Airbnb can be great but sometimes there’s just too much choice – or not enough quality control!! When this is the case, I turn to the Airbnb alternatives.
Here’s my favourites and if you’re after a luxury stay, keep scrolling until the bottom – or click here!
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The Best Airbnb Alternatives
Booking.com
From cosy city flats to spacious villas, Booking.com has more than 6 million listings on their site so, there’s plenty of choice!
Just make sure you’re filtering by ‘holiday homes’, or you can use my links below to search directly.
Vrbo
Formely known as HomeAway, Vrbo has been around since 1995 and has over 2 million properties across 190 countries.
Unlike Airbnb, you can also search for places based on whether they have a garden, patio or terrace!
Canopy & Stars
Canopy & Stars select inspiring places in the great outdoors to feature on their site so expect log cabins, tiny homes and quirky stays out in the wild!
This is my favourite website for when I’m after an alternative stay in the UK and beyond.
Agoda Homes
Yep, it’s another hotel booking site that’s nestling in on the self-catering action!
Agoda is a great site for knocking a few pounds off a hotel and so you may well be able to score yourself a bargain!
Host Unusal
This is another great website for super quirky stays that go beyond a standard apartment, townhouse or villa. Instead, think boats, cabins and even spaceships!
They’ve also got a great page for ‘inspiration‘ which includes lists of places that are dog friendly, featured on TV and in remote locations.
Sykes Holiday Cottages
As the name suggests, if you’re after a cute cottage then this is the website for you – though they do have some different types of accommodation, like shepherd’s huts, too!
Hover over ‘Holiday Ideas’ at the top to see last minute breaks, beach cottages and even cottages with hottubs.
Sonder
Sonder claim to combine the best parts of a hotel stay with the best parts of booking a private home stay.
With over 4,000 listings in 30 cities (most in the US) across 8 countries, they may not be in your intended destination yet but I bet their website will get you thinking about trips to the places they do have!
Homestay
Homestay reminds me of what Airbnb was when it first started up – a site full of homes where you stay with the host or at least inhabit it on your own along with their stuff!
Therefore, don’t expect it to be an instagrammable place but do expect amazing prices and lots of opportunities to live like a local. But also make sure you’re reading those reviews!
The Best Luxury Airbnb Alternatives
Looking for something a bit fancier? These websites offer incredible luxury accommodation for when you’re after an unforgettable holiday experience.
Plum Guide
The Plum Guide offer something a bit different – they’re all about quality over quantity.
Every single listing on their site has passed their 150 criteria and after vetting over 1 million homes from over 25 booking sites, only around 16,000 have made the cut so you can expect a much higher standard than other sites!
Oliver's Travels
All the properties on the website have been handpicked by the Oliver’s Travels team who say “why do ordinary when you can do exceptional?”.
Off peak, you may be able to find some well priced places but there’s plenty of treat places on here that would be amazing for groups!
Mr and Mrs Smith
Mr & Mrs Smith describe themselves as a luxury travel club, and they’re all about stylish stays with unique charm.
Each hotel is personally vetted by expert reviewers. Prices are on the spendier side, but if you’re planning a blow-the-budget getaway for a special occasion, it’s packed with dreamy options.
Kate & Tom's
Mr & Mrs Smith describes itself as a travel club for hotel lovers.
They list premium hotels that promise an extra special stay. You can sign up to their mailing list to be first in line when they run exclusive offers.
Unique Homestays
When I stumbled upon this site I was blown away by the places you could book – I just couldn’t believe that they were all in the UK!!
These are complete treat territory and you’re best looking off peak (October!) if you’re wanting to find the best price possible.
