Christmas Is Coming...Soonish

OK, so Christmas does feel quite far off. At FlatClub we’re in total agreement with you that it's certainly too early to start dusting off your decorations, putting up your trees or selecting festive gifts.

However, it is not too premature to start thinking about Christmas bookings. Our experience has shown that posting your room/flat in advance significantly increases your chances of securing a booking.

Are you planning a trip away over the festive period? Will your room or flat be free? Then post it on FlatClub! Even if you are just away from home for a week, visiting relatives or taking a Christmas vacation, you could still be earning substantial money. With all the presents, food, drink and celebration, Christmas is never the cheapest time of year. However, through making the most of your home when you’re not there, you could earn quite a substantial amount of extra money, helping to ease the pressure off that festive overspending!

Have you thought about renting a place through FlatClub? It is widely accepted that comfort is one of the key criteria for making a good Christmas.  Whether that comfort comes in the form of food, friends or a warm drink in front of the fire, feeling comfortable is integral to enjoying the festive season. This is why renting accommodation through FlatClub is the ideal solution for a Christmas getaway.  At FlatClub, we pride ourselves on the fact that rooms and flats are shared between real people. Therefore, when renting a place through FlatClub, you can always feel assured that your chosen accommodation will feel warm, inviting and offer all sorts of home comforts – perfect for Christmas!

We already have a great selection of fantastic rooms and flats available for the Christmas period, in all sorts of exciting locations and to suit a range of budgets. Booking early will avoid disappointment and ensure that you can start to look forward to spending your festive break exploring your chosen city whilst staying in your ideal accommodation.

Use our Expert Search to find the best accommodation for you -- for free!

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Flat-Club Offers You $100 For Referring A Friend!

 

At Flat-Club, we’re all very excited about the launch of our new referral programme. Our Refer-A-Friend scheme not only gives you the opportunity to gain $100 of travel money but it is also very much in line with the core values of Flat-Club; bringing together friends and friends of friends on our website to post their places for free and meet each other’s accommodation needs.

We want to encourage our guests and hosts to invite their friends to our website: why?  

• We are passionate about connecting together real people around the world to share their rooms or flats with each other.

• We want to expand the community of trust that Flat-Club is founded upon. Already, we are focused on leveraging trust from academic, professional or social networks, such as students and alumni from top universities. We now want to branch out even further and make the most of the trust that exists in friendship circles, encouraging friends to rent with confidence from their friends or friends-of-friends exclusively through Flat-Club.

So, what are the benefits for you?

• Our Refer-A-Friend programme is a great way for both existing and new hosts to earn a substantial amount of money. If you invite a friend to Flat-Club and they post their room/apartment on our website, you will immediately earn $25 in travel money. Once your friend receives a booking, you will then have the choice between gaining an extra $75 or a $50 Amazon Voucher. Therefore, by simply referring your friends, you could soon be enjoying a stay in luxurious accommodation around the world for free! For the new host, Flat-Club provides another great opportunity to earn money. Through posting their room or flat for free, the new host can make the most of his home when he’s away and often gain enough extra income to pay for his accommodation abroad. 

• Through Refer-A-Friend, you could also gain exclusive access to Flat-Club’s club community. One of the primary ways in which Flat-Club creates a sense of trust is through club membership. We have a range of clubs for different top universities, business schools and companies throughout the world for example Wharton, ESCP and London Business School. Students, alumni and staff can join their club and rent out their place exclusively to their colleagues or classmates from their same academic or professional network. Club membership makes a host appear more trustworthy, causing their flat posting to rank higher in search lists and gives them the opportunity to view a greater range of  exclusive rooms/flats to rent. Through our Refer-A-Friend programme, Flat-Club guests and hosts can invite their friends to become a member of their specific club and therefore share the benefits that being a part of that club offers. 

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A Relocation Guide To Barcelona

As part of our program to help you when relocating to a new city, we are launching today a relocation guide to Barcelona, written by the people who moved and lived there.

Before you go

• Make sure you have all required documentation, including visas, work permits, marriage certificates, driving licence and copies of past bank statements.
• Ensure to have all the required paperwork to obtain the necessary Número de Identificación de Extranjeros (NIE).
• Brush up on your everyday Spanish phrases – although many people in Barcelona can speak English, it’s not guaranteed!
• It’s a good idea to arrange short-term accommodation in advance for your first few weeks in Barcelona. This way you’ll have lots of time to look around for more long-term housing, ensuring that you’re really happy with your chosen place to live.

Useful links:

• Locations of Spanish Embassies,
• Tourist Visa Form,
• Entry Requirements

Finding a place

• Give yourself time to look around and decide where it is in Barcelona you want to live. It’s important to soak up the atmosphere and decide which area suits you (and your budget) the most.
• Once you have chosen your area, visit as many estate agencies (agencia immobiliaria) as possible, set up several house viewings and weigh up your options.
• Have a look through local newspapers and magazines. There are always new properties available and it’s a great way to see what’s on the market and in your price range.
• If you are not a confident Spanish speaker, be sure to research some key Spanish phrases or take a dictionary with you on the property viewings. You want to be in an able position to ask important questions, such those regarding deposits or agency fees, without any misunderstandings or confusion.

Setting up a bank account

• The first thing you’ll need to do is establish residency or non-residency when setting up a bank account.
• If you are a residence, you just need to take your passport and proof of residence to the bank and you can open an account fairly quickly and easily.
• If you are a non-residence, you need to obtain a “non-residence certificate”. You can do this yourself with your passport at Dirección General de la Policía. Your chosen bank will also be happy to acquire your “non-residence certificate” for you, although they will most likely charge for this service. With this certificate, and your passport, you should then be able to set up a bank account.
• In Barcelona, most banks charge for opening an account and maintenance fees. However, there are often reduced rates for those under the age of 26; so if you are eligible for such discounts, make sure you do research on the best deal for you.

Useful Links:

• Dirección General de la Policía

Health insurance

• If you are an EU citizen, then make sure you apply for your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) before you depart for Barcelona. With this card, healthcare is at least heavily discounted and often even free in Spain.
• If you become a Spanish citizen, work in Barcelona and pay into social security systems, then you will be entitled to state healthcare. The public national health care system in Spain is considered to be extremely good and efficient.
• If you are a student, pensioner, unemployed or self-employed coming from within the EU, then you will also be entitled to 2 years’ worth of full and free health care services.
• Spain also offers excellent private health care, which compliments greatly the state system. So be sure to do your research on this, to decide which health care option will be the best for you.

Useful Links:

• EHIC

Staying safe

• Emergency number is 112
• Shield your PIN at cash machines, avoid empty Metro carriages at night and never get in an unlicensed taxi (only use white taxis with a red diagonal stripe across the front doors).
• Ensure your valuables are concealed from view when using public transport, or walking through a busy area.

Travelling around

• The Barcelona metro network is extensive, clean and punctual. It provides a quick and cheap way of travelling around the city.  
• There are RENFE trains which take to you the outskirts of Barcelona as well as various destinations throughout the whole of Spain.
• If you have more time, then take a scenic bus route. Barcelona has a good bus network, with buses running frequently (and often into the night), transporting you to destinations covering a large area of Barcelona.
• To use Barcelona's transport cost effectively, it is best to buy T10 tickets, allowing you to travel 10 single journeys for under €10.00 (as opposed to €2.00 if you buy single tickets separately). 

Useful Links:

• Travelling by Train,
• Barcelona Transport,
• Buying Transport Tickets

Want to know more? Read an extended version of this blog.

Looking to stay in Barcelona? Use our free Expert Search to find the best place for your needs in Spain!

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A Relocation Guide to Madrid

As part of our program to help you when relocating to a new city, we are launching today a relocation guide to Madrid, written by the people who moved and lived there.

Before you go

• Make sure you have all required documentation, including visas, work permits, marriage certificates, driving licence and copies of past bank statements.
• Ensure to have all the required paperwork to obtain the necessary Número de Identificación de Extranjeros (NIE).
• Brush up on your everyday Spanish phrases – although many people in Madrid can speak English, it’s not guaranteed!
• It’s a good idea to arrange short-term accommodation in advance for your first few weeks in Madrid. This way you’ll have lots of time to look around for more long-term housing, ensuring that you’re really happy with your chosen place to live.

Useful links:

• Locations of Spanish Embassies,
• Tourist Visa Form,
• Entry Requirements and Paperwork

Finding a place

• Give yourself time to look around and decide where it is in Madrid you want to live. It’s important to soak up the atmosphere and decide which area suits you (and your budget) the most.
• Once you have chosen your area, visit as many estate agencies (agencia immobiliaria) as possible, set up several house viewings and weigh up your options.
• Have a look through local newspapers and magazines. There are always new properties available and it’s a great way to see what’s on the market and in your price range.
• If you are not a confident Spanish speaker, be sure to research some key Spanish phrases or take a dictionary with you on the property viewings. You want to be in an able position to ask important questions, such those regarding deposits or agency fees, without any misunderstandings or confusion.

Setting up a bank account

• The first thing you’ll need to do is establish residency or non-residency when setting up a bank account.
• If you are a residence, you just need to take your passport and proof of residence to the bank and you can open an account fairly quickly and easily.
• If you are a non-residence, you need to obtain a “non-residence certificate”. You can do this yourself with your passport at Dirección General de la Policía. Your chosen bank will also be happy to acquire your “non residence certificate” for you, although they will most likely charge for this service. With this certificate, and your passport, you should then be able to set up a bank account.
• In Madrid, most banks charge for opening an account and maintenance fees. However, there are often reduced rates for those under the age of 26; so if you are eligible for such discounts, make sure you do research on the best deal for you.

Health insurance

• If you are an EU citizen, then make sure you apply for your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) before you depart for Madrid. With this card, healthcare is at least heavily discounted and often even free in Spain.
• If you become a Spanish citizen, work in Madrid and pay into social security systems, then you will be entitled to state healthcare. The public national health care system in Spain is considered to be extremely good and efficient.
• If you are a student, pensioner, unemployed or self-employed coming from within the EU, then you will also be entitled to 2 years’ worth of full and free health care services.
• Spain also offers excellent private health care, which compliments greatly the state system. So be sure to do your research on this, to decide which health care option will be the best for you.

Useful Links:

• EHIC

Staying safe

• Emergency number is 112
• Shield your PIN at cash machines, avoid empty Metro carriages at night and never get in an unlicensed taxi (only use white taxis with a red diagonal stripe across the front doors).
• Ensure your valuables are concealed from view when using public transport, or walking through a busy area.

Travelling around

• The Madrid metro network is one of the largest in the world and provides a quick and cheap way of getting around the Spanish capital.
• Reliable and comfortable Cercanías trains are a great way of travelling to the outskirts of Madrid. With a wide range of stations in a variety of locations, this form of transport is the best way to get around Greater Madrid.
• If you have more time, then take a more scenic bus route. Madrid has an extensive bus network, with buses running frequently and transporting you to destinations covering a large area of Madrid. There are night buses (buhos) which continue to run after the Metro has closed. There are also weekend buses (Metrobuho) which follow the same route as the Metro.
• You can find maps, information and buy tickets for both the Metro and the bus in the ticket hall of every Metro station.

Useful Links:

• Travelling by Train,
• Metro Madrid,
• Madrid Transport

Want to know more? Read an extended version of this blog.

Madrid is a lovely city, and if you're looking for a place to stay we can help you with our Expert Search service! Just give us a few details on your trip, and we'll give you options -- all for free.

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