Wimdu

Author: Kalicia Bateman

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The Good

• Great features
• Free cancellation

With over ten million nights booked, Wimdu has successfully become Europe's biggest portal for city and holiday apartments. Travelers can discover the best deals for popular cities and destinations. Browse through top destinations to find over 70% off on vacation rentals. Search Feature - Wimdu has a search feature on the homepage of their site, which allows users to specify their preferences for TV, Internet/WiFi, pool, pet accommodations, balcony/terrace, and kitchen. Trust Score - Wimdu has an Excellent Trustpilot Score (9 out of 10 stars). Results Filter - After the traveler enters their desired location and dates on the homepage, they can further filter their search results by price, type of property, and amenities. Web Design - Wimdu's website has a very clean design and intuitive user interface, making it simple for travelers to view and browse rental properties. Free Cancellation - Certain rental properties offer free cancellation. Properties with free cancellation are clearly marked with "Free Cancellation" on the featured photo in the search results. The Wimdu Promise - Wimdu's property and service promise states that every host is verified by telephone, each accommodation is quality assured, and payments are secure via SSL encryption. 2-minute Reservation - Wimdu promises travelers that booking only takes 2 minutes to complete. Availability Calendar - Each property listing has an easy-to-understand availability calendar, so travelers can easily see when the property is booked and when it is available to rent. Availability Warning - If a guest's travel dates result in fewer available properties in the desired location, Wimdu shows a clear warning at the top of the search results. For example, "Paris is busy on your dates, 40% of apartments are already booked. Book now to avoid disappointment!" Photos - Multiple pictures are available for each property listing. Free Listings - Hosts are able to host their properties for free on Wimdu. Currency - In the top navigation, users can specify which language and currency in which to view their search results.

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The Bad

• Insecure website
• Customer service issues
• Cancellation policy

While they are the leaders of European vacation rentals, there are some areas that Wimdu could improve on. These areas include: Insecure Website - There are multiple complaints from Wimdu members that their accounts were hacked. Customer Service - Those customers who had their accounts hacked also complained of poor customer service. Wimdu said they were not responsible for the hacked account but instead blamed a lack of security measures on the part of the customer. Wimdu also suggested the customer change their email and Wimdu account passwords to avoid getting hacked again. All communications were through email; Wimdu was not willing to talk to the customer over the phone. Website Scrolling - When scrolling down property listings, the property owner's information disappears behind the booking plugin. This web feature makes might cause users to miss the property owner's information altogether and users may think they are not able to contact the property owner at all. German Company - Wimdu is headquartered in Berlin, which may be an obstacle for American travelers as issues with communications and currency may arise. Cancellation Policy - Wimdu boasts a "Free Cancellation" policy, but guests only get a full refund if they cancel their reservation at least 2 days before check-in. If they cancel within 2 days of check-in, they are only refunded 5% of the total price minus the Wimdu service fee.

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The Bottom Line

Wimdu is a good vacation rental service. However, there are many other vacation rental services with better policies and reputations. While there have been negative reviews about hacked accounts and poor customer service, there have also been many positive reviews about the company. The decision to go with Wimdu should to come down to whether the guests prefer Wimdu's listings. For those who choose to create an account with Wimdu, make sure to take the proper security measures as there have been multiple cases of hacked accounts.