We’ve all heard some AirBnB horror stories. Perhaps you’ve had one of your own. Staying in a home is so much more comfortable than a hotel, but no one wants to deal with a company that offers support only after you get on the nightly news (if then!). I’ve had AirBnB take 3 days to respond when a host refused to let me stay…and refused to cancel my reservation. Plenty of apartments have been dirty. We’ve even ended up staying in a boat that was completely different than the one we rented!
AirBnB: great idea, not so great company.
I’m a huge fan of CouchSurfing, but sometimes you need a place of your own. Renting a place when you travel is a very different experience from staying with someone for free.
Here are some AirBnB alternatives, so you can enjoy the hospitality without the risk of scams.
AirBnB: great idea, not so great company Click To TweetVacasa
A new player out of Portland, Vacasa already has homes from around the world. With Vacasa you’re not relying on individual homeowners to hope the place is clean and ready for you. Vacasa has carefully selected listings and employees around the world who clean and keep them up to snuff.
Boutique Homes
If you’re in it for the architecture and not worried about price, this curated site will connect you to Instagram-worthy digs. There’s no scrolling through pages of listings, since each listing is a winner.
VRBO & HomeAway
HomeAway has made the classic move of buying up the competition. VRBO is the oldest game in town when it comes to vacation home rentals. If you get scammed or have other issues, they’ll reimburse you for what you paid. They also offer rebooking help if your host cancels at the last minute.
FlipKey
Owned by TripAdvisor, FlipKey is the other big player in the short term rental market. FlipKey staff verifies listings, keeping you safe from scammers and the obviously insane. The website also offers payment protection and support in case things go wrong.
Inclusive
What Inclusive lacks in selection it makes up in heart. It was founded in response to the number of people experiencing racism on AirBnB. All hosts promise to treat everyone with dignity — hopefully that will translate to a successful business.
Kid and Coe
If you have kids, this is the site for you. Descriptions include information on what sort of family friendly setup each home has.
Overnight
Overnight is for people who want all meeting awesome new people of CouchSurfing, without the hassle of planning ahead or sending requests.
With Overnight, you can book a room instantly and stay there that night. If you’re nervous about strangers, you can do things Tindr style and choose based on any mutual Facebook friends you might have.
Right now they’re in LA, SF, NYC, and Austin, but they’re planning on expanding to more cities soon.
Airbnb is cool but sometimes hmmm..
I’m so glad you shared these amazing alternatives. I’ve used Flipkey and VRBO in the past but most of these, I’ve never heard of! I’ll definitely have to try these out on my next trip!
Boutique Homes sounds fun if I had all the money in the world. I have never tried Air B&B but I have stayed in Air B&B type arrangements through Booking. I also like Cama e cafe in Rio de Janeiro. It’s fine and sometimes the cheapest option, but I just love the fun of staying in a hotel!
I have never heard of most of these other options! I have heard of VRBO though. This is a great post! I will definitely be using this in the future. Thank you for sharing!
I haven’t had any horrible experiences yet with Airbnb, but have heard some horror stories from others. The key is to research your rentals by reading the reviews. I have done this and have been fine, but I am always on the lookout for new companies. I have never heard of FlipKey and am already excited to try them out. I am a fan of TripAdvisor 🙂
The guy who we kicked out of our apartment left a positive review. I don’t think I could ever trust a review after that!
We actually really like Airbnb still even though we had one or two frustrating moments. When we called Airbnb customer service they issued us a refund right away. However, I love learning about more websites that offer accommodation! We know of Overnight, but haven’t used it yet! We will have to check all of these out! Thanks!
It’s good to hear you’ve had positive experiences with customer service! Hopefully it’s gotten better since the last time I’ve had to deal with them. There was a lot of room for improvement!