A new Avito Travel section has appeared on Avito, where you can rent an apartment in Russian cities for daily rent. I’ve already managed to use it and appreciate the benefits. How does Avito Travel differ from other short-term rental sites? How to safely rent an apartment on Avito for travel and save money.
What is Avito Travel
The Avito Travel daily rental section began its work on April 8, 2024. Prior to that, all ads for short-term rental apartments on Avito were placed in the Avito Real Estate section along with ads for purchase and sale and long-term rentals.
I used to book accommodation for travel on booking and airbnb, after they left Russia I switched to Ostrov, Yandex Travel and
Avito is the No. 1 private classifieds site in Russia. In terms of the number of offers, Avito is ahead of all competitors, including in the short-term apartment rental section. Currently, only apartments and suburban real estate (houses) are available to Avito Travel users, and from the autumn of 2024, hotels throughout Russia will be added to them.
In addition to the largest ad base, the advantage of Avito is the price. The cost of daily rent on Avito is lower, because you rent an apartment directly from the owners, without intermediaries. For owners who rent out their apartments on Avito, the conditions are also favorable and many place ads only on this site. Every day thousands of people are looking for apartments on Avito, and landlords are looking for tenants.
Is it safe to book on Avito?
I only trust booking platforms that place verified ads and provide a security guarantee. Avito’s reputation has not been very good for a long time due to the large number of scammers who trade on this site.
Now you can rent a daily apartment or house on Avito only with the help of online booking with prepayment on the website. All facilities available for daily booking are checked and marked “Secure reservation” and “Accommodation checked”.
- The “Secure booking” icon means that if problems arise, you will receive a refund and help you choose another option.
- The “Housing checked” icon means that a video check of the housing has been completed; the landlord has passed a document check (passport or driver’s license) and has not received complaints or bad reviews from guests recently.
If an ad on Avito violates the rules or seems suspicious to you, you can report it using the button at the bottom of the ad.
Registration on Avito
To book apartments for daily rent on Avito Travel, it is enough to have registration on the Avito website: avito.ru . If you have ever bought or sold something through this site of private ads, then you already have registration.
To create a new Avito account, register by phone number and specify your email address — a minimum of personal data, a profile photo is also optional.
I used my old Avito account. It seems to me that this is even better — a profile with a story inspires more trust.
Online booking on Avito
It is best to search and book accommodation from a computer, then it will be displayed in your profile in the Avito mobile application. Before booking, make sure that you are on the Avito website in the daily rental section.
Quick links to search and book apartments in popular Russian cities:
Online booking on Avito starts with searching for options. Select a city, dates in the calendar, and specify the number of guests. The availability of housing and the cost of living depend on these parameters.
Set up filters so that only suitable ads are shown to you. Specify the maximum rent per day, mark the conditions that are important to you: the number of rooms, the availability of household appliances, wifi, parking…
If you are traveling with children or pets, make a note in the rules of the house. Business travelers need the “Accounting documents” filter. To book accommodation directly from the landlord, select “private” in the Landlords section.
If you know the area where you want to stay, search on the map — enlarge it to the desired size and only the options in the selected area will be displayed in the search. The ads on Avito indicate the exact address of the house with a mark on Yandex Maps.
Without entering the ad, you can view thumbnails of photos, rating and number of reviews. Check the mark “Documents verified” or “Details verified” (for agencies).
When you enter a specific ad, you will see a detailed description of the selected apartment with large photos and house rules. Carefully read the conditions: check-in and check-out time, whether there is a deposit, reviews from previous guests. The announcement shows the full cost of the stay and the booking conditions.
The maximum rating of the ad is 5 stars. When choosing options, read the reviews left by previous guests. Save the ads that you liked to your Favorites (the heart icon).
On Avito, you can book an apartment for daily rent without confirmation (instantly) or with confirmation of the owner. If the booking is confirmed, the landlord has 24 hours to respond, but usually it is confirmed faster. I was answered within an hour.
Payment for the reservation
Accommodation on Avito Travel is booked only by prepayment. The amount of prepayment is chosen by the landlord, it can be 15%, 30%, 50% or even 100% of the cost of the reservation (most often 30%). The prepayment amount is shown in the ad when choosing dates and the number of guests.
The prepayment for our apartment in Zelenogradsk was 30% of the total cost of living. Since it was a booking with confirmation from the host, I first sent a request, waited for the message that the host was ready to receive us, and only after that I made an advance payment. Instant booking does not require confirmation — you click on the “Book” button and make an advance payment.
If you have not made an advance payment within the specified time, your booking request will be automatically canceled. We decided to book — act quickly, the apartment is not reserved without payment.
After making an advance payment through the Avito website, an email “Reservation paid” with a link to your reservation is sent to your email. The confirmation contains all information about the booked accommodation: the owner’s phone number, apartment address, location on the map, dates of stay, cost calculation (prepayment, payment upon check-in, bonuses), cancellation rules, support phone.
When your booking is confirmed, you can communicate with the host directly — call and write to him in messengers. Inform us about the time of arrival, ask any questions you are interested in. If the landlord does not answer, call the Avito support service, they will contact him themselves.
Full payment for accommodation takes place upon check-in. The amount of the remaining payment is indicated in the booking confirmation. The payment method is set by the owner (specify in advance). This can be a cash payment or a transfer by phone number. Most often, a deposit is taken during check-in, which is refunded upon check-out, the amount of the deposit is indicated in the announcement.
Before giving the owner the remaining amount, check the apartment. If you have any problems, call Avito’s round—the-clock support service. The prepayment is received by the owner only one day after your check-in.
If the apartment is dirty or it does not match the description, you will need proof: photo or video. If necessary, Avito helps you quickly find a new home.
Avito Support Service
Avito 24-hour hotline number: 8 804 700-04-40
Support specialists respond 24/7 to all questions and problems with the armor.
Cancellation and refund
There are two types of reservations on Avito: with flexible and strict cancellation conditions, they are set by the landlords themselves. The conditions for booking a specific object are indicated in its description.
- Flexible cancellation booking allows the guest to cancel the reservation a certain period before arrival and refund the prepayment. For example, one day, 3, 5, 7, 14 days before arrival.
- Reservations without a refund can be cancelled free of charge only within 6 hours after payment. If the guest cancels the reservation later and without valid reasons, the prepayment is transferred to the host.
Day-to-day bookings cannot be cancelled for free, even if less than 6 hours have passed since the payment was made.
If you cancel your reservation during the free period, the prepayment will be sent to you immediately. Usually, the money is credited to the card within five business days.
If the free cancellation period has passed, you can refund the prepayment only if you have a valid reason, such as an unexpected illness. Such cases are dealt with individually by Avito support. The list of valid reasons is contained in the Conditions of online booking of accommodation on Avito.
Our reservation in Zelenogradsk is flexible cancellation, it can be canceled a week before arrival. We booked an apartment for the high season 5 months before the trip, so it was important to be safe. If you are confident in your plans and the option found with strict cancellation conditions suits you, book.
There are landlords who offer guests to cancel their reservation on Avito and pay for their stay directly. Do not agree — if you transfer money not through Avito, you cannot be guaranteed the security of the payment and refund the prepayment if something goes wrong.
How to change a booking
You can change your booking to Avito only when it is made on flexible terms and the free cancellation period has not passed. In this case, you cancel the old booking and make a new one for other dates.
If the free cancellation period has already ended, you will not be able to change your reservation for free.
Avito bonuses for booking accommodation
For each booking on Avito Travel, you receive bonuses in the amount of 5% of the cost of accommodation: 1 bonus = 1 ruble. The number of bonuses for a specific reservation can be seen at the booking stage, but you will only be able to use them next time. Bonuses are credited within 3 days after departure and are valid for 180 days. Bonuses are displayed in the guest’s personal account.
If you already have Avito bonuses, you can use them — select “Debit bonuses” during a new booking and the prepayment amount will be recalculated. The maximum number of bonuses that can be spent at one time is no more than 10% of the total cost of the reservation.
Avito bonuses can also be used to pay for ad placement and promotion services, for Avito Delivery (no more than 99% of the cost of services).
Avito’s “Bonuses for booking accommodation” promotion is valid until 30.06.2024. Book now to get a discount on your next booking.
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