Booking straight with the owner should not mean taking anything on trust. Almost everything you would want to check about us can be checked before you write to us, let alone pay — and this page tells you where.
We would rather you did the checking. Anyone can copy photographs and invent a name; what cannot be invented is a company number, a rental declared with the town hall, and a card payment that leaves a trace.
Two companies, and why
Absoluty Antibes is ABSOLUTY SARL, a French company registered in Antibes: RCS Antibes 988 091 930, SIRET 988 091 930 00012, VAT number FR34 988 091 930. Those numbers are public — you can look them up in the French company register without asking us, and you should.
Each house is operated by its own company, and that is the one you contract with. It is named at the foot of that house’s own page, with the SIREN number under which you can look it up in the French company register — before you book anything, and without asking us. Its registered address is in your booking confirmation. The card payment is collected on its behalf by Absoluty and passed on to it, which is why the charge on your statement reads ABSOLUTY.COM — the address you booked from.
A rental declared with the town hall
Antibes requires every short-term rental to be declared, and issues a registration number for each one. Ours are published on each house’s own page — Maison Baieta’s is 06 004 20 409 1 CM — so you do not have to ask for them.
A written contract, with a named counterpart
Your booking is a written contract, not an email saying “confirmed”. The terms are published in full before you book, and so is the name of the company that operates the house you have chosen — it is at the foot of that house’s page, not kept back until you have paid.
Payment by card, not by transfer
Payment is taken by card, through Stripe — both the deposit and the balance. We will never ask you to send money by bank transfer, and we will never write to you from a different address to change the payment details at the last moment. If you ever receive such a message, it is not from us: telephone us instead, on +33 6 71 61 91 40.
Someone answers, and it is one of us
Write to us before you book — by email, or on WhatsApp if that is easier from where you are. It is Maggy or Henri who answers, not a desk, and it is the same two people who will hand you the keys. Twelve years of doing it that way is why there are more than six hundred reviews with our names in them.
And what booking direct does not give you
There is no platform between us. That is the point — no commission, and the people who answer you are the people who hand you the keys. It also means there is no third party to arbitrate if something goes wrong: what you have instead is a written contract, a registered French company, and our telephone number.
We think that is the better trade. We would rather say it out loud than let you discover it later.
What you pay, and when
Fifty per cent when you book, the balance two months before you arrive.
The 50% deposit is not refundable. If you cancel more than two months before arrival, that is all you lose — the balance is not due, and anything already paid towards it is refunded. Within two months of arrival, the balance is due and is not refunded.
We would rather write that plainly here than have you find it in a paragraph after you have paid.
Questions
Is it safe to book directly with the owner in France?
It is normal and legal. What matters is what you can check: a registered company, a declared rental with a published registration number, written terms, and a card payment. All four are on this page.
Who am I actually paying?
You contract with the company that operates the house you have chosen. It is named at the foot of that house’s own page, with its SIREN number, so you can look it up in the French company register before you book; its registered address is in your booking confirmation. The card payment is collected for it by Absoluty, which passes it on by bank transfer, so the charge on your statement reads ABSOLUTY.COM: the address you booked from.
Do you have a registration number?
Yes — one per house, issued by the Mairie d’Antibes and published on each house’s own page. Maison Baieta’s is 06 004 20 409 1 CM.
Will you ever ask me for a bank transfer?
No. Payment is by card, for the deposit and the balance alike. If you receive a message asking you to transfer money, or to send it somewhere new, telephone us on +33 6 71 61 91 40 before doing anything.
Can we talk to someone before we book?
Yes — by email or on WhatsApp, and it is Maggy or Henri who answers.
What happens if we cancel?
The 50% deposit is not refundable. If you cancel more than two months before arrival, that is all you lose — the balance is not due, and anything already paid towards it is refunded. Within two months of arrival, the balance is due and is not refunded.