Become a local for a week or a month in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland

Drawbridge to Europe

Sooner or later, you start to think about renting an apartment, flat, condominium, house or castle. You want to stay put for a while. The more you consider the idea, the more appealing it becomes. You will cook your own meals, visiting quaint markets each day to gather rich cheeses, marvelous baked goods, exotic meats and wonderfully fresh produce. You will take daytrips in a rental car or on the train. You will sit for hours at a neighborhood sidewalk café and become a regular. You will eat breakfast outdoors each morning on your apartment’s balcony which has a lake or mountain view, preferably both. You will save money.

It sounds good and it can happen — if you are careful.

Let’s start with the saving money part. You can rent a studio apartment in our three countries for as little as $250 per week for two persons. But more realistic numbers are $350 to $500 and up. To get the most for your money, avoid package deals and large rental agencies.

Case in point: On a residential street in Interlaken is the Swiss Inn, an unimpressive, rambling family-operated, apartment/hotel. A couple of years ago we visited it but concluded it wasn’t something we could recommend to Gemütlichkeit readers. This month, in the ‘special offers’ section of Switzerland Tourism’s website (www.myswitzerland.com), Swiss Inn is offering one-week apartment packages for $575 per person. The deal includes seven nights in an apartment, roundtrip rail from Zürich plus 50% off on other rail travel (the Swiss Card), and two days rental of a ‘Smart Car,’ a cute but tiny vehicle made by Mercedes Benz. There are a couple of other minor amenities such as free coffee or tea in your room and arriving customers are met at the Interlaken rail station. Doesn’t sound bad, $1150 per week for two people and you get a car for two days and some rail transportation.

A closer look, however, calls this deal into question. According to prices found on the Interlaken Tourist Office’s website (www.interlakentourism.ch), three-room apartments (the Swiss Inn offer is two rooms) can be rented for around 700 Sfr. ($449) per week. Add a Swiss Card for the rail component at $110 per person and you’ve spent $669 for two persons. Rent a subcompact car (larger than the ‘Smart Car’) for three days in Interlaken for $115 and the total tab is $784. By constructing the package yourself, you’ve saved 32% and are driving a better car for three days instead of two.

Finding a Place to Rent

Ideally, you will select a rental property after personally viewing several. You either do this on the first day or two after arrival in Europe or in planning for a future trip. Choosing a property and immediately moving in is possible, of course, only when there are vacancies. Winter in popular Alpine towns, and summer in resort towns such as in Austria’s lake district, are likely to be the most difficult without advance reservations.

On the other hand, prices are substantially lower in summer at most ski resorts and, in shoulder months like April, May, October and November, vacancies are plentiful.

For those seeking an on-the-spot rental we suggest arriving at your destination when the tourist office is open — usually 8am to noon and 2pm to 6pm on weekdays, and 8am to noon on Saturdays. The tourist office will provide a list of apartments and a local map. (In rare cases, you will be directed to an agency which handles local vacation rentals.) Sometimes each apartment is marked on the map. If not, take a few minutes to scan the list, then ask the office to mark your choices on the map. The search, without a list and map, is difficult, because many rentals will not have a sign outside (Ferienwohnungen or apartment).

While most tourist offices will provide a list of properties, it’s usually up to you to deal directly with the owner. Some will arrange appointments with owners for you, but most do not. A few smaller offices keep an unofficial list of vacant apartments which is useful.

Rental Agencies

Personally choosing a rental property, however, may not be possible and you are left to make a decision based on pictures, your own intuition, and the advice and recommendations of others.

Though most North American vacation renters use an agency, we recommend they be part of that process only under one condition; the booking agent fully understands your needs and has personally inspected the property in question. Given that one condition is met, renting through an agent is probably worth the additional cost versus booking directly with the property owner. Almost by definition, that condition excludes big agencies such as Interhome, the world’s largest. The company lists thousands of properties throughout Europe, making it highly unlikely the booking agent you deal with will have personally seen many — if any — of the listings. Interhome has a fine, easy-to-use website (www.interhome.com) with plenty of photos and no doubt offers many outstanding properties. The problem is which are outstanding and which are tired and worn. Years of comparing hotel brochures with the real thing have taught us pictures can be misleading.

In addition, you will pay top dollar to rent through a company such as Interhome. Your money will be divided among the agency, the property owner, and perhaps one or two property management firms. Small agencies are better for a couple of reasons: the person you deal with is more likely to have personally seen the properties offered and there are fewer middle men. Such agencies typically add 25% to the price set by the property owner. Still, it’s worth it if you get what you’re looking for.

A great example of a small agency you can trust is At Home in France. This is a small company whose owners spend six weeks each September and October in France looking for potential rental properties. They apply rigorous standards in their selection process and wind up representing only about 150 different properties. Since their success depends almost entirely on repeat business, it makes perfect sense for them to put clients into well-maintained, good value properties that live up to their photographs. Unfortunately, as you might guess from the name, At Home in France rents only in France. But it’s an example of the kind of agency you’re looking for.

So let’s assume you don’t have a rental agent you can trust (Gemütlichkeit knows of none), and for whatever reason you need to book sight unseen. You must rely on intuition, the Internet, written descriptions, and pictures. Since you also want a good price you want to deal directly with property owners.

Using the Internet

Where do you start? The Internet has thousands of web sites offering self-catering rentals in our three countries. Many sites are owner-operated and full of pictures. The problem is finding them. Rental agencies pay search engines to have their sites appear at the top of the lists that result when using general search phrases such as “apartment rental Austria“ or “self-catering Switzerland.” You often will have to scroll far down the list to find individual properties. If you don’t know the specific names of properties, use a phrase like “ferienwohnungen austria” or, better yet, the word “ferienwohnungen” with the name of the town or region where you want to find a rental. The results are likely to be in German, but if you use the Google search engine (www.google.com) just click on “translate this.”

To get the most from the Internet you need the names of individual properties in the region or town where you want to stay.

Using Tourist Offices

Such information — often in the form of fairly elaborate, full color catalogs or brochures — is available from local tourist offices. But first, of course, you need to know how to contact them. You can start by writing or emailing the U.S. offices of the German, Swiss, or Austrian tourist authorities to request a detailed list of local tourist offices. (Tip: the Michelin Red Guides for Germany and Switzerland display contact information for the tourist office in each town listed in the guides. Another source is the Internet. Go to Google and search, for example, for “tourismus tirol” or “tourismus mürren”) 

With this information in hand you can contact the local tourist offices and ask for a listing of vacation rentals.

Making the Choice

Once you have lists of properties supplied by town or regional tourist offices, you can begin to create a short-list from which to pick a vacation rental. Choose a few properties that seem to fit your requirements and price range.

Your next stop is the Internet. Let’s say the first possibility on your short-list is Haus Heimhof in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The info from the tourist office may have Haus Heimhof’s web address, making it a relatively simple matter to checkout the property online. If you don’t have the Web address, go to Google and search using the name of the property together with the name of the town; for example, “Haus Heimhof Garmisch-Partenkirchen” or “Ferienwohnungen Haus Heimhof Garmisch-Partenkirchen.”

If you like what you see, you will want to contact the owner. Usually you can do so via email right from the property’s website. You can also communicate via regular mail which, of course, is much slower but preferred by many Europeans. Fax is also acceptable. It is probably not a good idea to telephone.

Below are some further notes on renting self-catering accommodations in our three countries:

Apartments or flats in private homes are the most common rentals. Often they are one floor (usually top floor or basement) converted into a self-contained apartment. Complete privacy is typical and one rarely hears the home’s other occupants. Usual amenities: one or two bedrooms, a bath and a kitchen/dining room that may also include a couple of easy chairs. Rarely found: separate living room, dishwasher, washing machine. Often found: TV and telephone.

• The difference between Ferienwohnung and a Ferien-Apartment is the latter usually has a combined sleeping/living area plus cooking facilities and bath, whereas a Ferienwohnung is a full-fledged apartment with separate living room, bedroom, full kitchen, bath, etc., usually with its own entrance. Sometimes it is a separate cottage or bungalow.
• Most rentals begin and end on Saturday, but one advantage to off-season travel is the willingness of owners to rent for periods less than a week. This is especially true if you are prepared to rent immediately and the apartment is vacant. Because of the cleaning charge usually made in addition to the regular rental charge, you will always pay slightly more per day when renting for less than a week. There are fewer days over which to apportion this fee which ranges from about $30 to $100. Most owners include other charges such as state tax, heating, etc., in the rental price, but always ask.
• Even at $500 per week ($71 per night), you will have more comfort and space than in a three-star hotel at nearly twice the price.