Airbnb changed the way travelers book accommodations for their holidays and trips. Now they can rent directly from private owners who offer low-priced alternative options to hotels and resorts.
But the experience of staying in an Airbnb is no more what it used to be earlier. Its expanding growth has led to reports of quality control matters and lately, increased prices, which are hardly any less than the rate of hotel chains it tried to displace.
The good news is that now there are numerous alternative options for Airbnb, which offer many features such as long-term stays, luxury experiences, and many more.
Top 10 Airbnb Alternatives to Find Home & Apartment Rentals
Thus, next time when planning a trip, you must surely consider these 10 best Airbnb alternative websites. The 10 best alternative websites for Airbnb are as follows:-
1. VRBO
VRBO at present is one of the biggest vacation sites having over 2 million listings. It offers various properties from treehouses to beach houses to luxury mansions. Perfect for advertising holiday lets.
Its broad range of choices at different prices makes it a popular Airbnb alternative. Both Airbnb and VRBO are very similar, especially in the types of rentals they offer, which have numerous property owners who list on both sites.
And if you’re planning to use Airbnb, it is recommended to once check out Vrbo, and who knows you might be able to get the exact place for a cheaper price.
Vrbo offers full properties and not any shared spaces. And because of this, it is an ideal choice for families or a group of people who want to travel together.
2. Booking.com
Booking.com was started around 1996 and was well known for arranging hotel accommodations and air travel. At present, it offers houses and apartments as short-term rentals.
By having offices in more than 70 countries and more than 6 million listings at present, it is becoming a tough Airbnb competitor.
Booking.com does charge hosts The booking fee charged to the hosts by booking.com is 15%, and these fees are generally given to the renters in the form of higher prices.
This site is really easy to use and is an excellent choice, especially for hotel bookings when traveling.
The prices are good, but comparatively a little expensive when compared to the prices of Airbnb.
And for property owners, it is free to list on Booking.com, with a fee applied per booking.
3. Plum Guide
Plum Guide is another good alternative for Airbnb that focuses more on high-quality homes instead of all types of homes, which you usually find on Airbnb.
You can be sure to find the highest quality vacation homes on Plum Guide. But how?
To get a property listed on Plum Guide, it will have to go through a 4-stage accurate home test with more than 150 measurable criteria which include:- WiFi speed, aesthetic designs, and many more.
They visit every place themselves, review them completely using their “The Plum Test” and select every property for being listed on their website.
With Plum Guide’s excellent quality, you will realize that their pricing is not meant for lower budgets, but if you have a huge budget, then the Plum Guide is highly recommended.
They do not have a mobile application but have a great website and properties that will surely make your next trip memorable.
4. Agoda Homes
Agoda is a popular portal for hotel bookings, and it has an apartment rental offering too, which is known as Agoda Homes.
There are nearly 3 million listings to choose from, which include apartments, private villas, or homestays. Like the various other Airbnb competitors, Agoda offers not just whole unit rentals but also gives great importance to making accommodations affordable.
If you want to browse through Agoda Homes, just search on their Agoda Home search page and various apartments and homestays will be listed first among other types of properties. And if you are a property owner, you can list your property for free on Agoda.
In the year 2019, the site launched its flight aggregator, letting users compare hundreds of sites at once.
5. Homestay
Homestay is a hosted experience, which means for a particular period you’ll stay in a host’s house, where you can share meals and also learn about the area. And since you’ll live with a local, you will get a genuine and local experience about the place and its culture.
Homestay aims to give its users quality accommodation at economical prices. It operates in 129 countries with an Android mobile application that helps guests and hosts to find their perfect fit.
Through the application, filters about food, hobbies & interests, facilities, and availability help you to narrow the search results. The ‘host welcomes’ filter is specifically helpful to find female-friendly homestays.
6. Sonder
If you are looking for a service similar to Airbnb which has the comforts of a hotel, then you should check out Sonder. Sonder owns or rents all of its listings, so you will not be negotiating with private owners.
While trying to deliver high-level experiences, Sonder also aims to keep its service available and economical. The selection is very limited as it functions only in 10 countries with around 6,300 available listings.
Sonder offers 24/7 support and provides high-quality facilities including a good WiFi connection, which makes it an excellent choice for both long-term and short-term rental stays.
If your main concern is the comfort of access and convenience and not money, then this is one of the best vacation rental organizations.
7. TripAdvisor Vacation Rentals
TripAdvisor Vacation Rentals is a well-known travel review site that has followed the lead of other businesses and entered into the rental marketplace.
It provides a wide variety of accommodations to select from. And its service is also accessible in 22 languages. It is ideal for both solo travelers and families or groups too. TripAdvisor Vacation Rentals has achieved the highest power of its flagship service i.e., reviews.
One of the strongest features of Tripadvisor Rentals is the huge number of user reviews that help in managing expectations. And by downloading the app, you can easily manage the booking of your trips.
8. Blueground
Blueground is another great option if you are looking for a longer-term apartment rental. It focuses on stays of 30 days or longer for users who are searching for completely furnished apartments.
Blueground doesn’t own the apartments, but they do manage all the furnishings and interiors of the properties that they offer so that you can be sure about the quality. These properties come along with WiFi, linens/towels, kitchen, and toiletries.
Blueground has nearly 5,000 properties in 18 cities worldwide in Europe, North America, and the Middle East. It is truly worth checking out if you need a long vacation rental.
9. FlipKey
FlipKey is owned by Tripadvisor and gains from its numerous real user reviews. It enhances Tripadvisor’s service by having various functional search tools for finding specific facilities.
FlipKey can be used by solo travelers, but it is best suited for groups. There are multiple options available on the site for solo travelers, and Flipkey exceeds group bookings in famous tourist destinations.
The huge majority of their properties include vacation rentals and holiday homes which can fit 4-6 or more people.
10. Vacasa
Vacasa is last but not least on the list of Airbnb alternatives. It acts as a vacation rental service and handles the booking and maintenance of over 30,000 rental properties.
It manages the properties in support of the host to assure the guests that they will receive a high-standard experience.
Vacasa keeps technology at the frontline of its operations with AI features and a great app, which is available for both Android and iOS devices.
Vacasa gives reliable customer support for assisting users both on-site and off-site. Thus, it is an excellent choice for travelers who look for reliable safe, and secure accommodation options.
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Conclusion
Airbnb became the head of the vacation rental sites, but at present, it doesn’t have the best service in this field.
So, looking into some best Airbnb alternatives will not just improve your vacation or holiday experience, but will also save you money and help you from facing some bad hosts.
The best 10 alternatives for Airbnb in 2023, discussed in the article are as listed below:-
- VRBO
- Booking.com
- Plum Guide
- Agoda Homes
- Homestay
- Sonder
- TripAdvisor Vacation Rentals
- Blueground
- FlipKey
- Vacasa
There are various other sites and apps similar to Airbnb. They all prove to be helpful in their way, and it depends on what you are looking for.
So knowing when to use which one, is one of the essential things you must remember. And then you can begin your search for the best accommodation.
