There was a time when finding out of town accommodations could be tricky. Your options were limited to hotels direct or comparison site. Now, there are vacation rental websites that mean you can book a room in someone’s home or even the whole house, opening up lots of new options for lodging where ever your traveling.
Benefits of Vacation Rentals Over Hotels
There are several reasons that you might prefer a vacation home to a hotel.
- A vacation home is more personable. Unlike a hotel, choosing to stay at a vacation home can offer you a more comfortable living experience during your travels. It can also allow you to familiarize yourself with your host and meet new people as you explore the city you are visiting.
- It’s frequently less expensive to book on a vacation rental website than a hotel website. While prices depend on a collection of factors such as location and amenities, sites like Airbnb and VRBO typically offers lower rates compared to traditional hotels. In fact, Forbes analyzed eight major world cities and found that Airbnb saves consumers an average of $68 when compared to average hotel rates. To find the best deals, you can often find Airbnb coupons on CNN Coupons which verifies and tests different coupon codes for customers.
- Guests can filter through a large list of criteria to find the right vacation home for them. For some, this means staying outside of traditional tourist zones and living more like a local. Not to mention, your host can give you a genuine guide to their city when it comes to what they enjoy most about living there.
- Cooking for yourself can save you money. Utilizing a home’s kitchen space can prevent you from excessively eating out and guide you to smarter vacation spending. Eating in will mean that you’ll have to go grocery shopping, and visitors in a new city can experience the shopping aspect of life in the town they’re in by going to local markets.
- You get private amenities. The host of the house is expected to provide essential amenities for guests. These are basic items such as towels, linens, soap, and toilet paper; the quantity of items depends of the number of guests and the length of their stay. Similar to staying at a hotel, guests don’t need to stress about bringing these types of items to the home they’ll be staying at.
What is Airbnb?
Founded in 2008, this vacation rental site offers millions of listings, more than 4 million to be exact. They’ve got listings in almost 200 countries across the globe. You can rent one room or whole houses. Airbnb listings range from normal apartments and houses to luxurious condos and studio lofts. There are even some remarkable, unique listings like treehouses and a home built entirely out of Legos. The website is very user-friendly and the filters allow you to narrow down your options to find a vacation rental that best meets your needs. Some of the filters include the option to choose what specific neighborhood you’d like to live in, as well as a range of facilities in which you can check-off to further taper down your search.
To make a booking, it’s super simple. Once you have signed up and found a listing at your destination, you can request for a booking and wait for the host to accept it. In some cases, hosts can have listings under an Instant Book which means that your request will be accepted immediately.
Folks may have concerns when it comes to safety and security with Airbnb, and this is why it’s important to thoroughly read the host’s reviews. Aside from the review systems, Airbnb has devised identification processes and detailed profile systems for users to help promote safety and efficiency throughout the platform. Check out our Airbnb guide to NYC, Seattle, San Diego and Chicago.
What is VRBO?
The acronym VRBO stands for Vacation Rental By Owner, and that’s exactly what the site delivers. This company was way ahead of its time, the site having been founded in 1995. They only rent whole homes, though; you can’t rent a room on VRBO. They also don’t have nearly as many listings as Airbnb, but they do have some awesome ones like castles. In addition, VRBO’s array of filters is more detailed than what Airbnb offers. For example, users can specifically search for a pet friendly lakeview cottage with a hot tub if they wish.
The booking process on VRBO is pretty much the same as Airbnb’s. Once you have created a VRBO login and found a listing that appeals to you, you can either request to book the rental or instantly book it, depending on what option is given. One difference
between Airbnb and VRBO is that VRBO has a slightly more extensive host network. To create a listing on VRBO, homeowners must pay a subscription fee (either a pay-per-booking or annual subscription payment). Like Airbnb, guests are charged a service fee that ranges from 6 to 12 percent. Those who are committed to getting the full vacation experience by renting an entire property during their travels should consider VRBO. Others, who are perhaps looking for a more spontaneous trip or a single room in a house or apartment, should think about Airbnb. Either way, if you’re looking for a different way to vacation, check out VRBO or Airbnb to see what they have to offer at your next destination.