Plum Guide is a holiday rental site that takes a more curated approach to the homes it lists. But does this make for a better experience…? Let’s find out.
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What Is Plum Guide?
Plum Guide is a curated holiday rental platform, which means they pick and choose which accommodations they list.
They’re very selective, choosing just 3% of homes that apply to the platform. They have homes across the world, from Los Angeles and Croatia to London and Cape Town.
How does Plum Guide choose its homes?
Plum Guide has a vetting process that looks at things like location and design, and even shower pressure and WiFi speed. This is a remote process though, so they don’t physically visit the homes they list.
Only homes that meet their criteria are then accepted onto the platform. So the idea is that when you’re searching on Plum Guide, you know you’re choosing from the best.
You can still use filters to narrow down your search, but you’re starting with a smaller pool of better properties – making the whole process of searching for that perfect stay quicker and easier.
Who is Plum Guide best for - and who should avoid it?
If you like staying somewhere stylish with great facilities, and you hate trawling endless listings and reviews, then Plum Guide will suit you.
However if you quite enjoy the whole process of finding that perfect home-from-home – like me! – then you might not be so bothered about a smaller selection on Plum Guide. Yes there are thousands more listings to trawl through on an open platform (like Airbnb), but if you get smart with filtering you can narrow down results fairly quickly.
Plum Guide also doesn’t have the breadth of options that an open platform has – especially if you’re on a tight budget. So if you don’t mind too much about aesthetics and just want a place to lay your head, Plum Guide shouldn’t be your first choice.
Is Plum Guide Better Than Airbnb?
Both Plum Guide and Airbnb can help you find the right holiday rental, it just depends on your priorities. Here’s some of their qualities side by side so you can easily see how they differ.
- Locations: Plum Guide has 30,000 properties in a small number of locations - they say more than 40 on their website. Whereas Airbnb has millions of listings and a solid global presence.
- Choice: Plum Guide is curated, so there are fewer options to choose from - although they’ve been vetted several times over for quality and comfort. Airbnb is an open marketplace with millions of listings.
- Listing: Plum Guide writes all the listings for its properties and gives them a name, which means there’s consistency in the information you’re getting - although it’s a less personal approach. On Airbnb, hosts write their own listings.
- Price Point: Plum Guide’s collection of curated properties come at a relatively premium price point - you won’t find bargain stays on here. While Airbnb has a bigger range of prices, with plenty of options at the lower end which is helpful for budget-conscious travellers.
- Accommodation Types: Both Plum Guide and Airbnb have all types of accommodation from compact apartments to enormous villas. Although on Plum Guide you have to rent a whole property - there’s no option to rent a room like on Airbnb.
- Fees: On Plum Guide, you pay the nightly price of the accommodation for the number of nights you’re staying - and that’s it; fees are included. On Airbnb, the traveller pays a service and cleaning fee on top of the price of the stay.
- Customer Service: Plum Guide takes an active role in helping customers, from assistance with finding the right property to getting a replacement stay if your host cancels, whereas Airbnb has a self-service approach.
- Professional and independent hosts: Both platforms have a mix of people’s actual homes and managed business properties.
Is Plum Guide more expensive than Airbnb?
Generally yes, the range of property prices on Plum Guide is more expensive than Airbnb, because they’ve chosen to feature higher quality homes.
It’s not all super-luxe properties though – you can find affordable options on Plum Guide especially outside peak season and in quieter areas. Plus if you’re renting a big space and there are a lot of people staying there, it can become more cost effective once you’ve divided the rental cost between everyone staying.
What’s Plum Guide’s customer service like?
As mentioned above, Plum Guide has some customer service extras to make things more seamless for guests.
MatchMaking service
They have a free match making service that helps you before you even book by supporting your search for the ideal home stay.
Team Help
And if your Plum Guide host cancels your stay, the team helps you with finding an alternative, even a place that’s up to 20% more expensive (rising to 50% if they cancel with 5 days’ notice or less) without you having to pay any extra.
However, as far as communication goes, you still liaise directly with the host like you would on any other booking site. It’s down to the host how to handle your stay, from whether they meet you at the property or leave the key in a lock box to setting house rules and check in and check out times.
Can I trust Plum Guide?
Plum Guide’s vetting process in theory does remove some of the more unknown or risky elements that come with renting a property – and that’s one of its key selling points.
They mention three rounds of quality checks, and that they value things like cleanliness, location and accurate photos. They don’t publish any specifics about their vetting criteria, although they do say it’s AI powered, so whilst it’s likely to be thorough, it won’t necessarily be foolproof.
The positive customer reviews do point to it being a platform we can trust, but it is still a third-party platform – like Airbnb – so experiences will vary according to the specific property, host and situation.
Reviews for Plum Guide on Trustpilot are broadly positive – it has an overall score of 4.6. People are generally happy with the quality and location of the homes and the service provided, although some do report issues around things not working, or the properties not being as expected.
As with any accommodation, read the listing carefully, look out for any amenities that are important to you, check reviews and make sure you know the booking policy and cancellation terms before you book.
Our Favourite Plum Guide Picks
Budget
Algarve, Portugal
1 bedroom flat
From £99 per night (7 night discount takes it to £83 / night)
This compact one bedroom flat in the Algarve has it’s own private jacuzzi and barbecue.
Mid range
Tulum, Mexico
Townhouse
From £130 per night
This 3-bedroom property in Tulum has a beautiful garden and shared swimming pool.
Luxury
Palm Springs, CA
Villa
From £361 per night (with 7 night discount)
This classic Palm Springs home is architect-designed and has a pool, hot tub and fire pit.
Final Thoughts: Plum Guide vs Airbnb
Plum Guide and Airbnb ultimately offer different things to different types of traveller.
Plum Guide is great if you want fewer, better accommodation options and you like to stay somewhere that looks a bit fancy. Just know you’ll pay a bit extra for the privilege.
Whereas if you’re on a budget and don’t mind spending time going through search results – maybe you even find it quite satisfying – then Airbnb will have more options in terms of choice and value for money.
