How can you book holiday accommodation abroad without any nasty surprises?

Key points

Before booking accommodation in another European country:

• Check the identity of the landlord or the property.
• Compare prices, cancellation terms and the services included.
• Be wary of offers that seem too good to be true and check reviews and photos
• Check for any additional charges (tourist tax, cleaning fees, etc.).
• Opt for a secure payment method and avoid bank transfers outside the booking platform.
• Keep all documents relating to your booking in case of a dispute.

How to choose reliable accommodation?

To find a holiday rental, you can contact the tourist information centre of your holiday destination, go through an estate agent or consult specialist websites, such as booking platforms.

Check the owner’s identity

Owners of certain short-term rentals are required to register their business with the local authorities and to include a registration number in their advert. In Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece, this registration requirement applies nationwide. Every online advert must include a registration number. However, this is not necessarily the case throughout Europe.

Nonetheless, all European booking platforms or those targeting European consumers must verify the identity of any accommodation provider before publishing their listings. It is in your best interests to know the identity and contact details of the host or hotel before booking via a platform. If you have booked a holiday accommodation without knowing the host’s identity, and you encounter problems afterwards (such as the accommodation not meeting your expectations), you will find it difficult to take legal action against them. We advise you to ask the booking platform to give the host’s contact details.

Don’t blindly trust reviews and ptos

Choose your holiday accommodation with care! Don’t hesitate to check other websites and online forums to see if other holidaymakers have reviewed this property. Don’t rely solely on consumer reviews on the booking platform! The ranking of rentals on these platforms varies according to different criteria (percentage of commission paid, number of rooms rented via the platform, sales volume, etc.) and not just because of the quality of the rental or customer reviews.

Check that the photos match the advert. Fraudsters use images of genuine holiday rentals or AI-generated images but alter the advert to change the owner’s name and, of course, the bank details to which payment is to be made. To verify the advert and its legitimacy, you can search for an image of the rental using an image search engine.

8 things to check before booking

Before booking a flat, a room or a bungalow for your stay, you should at least know:

• The floor area, the number of rooms and any other features of the accommodation (e.g. 4th floor with no lift…).
• Whether there is a bathroom/toilet.
• The facilities provided (fridge, oven, TV, bed linen, etc.).
• The rental price.
• Cancellation terms and conditions.
• Whether the price includes breakfast, cleaning, bed linen, sheets, etc.
• Whether pets are allowed or not.
• Whether the hotel has a certification (such as the European Ecolabel).

Good to know: star ratings for hotels vary from country to country. A 3-star hotel in Austria won’t necessarily offer the same services as a 3-star hotel in Malta! Before booking, find out about the quality of the hotel by checking its website or a travel guide.

Don’t rush into booking!

Don’t book too quickly! When the booking platform states “act now – only one room left”, this doesn’t mean the hotel has no rooms left, but simply that the platform can only offer one room at that hotel. So don’t hesitate to call the hotel directly or the owner of the accommodation.
Be wary of websites displaying numerous listings and claiming that each rental is thoroughly inspected before the listing is published. Try to check the accuracy of this information on search engines before booking anything.

What additional charges might be added to the price of your booking?

Taxes

Compare offers that include all taxes and charges. A tourist tax, payable on arrival, may be added to the initial price. This tax and its amount vary from country to country.

However, the hotel or accommodation provider must quote the total price (including VAT) for the room or flat. This price includes legal taxes as well as all essential services included in the booking. Any legal taxes that you pay but which are not directly included in the price must still be clearly stated nearby.

Be aware of the exchange rate if you’re booking a hotel or accommodation outside the eurozone! The price shown may vary depending on the exchange rate applied by your bank.

Additional charges

Breakfast is not necessarily included in the price of a hotel room. Similarly, cleaning or parking space for holiday rentals may be subject to an additional charge. Don’t forget to enquire about the cost.

The price of B&B accommodation generally includes the night’s stay, breakfast and cleaning. Only meals may be subject to an additional charge.

How can you pay for your booking securely?

To minimise the risk of fraud, there are a few simple precautions you can take to ensure your payment is secure.

• Do not pay any money if you have even the slightest doubt!
• When paying online, make sure you are on a secure website.
• Do not trust emails that use a name similar to the website’s and offer you an alternative payment method, such as a bank transfer to an overseas account.
• Be wary of a bank account to be credited that is not in the name of the property owner and/or is in a country other than the one where they live.
• Keep your payment confirmation safe as proof of payment.

Good to know: if you’re booking via a booking platform, bear in mind that it’s the hotel or the property owner who sets the price displayed on the platform. The booking, payment and contact with the host in your chosen city are all handled directly via the platform.

Deposit or down payment: what’s the difference?

Can the hotel ask you to show your ID?

When booking accommodation in the European Union, some hotels or hosts may ask you to send them a copy of your identity document. However, in principle, you are only required to present it on arrival.

In France, as in Bulgaria, hotels are not, in principle, permitted to copy your identity card or passport, nor any other form of identification. If you are a foreign national (whether European or not), you will be required to present an identity document and complete a “police registration form”. This is for the purposes of preventing disturbances to public order, conducting criminal investigations and carrying out searches in the interests of individuals. This form must remain available to the police for six months. After that, it must be destroyed.

In Germany, identity cards cannot be copied nor recorded, unlike in Hungary, for example.

What insurance should you choose for a holiday rental?

If you have decided to rent a house or an apartment abroad for your holidays, it is better to take out insurance. In France you are used to having a multi-risk home insurance. The owner of the accommodation may require this contractually. Note, however, that this rental insurance may only cover you in the event of fire, explosion or water damage. Any other damage you may cause (broken furniture, damaged or lost objects) may be at your own expense.

Check with your insurance. It may be possible to extend your home insurance to cover a holiday home. Also, check the guarantees linked to your credit card if you pay for your accommodation by card.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Innovation Council and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Executive Agency (EISMEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.