Interhome vs Airbnb
Interhome is a European alternative to Airbnb: same consumer products use case, headquartered in Switzerland and governed by Swiss FADP + GDPR for EU users, while Airbnb is based in the United States.
By the EU Alternatives team Last updated
Vacation rentals with 40,000+ quality-checked holiday homes in 20+ countries, local on-site support, and six decades of Swiss hospitality experience.
- Jurisdiction
- Switzerland / EFTA
- Primary privacy law
- Swiss FADP + GDPR for EU users
- US CLOUD Act exposure
- No
- Open source
- No
- Free tier
- No
Airbnb is the largest marketplace for short-term stays, connecting hosts and guests in more than 100,000 towns and cities and taking a service fee on each booking. Browsing costs nothing; the platform earns on transactions. The company is based in San Francisco, which means booking and identity data sits with a US platform.
- Jurisdiction
- United States
- GDPR by default
- Requires DPA + TIA
- US CLOUD Act exposure
- Yes
Interhome vs Airbnb at a glance
| Interhome | Airbnb | |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Switzerland | United States |
| Data jurisdiction | Switzerland / EFTA | United States |
| Primary privacy law | Swiss FADP + GDPR for EU users | Requires DPA + transfer assessment |
| US CLOUD Act exposure | No | Yes |
| Best for | Teams that need consumer products built for European data-protection requirements | Teams already invested in the Airbnb ecosystem |
Choose Interhome if…
- You want a provider governed by a European privacy regime
- GDPR or public-sector data-protection requirements apply to you
- You'd rather back the European tech ecosystem
Stick with Airbnb if…
- You depend on integrations only available in the Airbnb ecosystem
- Your organisation has no EU data-residency constraints
- Migration costs outweigh the jurisdiction benefits for now
About Interhome
Interhome has been renting out European holiday homes since 1965, six decades before "vacation rental platform" was a category. Today it lists 40,000+ houses, apartments, and villas in more than 20 countries, every one of them quality-checked before arrival rather than crowd-reviewed after disappointment.
That verification model is the core difference from Airbnb: properties are inspected, local offices provide on-site assistance and key collection, and 24/7 customer support actually has someone nearby. Flexible booking options and destination guides round out the consumer side, while a professional property-management arm makes Interhome one of Europe's largest vacation rental managers.
Key benefits:
- Quality verification with properties checked before your arrival
- 40,000+ homes across more than 20 countries
- Local on-site support with offices and key services in destination regions
- 24/7 customer service in multiple European languages
- Flexible booking options clearly displayed per property
- Six decades of operation, longer than any US competitor has existed
Interhome is operated by HHD AG in Glattbrugg, Switzerland, and since 2025 is part of the HomeToGo Group, the Frankfurt-listed German vacation rental group, keeping ownership fully European. Guest data is processed under GDPR with a designated EU representative.
Ideal for travelers who want the certainty of an inspected holiday home with real local support, booked through a Swiss operator with European ownership.
Why choose Interhome over Airbnb?
The decisive argument is data jurisdiction. Airbnb is headquartered in the United States, which means personal data processed through it can be subject to non-EU legal regimes: the US CLOUD Act, FISA 702, or similar laws depending on the provider. After the 2020 Schrems II ruling, EU organisations must carry out a transfer impact assessment for every such data flow.
Interhome removes that overhead. As a Switzerland-based provider, it operates under Swiss FADP + GDPR for EU users, and data stays in Switzerland, which the European Commission recognises as offering an adequate level of protection. For regulated sectors such as health, public administration, and finance, that's not a nice-to-have but a requirement. For everyone else, it's concentration-risk insurance: you avoid depending on a single jurisdiction that can change the rules without warning.