Booking apartments through booking dot com in peak season in Europe

[Anonymous]

I'm specifically looking at apartments in Seville, Spain.

Is this something we should stay away from when traveling as a family? The hotel prices are through the roof in the historic center close to the sights (hotels that are 250-400 at other times are showing 700 to 1000 for my dates, but apartments are reasonable around 350 to 400 euros per night for 4 people.

I'm wondering if I should take a chance and just book the apartment. Or should we stay further out at a decent hotel and just catch a taxi? I thought staying in the historic center would be nice since we can hang out late in the evening. If anyone has stayed outside historic center, please share where you stayed and how it affected your stay.

Pros and cons of booking an apartment? Do we have to clean/vacuum before we leave - what is expected? Never done this before so I don't want to be surprised. How are the check in and check out times - usually are they flexible? What happens if we arrive late at night - keys etc?

If anyone has stayed in apartments in Seville, please share which one and how did you find it.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

It is basically the same as airbnb - all those things will vary by property. You are better off just booking via airbnb as their support will be marginally better.

I wouldn't count on early check in.

[Anonymous]

Be careful that you are getting a real listing. I am embarrassed to say that I was scammed a couple of summer ago using booking dot com for an apartment in Paris. They somehow started on the real site with a real listing, then moved me into a fake payment system. I wasn't born yesterday, and am a seasoned traveler but they got me for about $1500. Afterwards, I discovered it's a known scam. I'm not saying don't use them, but just be very careful.

[Anonymous]

^^Also to say, if it seems too good to be true, for the place and the price, it probably is.

[Anonymous]

Try to figure out if the listing is through a local rental agency and book directly with them. Same goes for something you might find on airbnb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Be careful that you are getting a real listing. I am embarrassed to say that I was scammed a couple of summer ago using booking dot com for an apartment in Paris. They somehow started on the real site with a real listing, then moved me into a fake payment system. I wasn't born yesterday, and am a seasoned traveler but they got me for about $1500. Afterwards, I discovered it's a known scam. I'm not saying don't use them, but just be very careful.

Ouch. How did they scam you with the fake payment system? With booking dot com, can you not pay at the property after arrival or prepay? Did they have many reviews too?

[Anonymous]

I've used that site many times for international travel and haven't have issues. I'll keep an eye out for scams going forward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Try to figure out if the listing is through a local rental agency and book directly with them. Same goes for something you might find on airbnb.

How do we go about doing that?

[Anonymous]

I would not do airbnb etc. in Spain. It is notoriously unpopular with the locals.

[Anonymous]

There are tons of scammers on booking and if you have an issue they do nothing.booking allows fake postings and won’t even take them down with proof. Just book directly with sites or through air Bnb so at least you have someone to contact and some recourse if there is an issue.

It isn’t a trustworthy site anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not do airbnb etc. in Spain. It is notoriously unpopular with the locals.

We did it in Barcelona and Madrid, and were harassed by no one. We also did three booking.com places in Andalucia, and it was perfectly fine.

[Anonymous]

You could get lucky, or not. Either way it is mostly luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Try to figure out if the listing is through a local rental agency and book directly with them. Same goes for something you might find on airbnb.

How do we go about doing that?

Reverse image search.

[Anonymous]

If local neighborhood doesn't like it but it saves you money you don't care, huh. Nice. After all the locals priced out of apartments run as investments aren't visible. Ooh look, orange trees!

[Anonymous]

I mostly book through booking in Europe. They have more options in some locations. Just keep in mind, it’s like finding ads in newspapers. The newspaper is just the medium. Same booking com. So read carefully the reviews. Check the website of the hotel / apartment when available. I so far had great experiences with booking.