July 19, 2020 – In the corona era, an increasing number of Croatian renters are choosing to advertise their holiday rentals in Facebook groups and on Viber, avoiding intermediaries and various agency fees.
Zadarski.hr reports that vacant holiday apartments are abundant along the Adriatic, and because discounting accommodation prices is inevitable, Croatian renters are trying to reduce their costs by advertising for free on Facebook.
And in an effort to save every euro, holidaymakers are also searching for the best possible prices via social media, hoping to book directly from the renter, as it is the most cost-effective, for both the guest and the apartment owner, without intermediary commissions.
Facebook group ‘Apartmani, sobe… Hrvatska (iznajmljivanje)’ has almost 120,000 members and serves exclusively to offer or demand accommodation. It is one of the most active on Facebook at the moment, with, for example, the group ‘Apartmani 2020. Tražim/Nudim’, which has more than 74,000 members.
Both offer a handful of available apartments and are viewed mostly by local guests or those posting their accommodation. The group Croatia apartments – Kroatien Ferienwohnungen has more than 40,000 members, with advertisements in English or German, and commenting on prices is punishable by removal from the group. Advertising of other Facebook groups and promoting anything unrelated to renting/booking accommodation in Croatia is not tolerated, while advertising of travel agencies is also prohibited.
Facebook group ‘Apartmani Hrvatska – Apartmaji, FeWo, Vacation rentals, Case vacanze’ combines free ads “for all who rent, book, buy or sell apartments, rooms and other types of accommodation”, and has been joined by more than 14,000 members.
There are countless search options on Facebook, the most widespread free tool for contacting renters. However, a group has also been opened on Viber that allows you to search for the most affordable holiday options and last minute offers on the Adriatic coast.
In the Viber group ‘Croatia Last Minute Deals’, you can find information about last-minute prices of individual accommodation, get in touch directly with the renters and bypass the commissions of intermediaries. The group has gathered more than 2,000 members in a few days, and is backed by well-known communication expert and PR strategist Kresimir Macan and Paul Bradbury of Total Croatia News.
“Paul and I went to the Slovenian border on May 17 to see who could enter Croatia, because there was a lot of misinformation, after which we launched a Croatia travel update so that foreigners could be informed promptly, with valid information before arriving in Croatia. Since May 17, Croatia Travel Update has been opened more than 100,000 times, so we then opened the community koronavirus.hr, which at one time had more than half a million people. We then opened Croatia Last Minute Deals on Viber in an hour at my office. We do all this without money, voluntarily. We are doing it to save the season and we feel like we’re doing something good. The two of us work the most and we have two interns helping us. And why are Viber communities simple? Everyone has Viber and everyone knows how to send messages… We even have stickers. We were contacted by a woman who filled all of her apartments in this way. Here, we are fulfilling the promise of HDZ that it will create a platform for people to rent without a commission,” Macan said with a smile.
In the Viber community ‘Croatia Last Minute Deals’, Macan notes that anyone can enter and leave the group whenever they want. And it is continuously growing.
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