Airbnb Singapore – Recommendations Before Booking Airbnb in Singapore

Going for Airbnb in Singapore is generally cheaper than opting for a hotel stay but this is true not only from a monetary point of view. But more when considering the more space, less price concept. Especially when you’re a family of four or a group of people, you can get a two/three or more bed apartment or house offering a combined living area in which to socialize, relax and share time together, comparing with the cost of booking hotel rooms or suites. Let’s take another example of a group of friends making a trip to Singapore for a boys/girls weekend. Hotels may be more expensive, and they could not all fit in one suite. For groups and families, Airbnb can provide exceptional value when compared to hotels where you’re paying for the added luxuries such as 24/7 reception, on-demand room service etc.

The economical benefit goes beyond the price of the reservation, and this is valid not only in Singapore but virtually in any tourist destination, you can make some significant savings with Air bnb. A fully equipped kitchen can make a big difference to your eating out expenses. At the same time having a washing machine at your place enables you to take less luggage, especially when you travel for more than just a few days.

Renting an Airbnb room/apartment/house in Singapore city centre also offers you a unique and memorable experiences. You have the opportunity to connect with the homeowner and the locals who can provide more authentic recommendations of where to go and what to see, not to mention some local hints and tips to take profit during your stay in Singapore.

Free WiFi and more often than not faster broadband connection are also a plus when considering Singapore Airbnb, comparing with what you get from hotels where the WiFi is not always free or the connection offers you lower speed than expected.

While hotels have many rooms in the one location making it easy to secure a room, short-term rentals like Airbnb have fewer rooms per premises, but many more locations to choose from. This allows you to hyper-target specific areas in Singapore and get in close to your favorite eatery, yoga studio, nightclub or away from town and out into nature.

You can also earn rewards points on Air bnb with Delta SkyMiles and Qantas. With Delta SkyMiles you can register as a guest to receive $25 off your first qualifying Airbnb stay, and up to 1,000 bonus miles. Plus, you will earn 1 miles per $1 spent on all stays. With Qantas Frequent Flyer you can earn 1 Qantas point per $1 spent with Airbnb. You can also earn points on Airbnb stays using a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, which earns 2x points on travel spend.

Things to Consider Before Booking an Airbnb Stay in Singapore

Standards differ a lot and while things are pretty much clear with hotel bookings, Singapore Air Bnb rooms, apartments and houses depend a lot on their homeowners and how much customer oriented they are. You may find a place that’s exactly how it’s originally advertised on Airbnb.com, sometimes it may be different than in the description or in the photos. Take a close look at the reviews and consider they can also be “prepared” to look good for prospective guests. At the same time look for a significant detail: if the place is shared with you by the homeowner or landlords, or not, and think of your openess to live for a short or longer period of time in a shared home. In most cases you’ll probably have nothing against but if you feel better living by your own, that’s a detail you shouldn’t miss.

Also consult the Airbnb Guest cancellation policy. One of the tricks to making Airbnb work for you as a guest is to double and triple check your planning before you book a stay. Airbnb allows hosts to set one of three cancellation policies, Flexible, Moderate, and Strict. While the Flexible option lets you cancel up to 24hrs before a booking and still receive a refund (minus the Airbnb booking fee), the other options can be somewhat harsh.

Reservations are prepaid. One of the benefits of booking a hotel is that most of the time you are booking a flexible rate that often doesn’t require payment upfront and allows plenty of flexibility around cancellations. Airbnb, on the other hand, requires all payments at the time of booking which can make speculative travel more involved.

How to book your stay in Singapore

Choose according to the price or location. It is all up to you. In case location matters to you most, there is a map showing the available offers, which should make it easier for you to search. Don’o’t forget to read the conditions (house rules) carefully, such as when and where you can pick up the keys, if there is a house code, how to get to the place, what time is check-in and check-out. Also, note that the host often requires you to pay additional cleaning fee and service fee.

The host can actually give you a special offer, which means you can agree upon a different, discounted price. It is often stated on their profile if they are willing to do such a thing or not. A special offer applies mostly to long term stays (several weeks or months).

Make sure you always pay via Airbnb. Don’t transfer money to the host otherwise. There have been cases when fake hosts tried to scam guests and asked for transferring money bypassing Airbnb. If you do everything right, there is no way to be tricked. Airbnb’s policy is that hosts get the money after check-out, so that it can never happen that they get the money first and then refuse to accommodate you.

The conclusion

Airbnb offers the perfect opportunity to relax with more space and a casual, homely environment. This makes it easy to take a couple of days off and enjoy the best things of what Singapore has to offer. You’ll find that when you’re staying in a lived-in space, a place that makes you feel at home, you get to know Singapore from a totally different perspective. Airbnb is great because it allows you to stay in more residential areas that give you a different feel than you might get otherwise. You can get into a routine, find a local coffee shop to visit every morning, and see how people really live in Singapore.