The success of such global startups like Airbnb, VRBO or Booking is such that even those who are not the target audience of those giant websites know what they do, and know how to search their databases to search for cheaper accommodation once they have set their sights on leaving home for a well deserved holiday: rooms in shared apartments, B&Bs, whole flats.

Cheap: not the only factor

And cheap they are, especially when compared to what is offered by regular hotels.

Increasingly, though, we are witnessing a larger number of travelers who are in the dark about the actual differences between a hotel room and a rental apartment, which are more pronounced in a city like Rome, with a history which stretches back thousands of years.

Cheap is not the only element that should make or break a holiday, and particularly at a time when tourism overseas has become easier for seniors or family with small children, there are other factors that should be considered.

Hotels v. rental apartments: the differences, explained

Let’s start by stating the obvious: the types of comforts and amenities available in a hotel are almost unheard of in a rented apartment.

Although every effort is made to provide them with the most comfortable of stays by providing a number of essentials such as hair dryer, towels, linens, coffee maker… It must be remembered that travelers will be living in someone’s actual home, so (for instance) a Jacuzzi will only be on site if the owners are huge fans of this kind of bath tub! The same applies to the TV (don’t expect international channels unless you’re staying at an expat’s), and safes are rarely available. And these are just a few common examples.

Speaking of hotel essentials: room service doesn’t work the same when you rent an apartment. At From Home to Rome, we like to provide you with a few snacks, a couple of pods to get you started on your coffee fix, but that’s it. Upon request, cleaning can be done daily, but it’ll be at an extra cost, because on average it only gets done when guests leave. The whole rental system works around the premise that it is cheaper precisely because it doesn’t offer the same amount of features a hotel has. Less features = lower price.

That’s the reason why you will need to buy your own ingredients to use them in the fully equipped kitchen or kitchenettes that are a part of almost every rental apartment. At From Home to Rome we find that self-catering is particularly appreciated by those who visit Rome with their babies (and by those who love a quick snack late into the night!).

When we mentioned Rome’s millenary history, it wasn’t just to boast about it: nearly all the accommodations that we have available at From Home to Rome (and this is also true for our competitors) are in the city center and, thus, in listed buildings. Which means an elevator is not as common, particularly in a 500+ years old palazzo! For this reason, a hotel is the way to go for those tourists who have mobility issues.

When you’re in a rental apartment, guests decide when to go out, when to come back in: there is no concierge and with their own set of keys, they are locals through and through, experiencing a city as if they were born and bred there, no matter what time it is!

If security and safety are of the utmost importance, maybe a hotel will be preferable: not all rentals have home security systems, and sprinklers as well as smoke detectors are not available everywhere.

And did we say that rental flats are actual homes? This means that every object, every piece of furniture, every painting is there because they’re part of that particular family’s history. Which means that…
a) they can’t be replaced if broken!
b) they cannot be taken away if they don’t fit with the guests’ ideas of taste.

Finally…

We promise this post is not snark-central! In the past few months we have been noticing more and more misconceptions about rental apartments by people who apparently have not been traveling internationally for long. So we feel it’s our duty to help clear some of these misunderstandings. In the process, we might end up inadvertently educating a new generation of tourists (or two!). And happier ones, too!