Hey Guys, you may have seen the latest Sun Herald News Story about the Australian family who go conned in an Airbnb exchange, If not here is the link to the story: CLICK HERE
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/family-loses-7000-after-booking-new-york-loft-in-airbnb-scam/story-fnpp4dl6-1227456993733?utm_content=SocialFlow&utm_campaign=EditorialSF&utm_source=HaraldSun&utm_medium=Facebook
Well...its easy to see why the attraction with these big trendy
booking services offering thousands of homes, competative prices, and its
just all so easy to book! We (Petite Paris)
are a boutique Australian B&B service and we have always tried to drive home and educate Australian
travellers about the need to be very careful with such sites. Not just
because we need to compete with them as naturally we must, though the
difference in our services means truthfully there is no comparison, but because unlike boutique services like ours, they
leave way too much room for risk and lack quality control...Below is a little article on our perspective on the new breed of automated accommodation booking services vs old-school traditional human services, like us... Please feel free to tell us what you think...so curious to hear peoples take onthis new wave of impersonal services... good stories as well as bad...
...here we go...
Have we
become Slapdash Travellers?
Paris’ classic B&Bs and
professional services have dropped 30% in bookings in 2015 thanks to the
new breed of ‘contemporary’ online booking services.
Millions of self-listed homes on AirBnB (www.airbnb.com)
mean places to stay are cheaper than ever with booking systems one click away.
Now Nightswapping offers places to stay for free if you ‘swap nights’ in
your own home. These services are attractive to the growing breed of budget
travellers, but why are quality and professional accommodation services being demoted
by ‘sleep-overs’?
A sign of the financial and
tech-savvy times, we’re happy to save time and money by avoiding human service,
which, lets admit, takes time and money - about 20 percent more. We’re also being
seduced by very enticing marketing campaigns promising new independent ways and
opportunities to travel. As a result we‘re shopping from a supermarket of homes,
like online daters; and like Tinder and RSVP there is no filtering system for
quality listings.
We’ve all heard the horror
stories - from disappointing homes that look nothing like they did online, to
sudden cancellations by homeowners 2 days before arrival etc. Why do we trust
these services then when it comes to a place to sleep? Showering in a bathroom
full of strangers’ hair and trying to sleep with raging college students
outside your door is no way to spend your holiday. Strange: they advertised a ‘Clean
and peaceful home’.
These websites sport the veneer
of professionalism and quality but are classified advertising sites.
Regina Ferreira, from Australian boutique
B&B service petiteparis.com.au says “we’re often ‘cleaning-up’ the mess by
looking after disappointed or homeless travellers with replacement homes and offering
the human help and quality control that would have helped to prevent such disappointments’.
Petite Paris has less than 1% cancellation rate in 5 years of operation. Travellers
who have had personal help feel confident in their home choice and are unlikely
to cancel. High cancellation rates on mass booking sites are telling signs that
more help is needed during the selection process as guests and homeowners cancel
just as easily as they booked. That’s perhaps the appeal
for today’s travellers; it’s not so much about quality as it is about ease of
use. There is no real commitment necessary from the beginning.
AirBnB specifically is not a professional or a B&B
service (despite using the term). Anyone can list on the site and homeowners do
not have to offer actual Bed & Breakfast services that would offer real
interaction with locals and authentic travel experiences. Despite promising ‘living
like a local’ there is no authentic interaction with the city and its
people by simply booking an empty rental or by ‘Nightswapping’
apartments. In genuine B&Bs, you are living with a local host and being
provided B&B services and daily communication; a true connection and
authentic insider experience ‘living like a local’, in any city.
Ironically, the few authentic registered
B&Bs listed on airBnB are there due to the old ‘can’t beat em, join em’.
They have had little choice but to mingle with the mangy, reduce their prices just
to stay afloat and thereby lower the standards of the formerly renowned B&B
quality, just to meet cheap travellers’ slapdash preferences. Interestingly an
estimated 25,000-30,000 units disappeared from the rental market in Paris,
being listed on AirBnB.
Travellers that truly care about the
quality experiences of travel, comfort and authentic exposure ought to stick to
the old yet efficient professional B&B services that offer live human assistance.
Petite Paris B&Bs, a service
dedicated to a select network of quality homes and personally tailored service,
is the archetype of an authentic boutique-run B&B provider. Director Regina
Ferreira travels to Paris annually to inspect all B&Bs in the Petite Paris catalogue.
Each home meets the official B&B ‘Quality of Charter’ rules and regulations
prepared by the city of Paris. One-on-one interaction ensures guests are given
proper insight about each home and are guided towards the best home that suits
their needs and idiosyncrasies. Customer service doesn’t only appear when
problems arise. In authentic B&Bs, disappointment is evaded through the
professional human booking process.
A wealth of insider knowledge and
experience about the B&Bs and Paris itself, Regina offers guests looking
for the perfect quality home, peace of mind with her expert tailored all-round service.
"Regina your service and website
are fantastic. I felt you went out of your way to help us and your love of
Paris is genuine and infectious! You provide a very personal service, which is
wonderful in the current world of impersonal, online bookings and companies
that know so little about their product! We loved everything about the
apartment - the comfort, the personal feeling, the location, and the chance to
feel like a local. Everyone was friendly and helpful."
Watch out for the new Petite
Lisbon B&Bs, coming soon as Petite expands throughout Europe.
Petite Paris B&Bs versus
Hotels/AirBnB/other…
·
In the genuine B&B world, there are no high or
low seasons so prices NEVER change. They do, however, reduce for select SALE
periods!
·
Booked guests have immediate contact with their B&B
hosts, vice versa.
·
Professional Standard Seal of Quality for all
homes as set by the Paris Tourism Office quality of Charter. Professionally
selected and regularly inspected by B&B professionals with over 15 years
experience.
·
Personalized and intimate human service offering
insider B&B and apartment information and details.
·
Unlimited city advice with all bookings i.e tips,
personalized guidance from the point of contact to the end of the holiday.
·
Guests who book with a professional B&B service
are more confident in their choice. Petite Paris has a less than 1%
cancellation rate with guests going into well-appointed and well-matched homes .
The loft of Sylvie & François has all the charms of a former artist’s workshop and the comfort of a quality B&B. The Eiffel tower style building made of metallic parts by Gustave Eiffel himself, has a ceiling up to 6m high and large windows in the living room which guarantee the authentic atmosphere of the workshops from the end of the 19th century. Spread over two levels you will enjoy the warmth of this B&B as well as complete autonomy, with use of a private entry on the floor above, separate to your hosts entry, leading into the guests private sue section consisting of 2 large guest bedroom and adjoining private bathroom.
