Short Term Rental Condos: AirBnB vs Facebook listings

[Mockingbird]

Hello, guys!

I've been scouting a condo for my upcoming trip and I believe the two best platforms online are AirBnB and Facebook listings - marketplace/groups.

AirBnB has limited listings but there is a means to complain or ask for a refund. All payments made via the AirBnB platform so there would be less opportunities for people running away with your money.

Facebook has many, many more listings and the prices are slightly lower, albeit for long-term contracts. I contacted two people who listed condos for rent  and one declined the possibility of short-term rental (1 month in my case) and another accepted but would (of course) quote a higher price for the short-term rental.

I have had several experiences booking on AirBnB and so far have not been disappointed.

So I would like to ask whether you have had any experience booking through Facebook and whether you find the experience better or worse than AirBnB, if you're familiar with the platform.

[Harry2018]

Facebook is much more like answering classified ads, Airbnb is like hotel booing site where they take a huge % margin. Really depends how much effort you want to put in. FB should be much cheaper, but wouldn't send any cash before seeing a place. 

[Mockingbird]

14 hours ago, Harry2018 said:

Facebook is much more like answering classified ads, Airbnb is like hotel booing site where they take a huge % margin. Really depends how much effort you want to put in. FB should be much cheaper, but wouldn't send any cash before seeing a place. 

So far, here is my experience approaching listings on FB:

1. Asked Agent A whether an apartment in Cosy Beach View is available for short term rental.

Answer: Yes! But higher than yearly contract rate. Told him will follow up as soon as my boss approves my leave.

2. Asked Agent B, C and D whether condos in Siam Oriental Tropical Garden, Unixx and Laguna Bay 1 unit is available for short term.

Answer: No.

3. Asked Agent E whether an SOTG unit he put up over a week ago is available.

Answer: The Base is available, but SOTG not available.

4. Asked Agent F whether an SOTG unit she put up over a week ago is available.

Answer: What's my budget? I said, "You mentioned in the listing, THB6500." "Oh, not available."

 

So far, only one possible via FB, not yet confirmed

 

[talung66]

Look at baht and sold as well and try talk to an owner on FB and baht and sold

And take a reality check your asking for a short term rental in a advance date you your self dont know.

I would now  hold the place if it was mine 

[Mockingbird]

3 hours ago, talung66 said:

Look at baht and sold as well and try talk to an owner on FB and baht and sold

And take a reality check your asking for a short term rental in a advance date you your self dont know.

I would now  hold the place if it was mine 

Thanks. Will look for baht and sold. 

Yeah, I know I couldn't negotiate much without a date but I wanted to know whether the units are open for short term rent. Most of of them are not, based on my current search. 

Today I'll be in the office again and will ask my boss. Again. If she doesn't make a decision I might have to make one for the both of us. 

 

[Billy Shears]

For a 1 month rental far off in the future, I think airbnb is the only way to go. A FB rental that is looking for a long term renter would be crazy to lock up 1 month far in the future thus being unable to rent to anybody long term.

There's also some agents at VT6 that rent short term, maybe contact one of them once you figure out the actual date of you trip.

[Mockingbird]

4 hours ago, WhiteThai said:

For a 1 month rental far off in the future, I think airbnb is the only way to go. A FB rental that is looking for a long term renter would be crazy to lock up 1 month far in the future thus being unable to rent to anybody long term.

There's also some agents at VT6 that rent short term, maybe contact one of them once you figure out the actual date of you trip.

Aha! The 1 month far off in the future is next month! My boss just agreed over lunch just now - God bless her! But I agree with you. I think AirBnB is the way to go. FB marketplace and groups is for long term rental, and even then, I would go for property groups as I am quite concerned with listings by individuals.

It's quite difficult to even get any hits on short-term rental, so I guess it's not the right place.

Furthermore, I was thinking that even if anyone wanted to do research for long-term rental by doing one month  or possibly even one week at any particular place, AirBnB is the right choice.

 

 

[talung66]

5 hours ago, Mockingbird said:

Thanks. Will look for baht and sold. 

Yeah, I know I couldn't negotiate much without a date but I wanted to know whether the units are open for short term rent. Most of of them are not, based on my current search. 

Today I'll be in the office again and will ask my boss. Again. If she doesn't make a decision I might have to make one for the both of us. 

 

Try honeys coffeeshop for VT6 easy 

Edited November 9, 2021 by talung66

[lovermand66]

5 hours ago, WhiteThai said:

For a 1 month rental far off in the future, I think airbnb is the only way to go. A FB rental that is looking for a long term renter would be crazy to lock up 1 month far in the future thus being unable to rent to anybody long term.

There's also some agents at VT6 that rent short term, maybe contact one of them once you figure out the actual date of you trip.

VT6...

my strategi is always to book only few day in a hotel, and then show up in person to see and make an offer with the apartment you like...if you book online the will give you the most crappy room availibel.

the keep the best rooms as long as possible, to show

Edited November 9, 2021 by lovermand66
misspelling

[Billy Shears]

20 minutes ago, lovermand66 said:

VT6...

my strategi is always to book only few day in a hotel, and then show up in person to see and make an offer with the apartment you like...if you book online the will give you the most crappy room availibel.

the keep the best rooms as long as possible, to show

I definitely agree with that. The only one I would book ahead of time is Dancewatchers, because he allows you to pick your room in advance.

[Shaygate]

I'm in a similar situation in that I'm looking for a 3 month let (i know my dates). I particularly like the Amazon condos in Jomtien. According to Hipflat there are currently over 40 units available for rent and 100 plus for sale. I've approached an agent who i know has contacts there and is a regular poster on FB and currently have been getting a single message every 24hours from him and no offers at all. 

I think its time i started ringing around different agencies and find somebody who is actually interested in finding me somewhere. 

[Shaygate]

As a bit of an update on my thinking. I've been looking on AirBnB and i think i could get a comparable deal and a lot less hassle than with an agent. 

I consider a fair rent for the type and location of a condo I'm looking for is about 6500 baht a month along with 1 months deposit. Now given the difficulty some people have recovering their deposit you could factor that into the cost which would be 26000 baht for three months but you would have to add an internet cost say around 1200 a month so total 29600 baht. 

Now on AirBnB I've found a condo that meets all my requirements and the cost for the three months including internet, would be 26865 baht. 

Now if course it may be that the agent or owner could return my deposit without any arguments and then the overall cost would be less than AirBnB but is that chance worth it? 

I'm kinda leaning towards AirBnB at the moment. 

Edited November 11, 2021 by Shaygate
Tidying up grammer

[davidge]

Just my recent experience, I’ve switched to condos since 2015 and have had several stays since of about a month or so.

It’s not easy finding reliable agents for short term stays in a wide range of condos.

I’ve used AirBnB twice and it was fine. Other times the places I was looking at were too expensive on the site.

I’ve also used 3 different agents who specialise in a couple of condo buildings. Again, I’ve found them all fine - though one is really a ‘turn up and book’ rather than book in advance online.

The 3 agents were:

Dancewatchers (3 times). Easy to deal with, reliable, you choose the exact condo - but on the expensive side. They mainly deal with VT2A and VT6, with one or two in VT5C;

http://www.viewtalaycondos.com/ an easy-going American bloke who rents condos in VT7, VT1 and VT5. I don’t know if he’s still operating as the website doesn’t seem to have been updated recently. He was/is a member on here though not really active and he also uses AirBnB. Again, pretty easy to deal with and you choose the exact condo;

The third is a Thai lady who operates from the reception area of Jomtien Complex Condo and has a lot of units in the building. Booking really needs to be face to face and allocation is a bit random - though you can look at the unit before agreeing.

 

If I was staying for longer, say 3 months or so, then I’d book a hotel for a couple of days and go into buildings I was interested in and find the agents on the ground floor of the buildings - most seem to have at least one.

I’ve now stayed in VT2A (twice), VT5C, VT7 (twice), Jomtien Complex Condo (twice) and Neo Condo. I’ve looked at units in several other condos.

 

 

[Mockingbird]

On 09/11/2021 at 15:28, talung66 said:

Try honeys coffeeshop for VT6 easy 

Thanks, but VT6 condos currently are beyond what I'm willing to spend on a condo, considering the other options at hand. 

On 09/11/2021 at 16:24, lovermand66 said:

VT6...

my strategi is always to book only few day in a hotel, and then show up in person to see and make an offer with the apartment you like...if you book online the will give you the most crappy room availibel.

the keep the best rooms as long as possible, to show

Thanks, that may be true, about keeping the best rooms, but this is why I go for AirBnB hosts who only have one or two acceptable units in the same building. Single-unit owners can sometimes make more of an effort to rent out their units, as was my experience with a unit at VT7. I rented another at Unixx with a host who has multiple properties and she was a bit more aloof.

On 09/11/2021 at 16:48, WhiteThai said:

I definitely agree with that. The only one I would book ahead of time is Dancewatchers, because he allows you to pick your room in advance.

I think the units they have are excellent but beyond my price range.

3 hours ago, Shaygate said:

I'm in a similar situation in that I'm looking for a 3 month let (i know my dates). I particularly like the Amazon condos in Jomtien. According to Hipflat there are currently over 40 units available for rent and 100 plus for sale. I've approached an agent who i know has contacts there and is a regular poster on FB and currently have been getting a single message every 24hours from him and no offers at all. 

I think its time i started ringing around different agencies and find somebody who is actually interested in finding me somewhere. 

I think it's possible, but depends on the willingness of the owners to do short-term rentals. Also, whether the agents specialise in short-term rental. Or would they be competing with AirBnB, Agoda and Booking so they never bothered?

What's the agent fee structure for short-term rentals anyway? 

39 minutes ago, Shaygate said:

As a bit of an update on my thinking. I've been looking on AirBnB and i think i could get a comparable deal and a lot less hassle than with an agent. 

I consider a fair rent for the type and location of a condo I'm looking for is about 6500 baht a month along with 1 months deposit. Now given the difficulty some people have recovering their deposit you could factor that into the cost which would be 26000 baht for three months but you would have to add an internet cost say around 1200 a month so total 29600 baht. 

Now on AirBnB I've found a condo that meets all my requirements and the cost for the three months including internet, would be 26865 baht. 

Now if course it may be that the agent or owner could return my deposit without any arguments and then the overall cost would be less than AirBnB but is that chance worth it? 

I'm kinda leaning towards AirBnB at the moment. 

Yes, I have found AirBnB to be excellent for short-term bookings, which is 1-3 months. But for year-long contracts, nothing beats a normal tenancy agreement. For your purposes (3 months) and mine (1 month), yes I believe AirBnB would be best.

20 minutes ago, davidge said:

Just my recent experience, I’ve switched to condos since 2015 and have had several stays since of about a month or so.

It’s not easy finding reliable agents for short term stays in a wide range of condos.

I’ve used AirBnB twice and it was fine. Other times the places I was looking at were too expensive on the site.

I’ve also used 3 different agents who specialise in a couple of condo buildings. Again, I’ve found them all fine - though one is really a ‘turn up and book’ rather than book in advance online.

The 3 agents were:

Dancewatchers (3 times). Easy to deal with, reliable, you choose the exact condo - but on the expensive side. They mainly deal with VT2A and VT6, with one or two in VT5C;

http://www.viewtalaycondos.com/ an easy-going American bloke who rents condos in VT7, VT1 and VT5. I don’t know if he’s still operating as the website doesn’t seem to have been updated recently. He was/is a member on here though not really active and he also uses AirBnB. Again, pretty easy to deal with and you choose the exact condo;

The third is a Thai lady who operates from the reception area of Jomtien Complex Condo and has a lot of units in the building. Booking really needs to be face to face and allocation is a bit random - though you can look at the unit before agreeing.

 

If I was staying for longer, say 3 months or so, then I’d book a hotel for a couple of days and go into buildings I was interested in and find the agents on the ground floor of the buildings - most seem to have at least one.

I’ve now stayed in VT2A (twice), VT5C, VT7 (twice), Jomtien Complex Condo (twice) and Neo Condo. I’ve looked at units in several other condos.

 

 

Yes, I've been following your posts and topics for a few years now, Davidge. Your writing on Jomtien was what convinced me to book a VT7 condo a few years back.

Yes, for three months, some deals could be had by approaching them directly, I guess. As for me, I am quite nervous and would prefer locking in accommodations before I go.

But maybe one day I'll try it that way and see what happens.

[Kale]

I'm going there with no reservations ahead of time.  I think the only way you can get any kind of deal is by being there.  I am not worried about finding something.  It doesn't appear that busy and I don't think they will get much of a spike in Dec/Jan.  I would never do that during a normal high season but there is nothing normal about this 'high' season.

Edited November 11, 2021 by Kale

[Mockingbird]

6 minutes ago, Kale said:

I'm going there with no reservations ahead of time.  I think the only way you can get any kind of deal is by being there.  I am not worried about finding something.  It doesn't appear that busy and I don't think they will get much of a spike in Dec/Jan.  I would never do that during a normal high season but there is nothing normal about this 'high' season.

Yes, you make a good point, Kale. Right now is special circumstances where millions of tourists to Thailand dwindled down to maybe 40-50K by Christmas. How many of that are going to Pattaya?

On AirBnB alone, there are hundreds of condos listed for short-term rent, not to mention thousands of hotels, inns and guesthouses on Agoda and Booking.

So yes, I don't think there will be a lack of condos for rent.

That being said, ALL of the Siam Oriental Tropical Garden condo units on AirBnB were rented out for the period I am coming except one that, when I contacted the owner, immediately told me the rental for her unit, listed at THB10K on AirBnB, is actually THB16K.

So you might encounter some crazies and some shortages in a few popular properties, but you can always move on to the next one.

 

[lovermand66]

6 hours ago, davidge said:

 

The third is a Thai lady who operates from the reception area of Jomtien Complex Condo and has a lot of units in the building. Booking really needs to be face to face and allocation is a bit random - though you can look at the unit before agreeing.

 

I’ve now stayed in VT2A (twice), VT5C, VT7 (twice), Jomtien Complex Condo (twice) and Neo Condo. I’ve looked at units in several other condos.

 

 

Jomtien Complex, how is it like...? Pro and Cons?

how much i the average price for 1. Month?

[talung66]

7 hours ago, Mockingbird said:

Thanks, but VT6 condos currently are beyond what I'm willing to spend on a condo, considering the other options at hand. 

Negotiate 

[Kale]

6 hours ago, Mockingbird said:

Yes, you make a good point, Kale. Right now is special circumstances where millions of tourists to Thailand dwindled down to maybe 40-50K by Christmas. How many of that are going to Pattaya?

On AirBnB alone, there are hundreds of condos listed for short-term rent, not to mention thousands of hotels, inns and guesthouses on Agoda and Booking.

So yes, I don't think there will be a lack of condos for rent.

That being said, ALL of the Siam Oriental Tropical Garden condo units on AirBnB were rented out for the period I am coming except one that, when I contacted the owner, immediately told me the rental for her unit, listed at THB10K on AirBnB, is actually THB16K.

So you might encounter some crazies and some shortages in a few popular properties, but you can always move on to the next one.

 

I think the Thai gov'ts own estimates, which are probably overly optimistic, estimate about 10% the numbers of a regular high season.

[davidge]

10 hours ago, lovermand66 said:

Jomtien Complex, how is it like...? Pro and Cons?

how much i the average price for 1. Month?

Older building but ok maintenance. Large units - 64 sqm studios as the norm. Standard of units varies a lot depending on renovation. Some still have kitchen out on balcony, others renovated so the area is incorporated into the unit. Reasonably quiet, occasionally noise from gay bars behind but you have corridor between you and the back of building. Pool not special. Location very good. Before Covid, 15k-18k a month for a studio on average (short term rent).

 

[missmoneypenny]

On 11/11/2021 at 16:07, Kale said:

I'm going there with no reservations ahead of time.  I think the only way you can get any kind of deal is by being there.  I am not worried about finding something.  It doesn't appear that busy and I don't think they will get much of a spike in Dec/Jan.  I would never do that during a normal high season but there is nothing normal about this 'high' season.

When you say you are going with no reservations booked. Doesn't the new Thailand joke of a pass require you to have accomodation already booked? Also if you don't have anything booked how will you go about giving your TM30 form to immigration within 24 hours of arrival.

I'm in a similar quandary regards my upcoming trip (if I decide to actually go). 

[Mockingbird]

55 minutes ago, missmoneypenny said:

When you say you are going with no reservations booked. Doesn't the new Thailand joke of a pass require you to have accomodation already booked? Also if you don't have anything booked how will you go about giving your TM30 form to immigration within 24 hours of arrival.

I'm in a similar quandary regards my upcoming trip (if I decide to actually go). 

The Thailand Pass requires the SHA+ hotel package thing for test (RT-PCR) and one night quarantine. After that, you can stay anywhere.

TM30 I heard was supposed to be filed by landlords, right? And it's more relevant for expats or for long-term stay? I never dealt with it so I can't comment.

 

Google revealed this: https://www.mondaq.com/general-immigration/983654/tm30-reporting-rule-on-foreigners-eased

So I guess it's easier now?

 

[Ohyesuare]

22 minutes ago, Mockingbird said:

The Thailand Pass requires the SHA+ hotel package thing for test (RT-PCR) and one night quarantine. After that, you can stay anywhere.

TM30 I heard was supposed to be filed by landlords, right? And it's more relevant for expats or for long-term stay? I never dealt with it so I can't comment.

 

Google revealed this: https://www.mondaq.com/general-immigration/983654/tm30-reporting-rule-on-foreigners-eased

So I guess it's easier now?

 

TM30 is supposed to be done by landlords within 24 hours of a guest arriving. What you linked above just means they don't have to do one every time the tenant goes for a day or two holiday somewhere else and then returns to the accommodation but doesn't change the fact that the initial TM30 still needs to be done. Most tourists who stay 2 weeks and will never need to visit immigration will probably never know what the TM30 is but if your landlord doesn't do one and you need to extend your permission to stay, you will have issues. 

[missmoneypenny]

On 13/11/2021 at 02:37, Ohyesuare said:

TM30 is supposed to be done by landlords within 24 hours of a guest arriving. What you linked above just means they don't have to do one every time the tenant goes for a day or two holiday somewhere else and then returns to the accommodation but doesn't change the fact that the initial TM30 still needs to be done. Most tourists who stay 2 weeks and will never need to visit immigration will probably never know what the TM30 is but if your landlord doesn't do one and you need to extend your permission to stay, you will have issues. 

Thanks for clarifying. I did suspect what you said is still the case.