Where and how to rent an apartment for a day in Russia in 2023

How to rent an apartment and a hotel room after the departure of Booking, where to look for housing in the Russian Federation, which online aggregators continue to work – in the material “Kommersant”.

At the beginning of March 2022, the Booking.com service, which for a long time was the leader in the domestic market among short-term rental offers aggregators, suspended its work in Russia. Now it is impossible to book housing located on the territory of the Russian Federation through it. Belarus also fell under the restrictions. However, there are alternative online platforms that can be used to reserve a hotel or apartment, including Yandex.Travel, Ostrovok, Sutochno.ru, and others.

“It is difficult to create an alternative to Booking, because technologically it is a very difficult project. Here is the interface part, which must be supported by all devices, and the inventory system itself, in which all orders are processed, and the module for interacting with hotels, plus technical support and customer service support. In order for this whole system to work, it is necessary to contract all hotels, debug the technology of interaction with them, and build communications with customers. This is a complex, complex project that will require serious investments – money, effort and time. A working system with minimal functionality to start work can be created in a few months if you have a professional team. The advantage of such a service is that it makes it possible to compare all offers at once in one place, find the best option and immediately book everything at the right price. Convenience and simplicity for the user – this is how Booking takes customers. In addition, Booking, of course, thanks to the volume of purchases, also knocks out good conditions from hotels both for itself and for its customers,” said Ivan Samoshin, founder and CEO of Travelmart tour operator.

As a rule, all online services on the accommodation page display data with similar content: each is accompanied by a map of the settlement, a general description, information about the room, interior, exterior, location, additional services, restaurants.

Through Yandex.Travel, you can rent a hotel room, an apartment or a house. The search is carried out through an interface that allows you to get acquainted not only with the list of available accommodation facilities, but also with a city map.

As in Booking, the user has the ability to configure the filter by several parameters – price, food, star rating, amenities, rating, type of accommodation and distance from the center. For some offers, cashback is provided under the Yandex.Plus program. Payment is made immediately through the site. Among the advantages are reviews from Yandex.Maps. In addition, the site makes it possible to search for plane, bus, train tickets and select ready-made tours.

The Ostrovka database contains more than 400 thousand options for hotels, hostels, apartments, cottages. The aggregator site became the owner of professional awards in the nomination “The Best Online Travel Agency in Russia”. For each accommodation facility, related information is displayed indicating the price and type of housing. Reservations are made directly through the website. In most cases, the traveler can choose free cancellation, refuse the refund option, specify how he will pay for accommodation – in advance or already on the spot. Visitors to the site have access to reviews and ratings from the TripAdvisor online platform, and they can share their impressions on the Ostrovka website itself.

The domestic online service has compiled offers for short-term rentals of both apartments, houses and apartments from individuals, as well as rooms provided directly by hotels. Housing can be found in more than 1.2 thousand cities.

The site has a standard set of parameters for sorting accommodation options: price per day, type of housing, number of rooms, distance from the sea or the center, and housing features. Under the latter, there is a transfer, payment method, food options, parking or the possibility of staying with a pet.

Peculiarities:

– filter by “personal amenities”, that is, you can choose accommodation with a hairdryer, a fireplace, air conditioning, a dishwasher, a baby cot and much more;

– the ability to choose “places nearby” – the distance from the dining room, restaurants, forest or park, lake or river, fitness center, airport or railway station.

In addition to standard reviews, some accommodation options are assigned a hospitality rating based on user ratings.

The online platform “Sutochno.ru” is “sharpened” mainly for independent travelers who prefer to relax in familiar conditions. The main share of offers is from homeowners who rent apartments, rooms and houses, but there are also options from hostels and hotels. The functionality is partially similar to the Airbnb service that left Russia – for example, there is the possibility of quick booking without waiting for the owner’s response. You can filter the search by the number of bedrooms, beds, area of ​​the room, floor, type of food, as well as select the view from the window, the interior environment – household appliances, the presence of a terrace, Wi-Fi, or on the territory – barbecue, swimming pool, playground, parking and etc. Among the features – sorting offers according to the rules of placement: “smoking is allowed”, “parties are allowed” or “pets are allowed”.

The functionality of OneTwoTrip is in many ways similar to other short-term rental services.

The following options are available to choose from:

• booking conditions – without a card, with free cancellation;
• payment terms – payment now, payment at the hotel, you can use bonuses;
• budget per night or for the entire period;
• guest ratings;
• the number of stars at the accommodation facility;
• distance to the center;
• the nearest subway
• bed type;
• type of food;
• hotel type;
• Additional services;
• hotel chain.

Among the unusual options is the ability to choose the theme of the hotel.

Additional discounts are provided upon authorization. Almost every accommodation option has traveler reviews. In addition, through the site you can book an excursion, rent a car, buy bus, air and railway tickets. However, the total number of available options is not displayed.

The service interface is as concise as possible – you can filter the request by just four criteria:

• VAT is included in the price;
• OZON.travel recommendations;
• by price;
• by the stars.

Bronevik is a national system, when booking through which it is possible to receive a cashback on the Mir card. When searching, they are issued as standard filters, for example, “payment on the site”, “payment at the accommodation facility”, “early check-in option”, as well as choosing the cost of housing for the entire period or per night. Sorting by theme is available – budget, ski, country, wellness, etc., and there is also an option to show chain hotels and hide suburban hotels. Among the distinguishing features is the choice of accommodation facilities:

• providing conditions for the program “We are together. Tourism”;
• performing a set of preventive measures against COVID-19;
• apartments with conditions for a business trip or a long trip.

Arkady Komarov; group “Direct speech”