WIMDU

BEWARE of this company! They claim to be a viable alternative to Airbnb. In fact, unlike Airbnb, they do not have a money back guarantee. Airbnb have a policy of providing their guests "with a refund" or to "use reasonable efforts to find and book the guest at another comparable Accommodation for any unused nights left in your reservation". WIMDU have no such policy as I recently found out the hard way.
Last month I booked through WIMDU a property which had been advertised as a "chambre indépendante dans un superbe hotel particulier". The room was little more than a very small spare bedroom in someone's apartment. The host and her boyfriend came home at 2.00 o’clock in the morning and proceeded to argue very loudly and bang pots and pans in the kitchen. It took several hours to get WIMDU to contact me (you can only contact them by email). When I complained and told them that I had had to move out due to the noise level they told me that it was not their policy to provide a refund but that I would need to contact the host and obtain the refund from her. There is no protection for the guest whatsoever. So please be aware that if anything goes wrong with your accommodation, you are not entitled to a refund.

The biggest problems with this company are:
A. They have a no-refund policy - if you are not satisfied with the standard of accommodation, it is up to you to arrange a refund with your host
B. If they choose not to respond to your emails there is nothing you can do and no way you can contact them. There is no emergency hotline you can call if you are truly desperate.