Paris has a ton of Airbnbs. Way cheaper than a hotel. I liked one I stayed in so much that I stayed there again for a second trip. The host was super nice and brought us fresh croissants and pastries every morning with juices and coffee. Just a lovely guy.

I have used Home From Home in London and (with one exception, which was ok but not fabulous) have really liked their properties. They have a number of larger properties in Zone 1. Those will be in Kensington, Chelsea, Holland Park, Fulham -- definitely neighborhoods in central London, but not (with the exception of the museums in South Kensington) necessarily on the tourist loop.

I have also found plenty of choices on AirBnB, although i have not looked for that large a group before.

We used London Connection and it was great.

We recently used VRBO for a 3 bedroom in London, central but it was early in the summer. Mixed experience but VRBO does have some different listings than AirBnB (and some are the same) and you can often find them on Booking.com. Look a bit broader than the tourist areas but might just be the season.

How are you defining central London? In the most central areas there aren't going to be a lot of large apartments available, because those are not highly residential areas and most people do not live there. It's not like Manhattan, where people live all over the city. If you widen your search to include at least zone 2 on the tube map, you should find something. If you add zone 3, you'll find much more, for less money. As long as you are close to a tube station you will be fine.

I airbnb my 2 bed flat, which is between zones 1 and 2 - but it is fully rented all summer.

We’ve used Homelidays in Paris & elsewhere in EU. Would use again.

Anonymous wrote:It's not budget. Perhaps it's the size of my party (6)? Although I know several families of 5 or 6 who rented places in London.

Most of the places im finding on Airbnb seem to be located further out than the central areas.

I'll ask my friends/coworkers who they rented from and report back.

How many bedrooms and beds are you looking for? I can imagine there aren't a lot of 3 or 4 bedrooms apartments in central London. Timeframe and budget?

Paris Perfect screwed us-- took a reservation for an apt but then rented it to someone else and basically refused to help us.

We rented a great place from a smaller company called Paris Deluxe.

I like VRBO a little better than air bnb but I'm sure someone will tell me they are basically the same.

I personly have used Paris Vacation Apartments.com and loved them. They can arrange transfers and babysitting if desired. Also, Context, the tour company has an apartment it rents in Paris.

Kid and coe specializes in families

I’ve used Perfect London/Paris and A Place Like Home. Rented a mews house through the latter with family.

It's not budget. Perhaps it's the size of my party (6)? Although I know several families of 5 or 6 who rented places in London.

Most of the places im finding on Airbnb seem to be located further out than the central areas.

I'll ask my friends/coworkers who they rented from and report back.

Booking.com was more widely used than Airbnb on my recent trip to Europe.

Why can't you find anything in Central London? It's a huge area.

If it's budget, then your budget is too low. London is expensive, one way or another. You may need to broaden your search parameters to zones 2-3 and tube it in every day.

Depending on the time of year, a cost effective place to stay are the university dormitories. They rent out the rooms when the university isn't in session (including most of the summer). Quite cheap and you get breakfast. I think I paid around 60 GBP for a private room in a very central location and it was a bargain!

I'm struggling to find anything centrally located in London on Airbnb. Have you personally used another vendor to rent a flat?