The Italian alternative to Airbnb and Booking.com: homes booked from the owners

Airbnb and Booking.com are where most of us look first for a place in Italy. They work well, but they're global platforms: they take a share of every booking, and plenty of family homes, the grandparents' house by the sea or in the hills, aren't on them at all. That's why more travellers look for an Italian alternative.

What people want from an "Italian Airbnb"

Usually three things: real homes rather than hotels, a price without a platform mark-up, and someone in Italy to talk to. That's exactly what booking directly with the owner gives you.

• Family homes in Italy, listed by the owners themselves.
• No commission for guests or owners: nobody takes a percentage of your stay.
• The owner confirms your dates and answers your questions.
• Deposit by bank transfer straight to the owner, the rest on their terms.

How Italiando works

1. Pick a home and your dates. The price you see is the owner's, with cleaning and extras in the total.
2. Send a booking request. You pay nothing at this point.
3. The owner confirms and sends you the bank details for the deposit.
4. You pay the owner directly. No one skims a percentage.

Italiando vs Airbnb and Booking.com

The main difference is who pays the commission. On Airbnb, from 13 October 2026 for European hosts, a fee of about 15.5% is paid by the host and built into the nightly price. On Booking.com the property usually pays around 15%. Either way, that cost ends up in the price you pay.

On Italiando there isn't one: owners pay a flat subscription, so they can offer you their own price with nothing added. The detailed breakdowns are in Italiando vs Airbnb and Italiando vs Booking.com.

When Airbnb or Booking.com still make sense

To be fair: the big platforms have more choice, thousands of reviews, and customer support that steps in if something goes wrong. For a last-minute trip to a city you don't know, they're a sensible pick.

But if you know where you want to go, return to the same place every year, or stay more than a few nights, booking directly costs less and puts you in touch with someone who actually knows the house. When a home on Italiando is also on Airbnb or Booking.com, we show its rating and link to the original reviews.

Before paying anyone outside a platform, read how to book directly from an owner safely.

Own a home in Italy?

Italiando was built for owners who let the family home and don't want to hand 15% to a platform. You can keep Airbnb and Booking.com too: calendars sync.