Living in The Philippines > Lodging: Finding A Place to Stay "for a while"
Booking.com vs AirBnb
andrez:
Hello,
I'll travel soon to Philippines for the first time and I'm planning to stay for a week in Manila.
I'm searching for a room now, for two people, and I was looking on Booking.com and AirBnb.
On AirBnb seems there are cheaper room and with €25 / night I can get a very nice room for two people. Booking.com looks like is more expensive.
Do you know why? What's the difference? Can I trust AirBnb?
Thank you,
Andrea
hoz:
Booking is oriented more to hotels. AirBnB has people who want to rent out rooms, apartments or houses. I have not had a problem using either but have read some horror stories about airbnb.
Check the reviews, no reviews? Don't rent. Look at all the pictures, they could be faked, but you might be reassured about the property. Check the neighborhood. Use Google street view to cruise around. If it's a great deal priced much lower than comparable units in the area it probably is too good to be true.
JoeLP:
The Philippines is not setup to "standards" like most 1st world countries are. And I mean for anything. It's not like you can just go into a Holiday Inn or a Comfort Inn or some other chain and have a real good idea of what to expect. Even chain hotels/motels here can change drastically from location to location.
Read the reviews. Look hard. Tina and I are in Manila right now. After using Shogun Suites(great deal and nice breakfast) most times when here, we tried a condohotel at Sole Marie Parksuites that sits in the MOA area(in one of the many condo towers there now) ad for about $40/night have a studio condo all to ourselves. Kitchenette, full working bathroom, 100(about 80 really) channels of cable on a HD 32" wall mounted flat screen, high speed internet and all. This is where we'll be staying for now on if available.
Sure we have to get our own food from SM(or elsewhere if wanting to drive further) and cook it, or go to any of many restos that are very close by(McDonalds, Greenwich pizza, or any of the who knows how many in the MOA).
Tell you what we do, and it does take a bit more time. We go to google, search hotels in manila, then open the map option. From there we get to see every hotel just about, as well as some of the bnb options and can see where they are located. Then chose the area we want, and click the options one by one and research them.
Also, if you want to stick to the 3rd person companies to find what you want, there is also agoda.com. They might be the best deal for you yet.
sussexrob:
I use Agoda most of the time , and have never had any trouble with any of the bookings via them. As Joel has said, it depends a lot on where you wish to be, and what you are looking for. Over the years have had a few poorer choices, but have also been lucky enough to find good ones too. Have stayed at the Shogun Suites a few times, my wife and I like the Guijo Suites in San Antonio Village: great breakfast and quality rooms. Would suggest you look at the mid price range hotels rather than the bottom end. Sometimes with Agoda you can pick up a special deal which looks too good to be true, but booking in advance can be a great bonus. I got a night in the Nobu in Manila ( City of Dreams) for only £26 2 months ago. Usual price for a suite was £240. My wife and I were treated like royalty. Do not think we will be as lucky again, but who knows.
codefreeze:
I talked about AirBnB here:
http://www.livinginthephilippines.com/forum/index.php?topic=52905.msg85457#msg85457
For me it was a game changer. Much cheaper than hotels which have now got prohibitively expensive in Manila IMHO.
We mostly used AirBnB in Manila and elsewhere and had no trouble at all.
We did have an issue with booking.com though. We made a booking for a hotel in Ilo-Ilo. However, when we tried to check in the hotel was full. Getting our money back on that booking has been a bit of a saga and not quite there yet! Personally I wouldn't use booking.com again although others have had a good experience.
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