Settle into a home away from home with the help of these sites offering alternate accommodation.
Living like a local has never been easier. There's all kinds of sites like Airbnb out there offering you the chance to stay in local homes, quirky places and other unconventional sleeping quarters - all much more exciting than a hotel.
Here are just a few places where you can find your dream accommodation, be it a hilltop villa in Italy, a chic New York City apartment, traditional ryokan in Japan or a cosy chalet in Whistler.
VRBO
Part of the HomeAway family, VRBO, or Vacation Rentals by Owner, boasts more than a million vacation rental options worldwide.
- See transport and attraction maps on your search to help you better choose your stay
- Read reviews from past guests
- More than 25,000 dog-friendly properties available
Homestay
Experience what it's like to live in another location with Homestay. The Ireland-based site ensures your hosts aren't just leaving you keys to their place for a more authentic homestay experience.
- Find accommodation in more than 150 countries
- Hosts are always present during your stay
- Meet your host and book your stay with video calls
Roomorama
With more than 300,000 accommodation options around the world, Roomorama lets travellers experience what it’s like to live like a local on every corner of the globe.
- Get perks with your booking including discounts on activities, car hire and dining around the world
- Instantly confirm your booking
- Use “ShoutOuts” to advertise what you’re looking for as a guest and let hosts approach you
Home Exchange
Working a bit differently to Airbnb, but still offering you the chance to stay in a local's home, Home Exchange opens you up to an entire world of house swaps. Just pay a joining fee and then start exchanging your home - there's no limit to how many swaps you do once the set annual fee is paid.
- Gain access to more than 65,000 homes in 150 countries around the world
- Save on the price of hotels and accommodation
- Support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week
TripAdvisor
While it’s best-known for user reviews and advice forums for hotels and resorts, TripAdvisor also offers a huge selection of holiday rentals that can be booked right on the site. In fact, there’s 630,000 of them.
- Compare holiday homes to hotels in one place
- Feel secure with the “Peace of Mind” payment protection for online payments
- Choose from a range of accommodation options including homes, condos, cottages and rural retreats
HotelsCombined
In traditional HotelsCombined fashion, the accommodation aggregator compares different homestay and alternate accommodation sites for the best rate.
- Easily compare the prices of hotel rooms and homestays in one list
- Awarded the “World's Leading Hotel Comparison Website” at the 2015 World Travel Awards
- Guaranteed to offer you the lowest accommodation rate
Rentals Combined
Offering competitively priced rentals, Rentals Combined offers both short- and long-term rentals around the world.
- Guarantees the best rate and does not add additional booking fees at checkout
- Complete your booking instantly
- Choose from more than 600,000 properties in more than 75 countries around the world
Stayz
Choose from more than 40,000 properties in 2,000 locations across Australia with the country’s largest holiday rental site.
- Filter searches by attractions or themes, ranging from cheap to executive and honeymoons to family holidays
- Receive free property features protection assurance
- No additional booking fees
Camplify
Don't like sitting still on a holiday? Hire someone's RV, campervan or trailer when they're not using it with Camplify.
- Caravan, campervan, motorhome and trailer hires start at just $40 per night
- Stay in unique destinations across the country like remote outback campsites and near quiet beaches
- Select campervans/RVs can be relocated to suit your travel needs, which is ideal for events and festivals
Bedycasa
Focusing mainly on homestays, Bedycasa claims to be as little as a third of the price of staying in a hotel and offers guests the opportunity to stay in traditional homes in 185 countries around the world.
- Earn a free stay every 10 nights with the loyalty program
- Experience authentic homestays including riads in Morocco, ryokans in Japan and gîtes in France
- Choose from more than 50,000 hosts
HouseTrip
Get all the comforts at home with HouseTrip's carefully vetted properties in 20,000 destinations around the world.
- Read reviews from actual guests before making your booking
- Join the HouseTrip+ rewards program
- Choose from more than 300,000 properties
One Fine Stay
Designed to provide the ultimate homestay experience, One Fine Stay provides “unhotels” – homes in London, Paris, Los Angeles and New York. You’ll be personally greeted and provided with all the comforts of home including an iPhone with free data and local calls.
- Get a £20 discount on your first stay
- Committed to choosing the finest homes to rent out
- Enjoy boutique toiletries, quality linens and 24/7 customer support by phone or text
What additional fees do these sites charge?
| Provider | Additional Fees |
|---|---|
| Airbnb | 6-12% guest service fee + variable cleaning fees |
| HomeAway | Varies, but averages at 6% |
| VRBO | Varies, but averages at 6% |
| Homestay | Booking fee of up to 10% |
| Roomorama | Variable booking fee of approximately 0-15% |
| Home Exchange | Annual fee of $180 (Unlimited exchanges) |
| TripAdvisor | No additional fees |
| HotelsCombined | External fees may apply |
| Rentals Combined | No additional fees |
| Stayz | 2% service fee |
| Camplify | 13-15% booking fee, some hires require a service fee |
| Bedycasa | €3.90 booking fee |
| HouseTrip | 5% of the total cost |
Hi, I cannot book Airbnb for conference travel funded by my university because they do not supply a tax invoice. Long shot, but are you able to tell me whether any of these websites provide a proper tax invoice so I can use them in an up and coming trip?
Many thanks
Hi Bella,
Thanks for reaching out.
Actually, Airbnb provides VAT invoice whenever VAT is assessed on Airbnb service fees. An invoice is finalized and issued when a reservation is accepted and includes your information (name, address, etc) as you entered it in your Airbnb account.
As a guest, you can the access the VAT invoice for your reservation following these steps:
1. Go to Your Trips on airbnb.com
2. Under the trip, click View Invoices
3. Select Guest Invoice
Although some hosts are required by their local regulations to charge a tax, it would be best to communicate with your host before booking to see if they’re able to assist you if you need additional documentation, such as tax invoice, for travel.
I hope this has helped.
Cheers,
Liezl
your article quotes airbnb charging a fee of 6-12% however their web site quotes 3% (and free to list). Stayz in your article quotes “no fees” however I checked their website – they charge 7%
Hi Michael,
Thanks for your contact.
The fees referred to in our article are guest service fees that are charged to the guest for making bookings through the accommodation website.
Hosts are charged different rates for placing listings and welcoming guests. These are the rates you are referring to.
Hope that helps,
Stephanie
As a host how do I get in touch with Airbnb management team in Australia. This is in case of an issue.
Hello Tinou,
Please note that you have contacted finder.com.au and not Airbnb. To provide you the proper guidance regarding who to contact with a certain issues. It would be more appropriate to reach out for Airbnb customer support because they are the ones who has the direct knowledge on how to address any issues that are related to their website.
I hope that helps.
Cheers,
Harold
I CANT LOG IN HELP
Hi Lynn,
Please be advised that you have contacted finder.com.au and not Airbnb. If you are trying to login in Airbnb please sign in here. There is a “forgot password” option for you if you have lost your password to your account.
I hope that helps!
Stephanie