We are living in the era of the internet. Everything is easy and simple here. Travelling too. Sites like Airbnb have made traveling super fun and ultra simple. Travellers can rent short term stays easily at local houses, thus making the trip more interesting. In this article, we will tell you about 6 Best Airbnb Alternatives along with some of the best Vacation Rental Sites in 2018.
What is Airbnb?
For those who don’t know, Airbnb is a website, Airbnb is an online marketplace and hospitality service, enabling people to lease or rent short-term lodging including vacation rentals, apartment rentals, homestays, hostel beds, or hotel rooms. The company does not own any lodging, it is merely a broker and receives percentage service fees (commissions) from both guests and hosts in conjunction with every booking. Source: Wikipedia
Need of Airbnb Alternatives?
It’s unique. There are a lot of reasons why you should go with the trend and opt for Airbnb and its alternatives. Here are some:
- Culture rich. You get to stay with the local people. You get a chance to live in their culture and learn about it. This makes the trip a lot more memorable than just roaming here and there.
- Saves money. These sites have a lot of options varying with your budget. You can choose whatever suits to your pocket. The prices will always be lesser than what you get offline.
- Hassle free. The best advantage of internet. You don’t need to be a pro. A short term stay wherever you like can easily be found. You can hunt good and reliable rentals easily.
- Time saving. You can pre-look and pre-book your stay. So that when you reach your destination, you only need to enjoy.
- Extraordinary. You must have been bored by staying in luxurious hotel rooms by now. Why not leave those cozy big beds, dim lights and striped wallpapers. These sites let you choose something different like a country villa, spacious loft, local apartment or even a dome. You can experience wonders there.
Top Airbnb Alternatives
You probably would have used Airbnb and if not, I introduced you to it. Now let’s move forward to the 6 Best Airbnb Alternatives.
1. FlipKey
Flipkey is now owned by TripAdvisor. It is one of the main Airbnb competitors and offers adventure seekers both domestic and International offerings. It has every property profile detailing everything from the number of bed/bathrooms, amenities available, and detailed descriptions of the space, to management information, photographs, and weekly availability. But, cancellation and payment policies vary by property, this provides the ability to easily browse listings based on certain parameters such as low-cost, family-friendly, luxury, or even by the type of trip you’re hoping to go.
The “vacation rental marketplace,” as it proudly calls itself, has got a growing inventory of over 300,000 properties with exposure to over 160 countries. Ever since they introduced their Free-to-List option, it’s become even more of a favorite, as it often receives enough targeted visibility to provide an average of 72 inquiries per listing per year. For property owners, the best part is that when you team up with FlipKey, your vacay-rentals will be equally distributed to a dozen other popular sites, including the classic TripAdvisor, meaning that, you’ll be exposing your property to just over 340 million travelers per month—without any extra charge! There’s also a Pay-Per-Lead option that allows you to only pay when you get qualified leads.
2. Tripping.com
A leading and one of the best Airbnb alternatives. It has over eight million properties in 150,000 places, offering travelers with a humongous variety of quality accommodations mainly for the long-term stayer. It’s been named as the “Kayak for long term rentals,” a one stop shop for vacay-homes that has teamed up with several major leaders in the VR business to allow users to easily compare vacation rentals across the providers.
It was founded in 2009 by former StubHub employees, Nate Weisiger and Jen O’Neal, the San Francisco-based company holds up a partnership with AARP. Since teaming up with Booking.com in 2015, became the first vacation rental metasearch website to debut on-site booking. Also, it possesses friendly relations with major sites like HomeAway, VRBO, FlipKey, Housetrip, Homestay, and Roomorama, to Wimdu, ZenRentals, Bedycasa, and WayToStay, as well as numerous others. It’s the perfect spot for users to find by price range, ratings, locations, and a lengthy list of other features and services.
3. HomeAway
HomeAway is the giant in the VR (vacation rental) business. Property profiles on its website provide travelers with all the basic information like, info on number of bedrooms/bathrooms, reviews, owner/management information, minimum stay requirements, images, property descriptions, amenities, as well as availability. You just have to sign a rental agreement and pay 10-50% upfront to completely book the reservation.
HomeAway has been dominating the vacation rental industry for many years now, continuing to top the list of Google searches for most popular rental sites. It is also the parent to an array of other very successful sites like VRBO, VacationRentals.com, etc. According to the claims made by the company, owners can earn approximately $12k per year on their site on average. Also, it starts at only $349 per property listing per year, with top owners earning upwards of $50,000 annually per listing. The best part is that they also offer a “Free-to-List” option with no up front charge, and a commission structure at 10% per booking. It is a great option for owners with shorter seasons and little income potential.
4. Kid and Coe
Kid and Coe is a vacation rental site launched in 2013 that offers plenty of kid-focused amenities. Listings tell parents exactly how many people, and what age, the property can handle, and offer extensive descriptions of toys, baby gear, and beds. It has great offers and features for families and the kids. Kid and Coe is a unique, kid-friendly portal. It has an extensive amount of information provided on each property, with paragraphs on “Perks for the Parents,” “Why Kids Love It,” “Things to Know,” and even “Style Notes” describing the decor. Some also have luxurious add-ons like a nanny or chef! It also certifies that the property is safe for kids, as listings are in kid-friendly localities.
However, the only downside is that Inventory can be limited and some of the listings are very expensive. If it’s in your budget, Kid & Coe is the best way for parents to book their darlings a dream rental without worrying.
5. Wimdu
If you are planning to go for a trip in Europe, this is the best Airbnb alternative for you. It has over one million registered users and about 300,000 properties in over a hundred countries. It’s a very good option for short-term rentals, offering travellers an easy & pleasant booking and rental experience so that you can get on your way to that wonderful trip smoothly.
6. Vacasa
Vacasa is a Portland-based vacation rental company. It offers around 5,100 vacation homes in the United States, Europe, South America, and Central America, but it has a few key differences. Other VR companies rely on the home sharing system, Vacasa curates the properties and pays over 1,000 employees for the maintenance of properties. According to Fast Company, Vacasa workers earn at least $15 per hour at their jobs in order to comply with the company’s fair wage initiative.
Though Vacasa isn’t a peer-to-peer home-sharing company, it still grants good prices on vacation rentals and provides more consistent efforts than competitors like Airbnb.
These were the 6 Best Alternatives for Airbnb. There are plenty others. You can choose any of them based on your preferences. All of them have their unique features. Scroll down some more for a pretty little BONUS.
7 Vacation Rental Sites like Airbnb
List of some other Vacation Rental websites and apps that will surely make your tour unforgettable.
- Inclusive
- Boutique Homes
- Overnight
- Trusted Housesitters (Especially for travellers with pets)
- HotelsCombined
- VRBO
- VayStays
All of them are fun to use and super useful. Hope you liked the articles and found what you were looking for.
