Book Direct

The same apartment, without the middle

Booking direct with us costs up to 20% less than Airbnb or Booking.com. Here is exactly what that gets you, and what it does not.

Check your dates Ask us on WhatsApp
Up to 20% less

Airbnb charges us a commission and adds a service fee for you. Booking.com takes its cut out of the nightly rate. Remove both and the same apartment costs less.

The same two people

You are dealing with Tino and Helen whichever way you book. Going direct just takes the platform out of the conversation.

Room to be flexible

A late flight, an early arrival, an extra week in the middle of winter — we can simply say yes, without asking a platform first.

Tino, your host in Tarifa

Who you are actually booking with

We have hosted this apartment for four years and we still meet most guests ourselves. Every review on both platforms is public, and honestly we would rather you read all of them before you write to us.

Tino, your host
120+
Stays booked on Airbnb
70+
Stays booked on Booking.com
4.94
Average from 114 Airbnb reviews
9.5
Booking.com score
Registered tourist rental, licence VFT/CA/147031

Booking direct, honestly

The fair worry about booking direct is that you give up the platform’s safety net. So here are straight answers rather than reassuring noise.

How do we know you are real?

We have hosted the same apartment under our own names for four years, with over 120 stays booked through Airbnb and over 70 through Booking.com. Both listings are public and so is every review, so you can read the bad ones as well as the good ones before you commit to anything. The apartment is registered with the Junta de Andalucía as a tourist rental, and the licence number is on this page for you to check.

What about the cover Airbnb and Booking.com give me?

The straight answer is that booking direct means you are not covered by Airbnb’s AirCover or by Booking.com’s dispute process. What you get instead is a written confirmation with the price, the dates, what is included and the cancellation terms all agreed before anything is due, and a licensed property you can verify yourself. In every stay we have hosted, we have never had an incident that needed an insurance claim from either platform.

What if something goes wrong while we are there?

You message us and we sort it out. That is what happens through a platform too, except there is no ticket queue in between. We are on WhatsApp and we answer, usually within the hour during the day.

Can we compare before we decide?

Please do. The same photos, the same reviews and the same apartment are on our Airbnb and Booking.com listings, and both are linked from this site. Put them side by side with the price we quote you.

Read all our reviews on Airbnb Read all our reviews on Booking.com

Winter by the month

From October to March we let the apartment by the calendar month, mostly to kitesurfers, wingfoilers and people working remotely for a season. The price is for the whole two-bedroom apartment, not a room in a shared house.

October
€1,800
per month
November
€1,500
per month
December
€1,800
per month
January
€1,500
per month
February
€1,500
per month
March
€1,800
per month
Two months or more

Book two consecutive months and every month comes down to €1,500, including October, December and March. On an October and November stay that is €300 off.

Stays of up to two continuous months sit inside our Andalusian tourist rental licence. For anything longer, write to us — in Spain that needs a different kind of contract, and we will tell you honestly what is involved.

How booking direct works

1
Tell us your dates

Use the enquiry form or WhatsApp. We reply personally, usually the same day.

2
We confirm it in writing

The price, the dates, what is included and the cancellation terms, all agreed before anything is due.

3
You arrive

Directions, parking and access details come through before you travel, and we are on the end of a phone while you are here.

Tell us when you want to come

Send us your dates and we will come back with a price. No platform, no fees, no call centre.

Check availability