Small Tips to Keeping Things on a Budget

Tips to keep in mind when booking an Airbnb:

1. Some places give you a discount if you book with them for a week verses a few days. It’s always good to check to see if they have any price discounts. Some places offer quite large discounts here–there have even been a couple of places I have found where it ends up being cheaper to rent for 7 days verses 6 days.
2. If you are planning on staying in one area for a while, some places offer monthly discounts–I’ve seen as high at 40% discounts for a monthly rental!
3. It pays to shop around. If you have a few hours and you have a budget to keep, take the time to look around.
4. If you find a place you think might be just what you need, yet it doesn’t quite fit your budget and they are not already offering a discount, it never hurts to ask if they would consider giving you a discount.
5. If you have children and the home charges extra over a certain amount of people (always check this, because many do) see if they charge extra for children. I find that most hosts will knock off the price of one or two extra children. Those extras can really add up as I’ve seen some places charge over $35+ extra a night per person!
6. Airbnbs tend to be a cheaper family option verses a hotel, but if you’re looking in London, remember that if you want hotel amenities, you best stay at a hotel and pay the hotel price.
7. Remember that you do get what you pay for, whether it be the cheapest option in London, which gets you a tiny and dirty studio flat right next to the train tracks which run all night and is a 15 minute walk to the nearest tube station, or paying the higher prices where it’s clean and quiet and right next to where all the sites are.
8. Remember that you will not get the same thing you would get in Spain or Italy that you would get in a place like the UK. The UK is just expensive. Everything about it is expensive. It doesn’t help that the British pound is now worth $1.40!