I’ve been amusing myself this afternoon by adding up how much I’ve spent on hotels and Airbnbs in New Zealand and the respective savings by housesitting.
I’ve been in NZ’s South Island since 2/11/22 and have calculated costs up to and including 19/2/23 when I leave my current housesit.
Since 2/11/22 I’ve spent 19 nights in hotels and Airbnbs at a total cost of £1508.86 which averages at £79.40 per night. I must admit, one of those nights was extra special at The Hermitage, overlooking Mount Cook which cost £252, but it was worth it! I also had an additional 3 nights as part of a cycling trip and haven’t included those.
Up to 19/2/23 I will have spent 87 nights housesitting which when multiplied by the average nightly cost of £79.40 works out at £6907.80 saved!
We’ve been back in NZ since 1st December , we spent one week camping and the rest have been on housesits so roughly 70 nights = £5k and we still have two weeks of housesits to go.
Is it just me or do Airbnb here seem so much more expensive than in Europe ?
Definitely Airbnb have increased their prices - a whopping £35 ‘service fee’ lopped onto a recent 3 night booking I’ve made. I think, like so many, they’re trying to recoup money lost during the pandemic.
If I could camp or sleep in hostels I’d obviously save more but, I’m not set up for camping and my hostel days are over. I will share a bathroom if needs be but prefer my own room and en suite.
@Smiley We have had a couple of occasions whereby we have paid a cleaning fee in the price only to then be told on arrival there is an additional cleaning fee charge and then being directed to the small print on the listing where you would never expect to see this addition!
We read every listing thoroughly now so no more hidden surprises!