If you’re looking for long-term accommodations, there’s virtually no reason to rent through Airbnb as opposed to signing a lease directly with the owner/landlord.
Airbnb charges hosts and guests numerous fees. Eliminating these will probably save you 10-20% minimum.
How about putting a family up for quarantine + short term rental? Ms. Tsai still the best option?
@brianjones thank you. Is there a website where we can find these hotels? And can we book using English?
By long-term, I just mean 1 to 6 months. In the USA normally owners won’t sign a lease shorter than 1 year. Which websites should I look on for leases?
Does Ms. Tsai speak English?
If Airbnb is more affordable than hotels then it’s a great deal otherwise go with hostels and bed and breakfast.
I’ve had nothing but positive Airbnb experiences here in Taiwan. In fact, I am staying in one now for two weeks in Taipei. Great place, great host that I’ve met in person.
I find that I get a lot more space for the price vs hotels. And local breakfast is affordable that I prefer going out and exploring new dining places vs eating a hotel breakfast.
I know that some people will have negative experiences, but I feel Airbnb really provides a great alternative to hotels, especially if you want more space, a kitchen, balcony/outdoor space, specific location, etc.
@brianjones, thank you. Booking.com is telling me there is a limit of 30 days. Agoda is telling me there is a limit of 90 days.
@intercitydisco, thank you for mentioning your good experience. I agree about the larger space, kitchen, local breakfast, etc. I can smell the mantou now.
Some landlords will offer shorter-term rentals if you ask, but even with those who are looking for a standard one year lease, you might be surprised how many will negotiate, especially if they’re in an area where demand isn’t high. If you have stable income, a good credit score, aren’t carrying a lot of debt and have a reasonable explanation for why you want something shorter term, you’ll be pretty attractive to a lot of landlords these days.
No English from Ms. Tsai as far as I know, but she always has loads of friends sitting around there on the bamboo couch, so maybe someone could help out.
I suppose every market probably has someone who knows everything that goes on in the neighborhood. Just a matter of figuring out who it is.
I’ve never had a problem negotiating for a short-term lease. Usually I add NT$1000 or so to the rent “for their trouble” in finding someone else when they have to look again. And really, I just solved their immediate problem so there isn’t an additional problem on their shoulders, but I guess if they have ads out and stuff it could be.
I have typically rented a taofang for a 3 week period, paid “a month” rent plus a little to sweeten the deal, and everyone was happy.
Do you think landlords now would have a problem doing this for quarantine + more time to find a permanent place? I’m actually thinking about doing this since the hotel situation is less than ideal with a family.
That I don’t know. Someone on the ground there (wish I were!) could give a better idea.
Plus…
591.com.tw
I found the prices mentioned here to be useful. And these prices do sound inexpensive. https://discoverdiscomfort.com/guide-to-living-in-taiwan/ Staying for a couple of weeks? You can get studio apartment AirBnBs with daily service (fairly basic, like changing towels and taking out the trash) for US$25 a night. If you’re staying for a month or more, you can get an apartment through one of the local Facebook groups (look up Kaohsiung apartments and flat-sharing). Most of these are for bedrooms in other people’s apartments. In these cases, you can get a bedroom with its own bathroom in a shared apartment (with one other person or couple) for NT$10-15,000, or $200 to 300 a month.
I’ve only ever found Airbnb useful for long stays, due to the huge discounts you can get. If you are staying for less than a week, hotels are always better value for money, at least in Taipei. Outside Taipei I think its a different story. I’ve had great Airbnbs for great prices in Tainan and Penghu. Also, is it just me or do the vast majority of Taiwanese people not know what Airbnb is? Maybe I just don’t know the Chinese name, who knows.
For $25 you’re way more likely to find a room, not an independent apartment, and it isn’t going to include daily service.
And caveat emptor. A lot of Airbnbs are in death trap buildings where if there’s a fire, you have a good chance of becoming your own BBQ dish.