Back in 2014, my husband and I decided that we wanted to live in Berlin for a little while.
We wanted to stay for three months.
Since we were both freelancers our jobs were no issue. However, there was one problem – the cost of a hotel!
Staying in hotel for three months isn’t exactly budget-friendly, and we couldn’t rent an apartment in the traditional way since we were only planning to stay in Berlin for three months.
We needed another solution. Fortunately – we found it!
It was a site called Airbnb.
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It had only launched in 2008 but was growing fast. At that time (back in 2014), the company made some big changes to its brand, revising the design of its website and introducing a new logo.
Millions of people were using Airbnb to find less traditional accommodation than your standard hotel.
We used the site to find an apartment in Berlin that we could rent for three months, at a reasonable price.
We’ve used it since and have always had a good experience.
Now, there are more than 150 million users on Airbnb and it’s been valued at over $35 billion privately! There are 6 million plus Airbnb listings worldwide and more than 2 million people stay in an Airbnb per night.
But, is Airbnb the only site of its kind out there?
Heck no!
Airbnb is certainly not your only choice if you’re looking for property rentals. After all, the projected vacation rental revenue for 2019 is $57.6 billion!
So there are lots of companies in the industry that let you rent out a room in your house or your whole house. That’s more competition for property owners which translates to more savings and better deals for vacationers and travelers like you and me.
you might want to consider. It’s good to have options especially since Airbnb prices are a little inflated sometimes (although there are proven ways to save money on Airbnb rentals).
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Below, we list some of the best Airbnb alternatives.
We’ve created our list based on customer reviews and my own experience too!
Table of Contents
What Are Some Alternatives to Airbnb
Whether you’re looking for a cozy cabin in the Rocky Mountain National Park, a secluded house within walking distance of Lake Michigan, a treehouse in St. George, South Carolina, or a Florida home with an infinity pool that will WOW you, with hundreds of thousands of listings for any budget, these Airbnb alternatives will make it easy to find your ideal vacation spot.
Comparing prices on these sites will also help you save money on your next vacation.
Here are the best rental sites like Airbnb.
1. Homestay
- Trustpilot rating: 4.5 stars
With an Excellent rating on Trustpilot, Homestay is a company that travelers simply love. Plus, it’s been featured by well-known media outlets, such as The New York Times, USA Today, and Conde Nast Traveler.
Here are some of its key features:
- 55,000 rooms to rent worldwide.
- Host families can offer discounts
- Offers quality and affordability
- Hosts do more than just hand over keys – they’ll help you settle in too.
- There’s accommodation available for short or long-term stays.
Customer quote:
- “Easy to handle and very nice hosts with wonderful houses.”
2. VRBO
- Trustpilot rating: 4.5 stars
Another alternative that gets a thumbs up from guests is VRBO.
It has an Excellent rating on Trustpilot. With it, you can rent beach houses, cabins and many other vacation properties.
Here are some of its key features:
- 2 million rentals available worldwide
- Secure online payments
- 24/7 support.
- Value for money.
Customer quote:
- “Had no problem whatsoever. Was a great experience. Loved the house we rented. Everything went great!”
3. TripAdvisor Rentals
- Trustpilot rating: 4 stars
TripAdvisor isn’t just an awesome place to visit for reviews and restaurant recommendations when you’re on vacation.
Now, it offers rentals as well.
Book cabins, beach houses, and plenty of other vacation rentals, with TripAdvisor Rentals.
The company is well-liked by customers, with a Great rating on Trustpilot.
Here are some of its key features:
- 630,000 vacation rentals available to book.
- Payment protection available
- Millions of reviews on offer.
- A wide range of rental properties, like condos, cabins, and cottages available.
Customer quote:
- “Easy to navigate and very helpful reviews.”
4. TurnKey Vacation Rentals
- Trustpilot rating: 4 stars
TurnKey Vacation Rentals offers vacation rental properties with a fine-hotel experience. So, you can find luxury and premium properties featured on the site.
Here are some of its key features:
- Free Wi-Fi.
- Secure, keyless entry.
- 24/7 local support.
- Professional cleaning.
- Hotel quality linens.
Customer quote:
- “The house was beautiful, comfortable and clean. It certainly exceeded my expectations of a good place for my family to stay. Any information I needed about the house was at my fingertips. Easy to book the stay, easy to get in, all supplies I need was available. Beautiful location. We will definitely stay there again!”
5. Outdoorsy
- Trustpilot rating: 4.5 stars
Outdoorsy is a company like Airbnb, except rather than renting a room, an apartment or a home, you rent RVs!
On the site, you’ll find RV and trailer rentals. You can choose your pick up and drop off date.
It’s a well-loved site for travelers, with an impressive Excellent rating on Trustpilot.
Here are some of its key features:
- Insurance
- 24/7 roadside assistance
- 100+ advisors available to help 24/7
- Pickup, setup and delivery from the airport to your destination.
Customer Quote:
- “Outdoorsy was very easy to use. I found a camper not far away. Outdoorsy connected us and we ended up with an enjoyable weekend. Will definitely use this service again.”
6. onefinestay
- Trustpilot rating: 3.5 stars
onefinestay is a great alternative to Airbnb if you’re looking for luxury rental apartments and homes.
Here are some of its key features:
- 10,000 plus high-end homes available to rent.
- 24/7 support.
- Offers a selection of homes that are handpicked for space, character and comfort. In fact, only 1 in 10 homes make the cut.
- Tailored amenities.
Customer quote:
- “Smooth communication and lovely people to deal with – the entire process was quick and simple. The home we rented was beautiful (better than the pictures!!), trendy and had everything you could need. It really felt like living in the community and being a local in the busy city streets! A one of a kind experience, we will be back. Thank you OFS!”
7. FlipKey
- Trustpilot rating: 3.5 stars
With FlipKey, you can rent lots of different properties, such as beach houses, cabins, and condos.
Here are some of its key features:
- 300,000 vacation rentals available around the world.
- Easy to navigate website
- A variety of properties available, from beach houses to cabins.
Customer quote:
“Easy to use, outstanding response and service from respective property manager, at a great price! What more can you ask for!!”
8. HomeAway
- Trustpilot rating: 4 stars
With a Great rating on Trustpilot, HomeAway is a good option if you’re looking for sites like Airbnb.
Here are some of its key features:
- 2 million rentals worldwide
- More than 19 million reviews available
- Secure payments
- 24/7 support
- Value for money.
Customer quote
- “I love HomeAway. The website is so easy to navigate. I found exactly what I was hoping to find for my upcoming stay in Oahu and Maui. HomeAway makes it so simple to find a great place to stay on your trip. Don’t hesitate to use HomeAway anytime you are looking for a place to book for your next trip.”
9. Booking.com
- Trustpilot rating: 1.5 stars
Let’s start out with talking about that Trustpilot rating. Booking.com is rated Bad on Trustpilot.
I’ve included it anyway, because I’ve used it to book trips before, and I’ve never had a problem with it.
I’m not the only one who’s a little perplexed by the poor rating. These reviewers on Trustpilot, say the same thing:
- “Not sure WHY there is such bad rating for this company! I use them all the time! Easy to book and easy to cancel! I can’t find ANYTHING wrong with them!”
- “Once again very good company is full of bad reviews, seems no way of good company can bring you something good. There are tons of people that just can’t be pleased no matter what you do to them anyway. Sounds like a very good idea to ignore their reviews.”
- “A lot of bad reviews but I have only have had fantastic experiences booking my holidays via booking 5 star”
Now that’s out of the way…
Booking.com isn’t just a place to find deals on hotels. You can also rent apartments there.
Here are some of its key features:
- Lots of reviews available.
- Always deals and discounts on offer.
- Free cancellation is available for many properties.
- Easy to navigate website.
Customer quote:
“Excellent service. Always use booking.com”
10. HomeToGo
- Trustpilot rating: 4 stars
Last, but not least, on our list is HomeToGo.
HomeToGo differs a little to the other places on the list.
You don’t rent property directly from them, as you would with Airbnb or Homestay.
Instead, you use the site to compare rentals around the world.
Here are some of its key features:
- With HomeToGo, you can compare more than 17 million vacation apartments and homes, and in doing so, you can save up to 40%!
- You can compare rentals from more than 800 vacation rental websites, like Booking.com, Vrbo, HomeAway, and Airbnb.
- The site is easy to use, it saves you time, and it allows you to get the best deals.
Customer quote:
“Great search experience. It was a flawless search experience! For my vacation rental bookings, I used to make searches on different websites and try to compare the availability by switching from one website to the other. Using Hometogo was very efficient for me. I will continue using this website for my next trip plans.”
So What’s the Best Alternative to Airbnb?
The best site like Airbnb for booking your next vacation house depends on your needs.
But with so many great Airbnb alternatives out there you have a lot of options. So if you’re looking to rent a property whether it’s in another state or another country, give some of these companies a try.
Benje
Great list! Thanks so much for sharing.
I have lived booking.com terrible trust rating TWICE. They have taken $2400 of our money. Once during covid when all travel was canceled and another time they listed the rental in the wrong location, 4 hours away, and they will not refund our money.
I will never book with them again.
Saeed
Wow, I am sorry to hear about your experience with Booking.com. Did they give you any reason for not refunding you?