When it comes to vacation rentals, Airbnb is the first service that comes to mind. More than 50 million people use the home-sharing site, and travelers can rent homes in more than 34,000 cities around the world. With that said, it’s not a completely perfect service, and sometimes you can’t find what you want on the site.
Luckily, there are a handful of really great vacation rental services for every situation. Here’s a list of other sites popular with travelers.
If you want to swap homes…try Home Exchange.
If you like the idea of trading homes with another traveler, then this is the service for you. For $150 a year, you gain membership into a global community with 65,000 homes in 150 countries. After posting pictures of your home, you can search the database for countries you’d like to visit. When you find a home you like, simply connect with the owner and agree on a date for the swap.
If you’re on a budget…check out Hostelworld.
This site displays 33,000 properties in more than 170 countries. OK, we know what you’re thinking, “Who wants to stay in a dorm-style room with a bunch of strangers?” Fair point, but that’s only one option. Many hostels also have private rooms you can book for $50 to $120 a night. It’s the perfect situation if you still want to hang out with the hostel community without sleeping in bunk beds.
If you’re with a family…log onto VRBO.
This site is owned by Homeaway, giving users access to more than 1 million listings across the company’s various brands. VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner) has a lot of larger options for families, and many of the homes even come with cribs and high chairs for your little ones. When booking, be sure to read the fine print. Many of the listings will charge a service fee, which is usually 4% to 9% of the rental amount. In addition, you’ll have to pay for a cancellation policy, a free one is not included.
If you don’t find what you want on Airbnb…try Booking.com.
I recently went on a trip to Barcelona, a city that hasn’t been very accepting of Airbnb and doesn’t have a lot of listings to choose from. Then I searched on Booking.com, which had dozens of affordable listings in the area where I wanted to stay. The cool thing about Booking.com is that you can search for hostels, hotels, homes and apartments–so it’s an easy way to compare prices and amenities.
Brittany is a writer at Yahoo Finance.
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