Great Alternative to Hotels

I was planning a trip to Paris to visit my daughter, who was a student there. I was having a difficult time finding a hotel that I could afford, and I also felt I was too old for a hostel. My daughter heard about HouseTrip.com through friends of hers in Paris. It really provided many alternatives to typical hotels and hostels. I researched the service looking for complaints, problems and other issues and could not find any red flags. I realize that the reviews for the individual lodgings are a separate issue and have to be read individually, but the connection service provided by housetrip.com worked out well for me. One thing that I noticed that gave me some confidence in working with housetrip.com is that the property owner does not receive their payment until 24 hours after check-in. This was confirmed by the hostess of the property I ultimately booked. This gives the guest some protection in case the property is misrepresented, or if there is some other issue caused by the owner (ie doublebooking, cancellation). I would not hesitate in using housetrip.com again and have already recommended it to others.