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| Cheap Alternatives to Hotel Rooms |
Submitted by:
Tip Hero 07/22/2009 3:40 PM
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If you've got a trip in your future that involves an overnight stay and you're looking for an option that's cheaper than a hotel room, we have a few suggestions for services to try. We haven't used most of them ourselves, so we'd love to hear from you -- whether about your previous experiences with any of these or any experiences you have with them in the future.
In addition, these services are not only a way to save money, but they could be a way for you to make money if you've got extra space in your home.
So what are these services we're talking about? We came across a few websites that are tailored to travelers who want to save a few bucks on lodging and are willing to stay with strangers -- whether in their home, condo, apartment, backyard -- wherever.
These sites serve as a more sophisticated and targeted version of CraigsList, where people have already been offering up rooms on the cheap for travelers swinging through town for a few days.
The three sites we found that offer up this type of service are airbnb.com, iStopOver.com, and CouchSurfing.org. Here's a brief rundown on each:
- airbnb.com - Their tagline is "Travel like a human" and they summarize their service as "an online marketplace for peer-to-peer traveling. We enable people to earn money by renting out extra space, and offer travelers a viable alternative to hotels." Here's how it works:
It's simple. Nice folks, folks like you, list their guest rooms, futons, and even couches on the site and set a price per night. Adventurous travelers looking for a place to stay can search the listings for an accommodation that's just right. When they find a match, guests can book your room via credit card. You receive a notification to check out their profile, and decide if the guest is appropriate for your pad. When you accept a guest, contact information is exchanged, itineraries emailed, and the transaction is completed confirming the reservation. - iStopOver.com - They summarize their service as "the place on the Internet for short-term direct rental of excess capacity in homes ... iStopOver for Home Rentals caters specifically to direct rental of space in people's homes - rooms, apartments, B&B type accommodation." And here's how they say it works for the guest:
You are able to communicate directly with your Host, via the website, so that you can ask as many questions as you wish about a listing before you book it. Then, once a booking is confirmed between you and a Host, iStopOver makes the financial transaction safe and simple. You pay iStopOver directly using our secure website, and your money is then released directly to the Host once your stay is complete. (Note that you can also rent office space through this service.)
- CouchSurfing.org - Of the three services mentioned here, this is the only one where there is no cost to stay with a host. They summarize their service as being "a worldwide network for making connections between travelers and the local communities they visit." And here's what they say about how it works:
Is CouchSurfing free? Absolutely. CouchSurfing International is a non-profit organization dedicated to the global community. CouchSurfing was created specifically so that everyone can travel the world and partake in cultural exchange. Staying with your host(s) is also always free; it is contrary to the values of CouchSurfing and against our terms of use to charge someone to surf your couch. Many surfers like to bring their hosts gifts or treat them to a meal as a "Thank you," but this is not a requirement. There are infinite ways to reciprocate goodwill. And if you're still looking for more lodging options besides a hotel room -- that may or may not be cheaper -- here are a few other suggestions:
- Vacation Rentals: While maybe not as easy to do for short-stays, if you're planning on a trip that involves staying in one area overnight for several nights in a row, vacation rental properties may be a great option. We prefer renting a home or condo instead of staying in a hotel room when possible, as it often times provides more space, can be cheaper, allows for eating in vs. having to eat every meal out (an often cheaper and healthier option), and it's, well, "homey". A few examples of vacation rental sites that have a lot of inventory are: VRBO.com, HomeAway.com, and CyberRentals.com (the three sites are owned by the same company but appear to have different inventory), as well as FlipKey.com (owned by TripAdvisor.com).
- CraigsList: As we mentioned above, CraigsList has been providing a platform for awhile now for people looking to rent out a room or their home -- from one night stays to several months. We came across a website that makes it easy to search CraigsList for rentals (and for purchases) using a Google map mashup. The website is HousingMaps.com, and while it doesn't show every rental listed on CraigsList (they have to be listed in the correct format for this website to find it), it still has a lot of listings for the major cities it covers.
[Hat tip: Lifehacker.com]
Homepage photo credit: lavilleautady |
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