Iโll even reach out on the #nomads Slack group, on Couchsurfing, or contact the owner of a local coworking space to see if anyone knows a landlord in need of a tenant. This works great for larger towns and cities.
Iโm beginning to look into living in smaller, more remote towns. Does anyone have advice about showing up in a country without a home and tracking one down?
This is probably a weird question but yeahโฆ I want to get dental braces to fix the gaps on my teeth but I travel each month to a different city/country and I know I would need adjustments/tightening on the braces once in a while.
I guess I would have to visit a different orthodontist every time depending on where I am. Whatโs your opinion?
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