It's tough to save money on travel, but there's a great alternative to staying in an expensive hotel.
You can rent someone's house or apartment for your trip and enjoy living space, a full kitchen, and even a washer/dryer, usually for less than what a hotel would cost. Stay with friends and split the cost even more.
We recently spent a week in New York and rented a full apartment (pictured above) for almost half of the price a hotel would have charged. (It was just one block from Central Park too!) Every city has vacation rentals available, and here's how to find them:
- On Craigslist, look at "Vacation Rentals" (in the Housing category) for the city.
- VRBO is a website that lists vacation rentals by owner.
- Home Away lists worldwide rentals in an easy-to-navigate website.
- Never agree to rent a space without seeing photos.
- Know ahead of time if there will be a deposit or cleaning fee.
- Confirm the method of payment (cash or card)?
- Agree on your arrival and departure times.
- Understand if you are renting the entire space or just one bedroom (bed and breakfast style).
- Check the location on Google Maps, and use the Street View to see the surroundings.
- Most importantly… make your reservations soon, because they tend to book up quickly.
Have you ever stayed in a vacation rental? How do you save money when you travel? Head to the forum and share your tips.
Rachel loves writing about ideas to simplify your home at Small Notebook. She lives in Texas and often eats ice cream for breakfast.
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