Accommodation costs can quickly add up when on the road, especially if you’re staying in hotels all the time. Luckily there are alternative lodging options that are a bit easier on your wallet. Airbnb is one of those options.
Plenty of people have a spare room in their house that’s used for the occasional sleepover. Some people even have a apartment that’s only used in the summer. Why not rent out those to travelers looking for a place to stay?
That’s exactly where Airbnb comes in.
Anyone with a spare room (or more) can put his or her place on their website and Airbnb tries to connect them to travelers. As a traveler you go to the website, pick your destination and get a list of all the available accommodation.
Next, you can filter by room type: do you want the entire place to yourself, just a private bedroom or will a shared dorm-like room do?
The prices usually go down with less privacy and you might just learn a thing or two from your roommates. If the owner is staying there himself, you even have a local at your disposal.
Tips for travellers
- You’re not renting from an agency. Always send a personal message first to introduce yourself and check if your welcome, even if the calendar has a free spot.
- Read the description and house rules. If they mention it’s not a place for party people, don’t go there if you want to get drunk every night.
- It’s not a hotel room. Even though some places charge a cleaning fee you should probably clean up after yourself.
- You’ve made some new friends, great! But don’t just expect you can bring them all over. Ask for permission first.
Tips for owners
- Try to reply to all messages as soon as possible. Airbnb takes note of your activity and response rate and uses those metrics for ordering the search results as well.
- Keep your calendar up-to-date. Another indicator of how active you are on the website.
- Leave a detailed review of your guests right after their stay. They will hopefully notice you took your time and do the same for you.
- Some great looking photos are key. A picture is worth a thousand words.
- Keep your prices low when starting out. Once the positive reviews come in you can increase them.
Go to Airbnb
(Includes free travel credit!)