Travel enthusiast's 'very simple' holiday tip - it saved her 21% on accommodation

Travel enthusiast Chelsea, also known as 'The Cheap Holiday Expert', has shared the little-known Airbnb hack

A lesser-known Airbnb tip that could help you snag cheaper deals when booking holidays has been revealed - and it's surprisingly straightforward to implement. Chelsea, dubbed 'The Cheap Holiday Expert', revealed the strategy saved her 21 per cent on a tranquil barge stay in Manchester.

In a TikTok post, she gave followers a tour of the barge's spacious interior, which boasted a double bed, shower, and even a bar stocked with alcoholic beverages. Chelsea initially discovered the barge on Airbnb, which was priced at £152 per night, but she managed to slash the cost down to just £120.

"I saved 21 per cent on this amazing barge in Manchester with a very simple hack," she explained in the post from last year. "...This is a great hack, I use it all the time."

Chelsea's hack primarily involves looking for accommodation on platforms other than Airbnb. She simply took a few words from the Airbnb listing title and searched them on Google, which led her to the barge's own independent website.

The main reason for the lower price was the absence of Airbnb's service fee, which typically accounts for less than 14.2 per cent of the booking subtotal. This fee is instrumental in helping Airbnb run smoothly and includes services such as round-the-clock customer support.

Captioning the video, Chelsea continued: "There’s SO MUCH CHOICE on Airbnb but as there becomes more and more places for owners to list their properties, it is ALWAYS worth checking to see if you can find the same accommodation on another platform for less.

"...The reason this can sometimes work out cheaper is because Airbnb charges guests a service fee in addition to the cost per night. Another option could also be to check to see if the owner has their own website or social media.

"This one can often work out the cheapest since they’re not having to give away part of their fee to the platform." While these approaches might prove more economical, Chelsea cautioned about potential disadvantages.

Should problems occur or alterations be required, your safeguards may be less robust than when reserving via Airbnb. Consequently, it's always recommended to thoroughly investigate the accommodation in advance.

She continued: "The big flag with all of these is knowing that it’s whoever you part your cash with is the one that you have a 'contract' with. Therefore, it’s always worth checking out what protection and customer service is available if anything needs to be changed, cancelled or if anything goes wrong.

"Now, there’s pros and cons for both - some individuals may provide a much better service than a big company, and then for others it would be vice versa.

"So always check the reviews and whether you’re booking direct or on any platform, always be on the lookout for false listings where someone has simply lifted the photos from an existing holiday let (let me know if you’d like me to cover spotting this in more depth)."

Other booking sites to check

Besides Airbnb, Chelsea advised checking four other websites to check to compare holiday deals. These include:

• Booking.com
• Vrbo
• HolidayLettings
• Sykes

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