8 BEST Airbnb Alternatives to Use For Your Next Trip

Airbnb used to be the only game in town when it comes to finding vacation homes to stay in and having authentic local experiences while traveling, and there is no denying that even today, it is still the biggest and most popular vacation rental site out there. However, they are no longer the only game in town.

With such popularity comes the hard truth of using Airbnb. The experience of staying in an Airbnb is no longer what it used to be, as both vacationers and hosts flock to the platform, creating less than stellar experiences for both parties.

Vacationers like us often find it increasingly difficult to have authentic experiences with hosts because they are often not available or are overwhelmed by the number of guests, leading them to rely on automation. I have stayed in numerous Airbnbs during my travels, and I rarely get the chance to meet my hosts. Most of the time, we simply self-check-in and go about our days.

Hosts are also getting so many customers and competitors that they are no longer able to balance between providing good services and staying competitive with other hosts.

Not to mention, all the negative impacts Airbnb causes on local communities around the world. Many landlords are buying up homes and turning them into Airbnbs, driving up real estate prices so much that the locals can no longer afford to stay in their hometown.

It is the sad reality of home-sharing that is exacerbated even further by the inaction from Airbnb, and that is why I think it is important to shed light on other Airbnb alternatives. The more competitors there are, the better it will be for all of us.

And so, I have decided to round up all the best Airbnb alternatives you can use to book vacation homes around the world within this guide. There are more out there than you think, and without further ado, here are the best 8 Airbnb alternatives you should definitely look into for your upcoming vacation.

Table of Contents

1. Vrbo
2. Sonder
3. Plum Guide
4. Homestay
5. Booking.com Holiday Homes
6. Agoda Homes
7. Tripadvisor Vacation Rentals
8. Outdoorsy
Further Reading for Resources

1. Vrbo

Despite Airbnb receiving all the media attention in the past 10 years, it is easy to forget that prior to 2008, when Airbnb was founded, there is Vrbo (pronounced ver-boh). Vrbo, the OG vacation rental online marketplace, was founded way back in 1995 and has since transformed itself into something more similar to Airbnb after being acquired by Expedia in 2015.

Nowadays, Vrbo has over 2 million vacation homes available on its platform, ranging from condos to cabins to lake houses. The vacation rental site used to cater towards family travelers who are looking for more than a hotel experience, but with its forever-growing listing, you will find plenty of budget condos and villas you can rent for cheap on VRBO, just like Airbnb.

The Vrbo site is also very easy to use, with similar browsing features that will allow you to find your dream vacation homes with just a few clicks. The user experience on Vrbo is very similar to Airbnb, and if you are looking for an alternative to Airbnb that is as good, Vrbo is the one to try.

To book your first Vrbo vacation home or simply browse through their offerings, you can do it here: Browse for homestays on Vrbo. If you are a property owner and are looking to list your property on Vrbo for free, click here: List your property on Vrbo.

2. Sonder

Sonder is another great Airbnb alternative that has decided to flip the home-sharing and hospitality industry upside down with their creative take on vacation home rental. They provide hotel-class services without the hassle and unreliability of home-sharing.

What makes Sonder so special is that they actually manage all their 4,500+ properties in over 30 cities around the world themselves, so you are guaranteed to have a consistent experience throughout your stay with Sonder.

Combine that with their cutting-edge technology, which allows you to get customer support straight from your phone, and the focus on providing a minimal and modern space for both long-term and short-term stays. You just can't find anything quite like it.

Since the listing on Sonder is heavily controlled due to the high standards it has to live up to, most of their properties are only located in commercial areas in big cities. As a result, it might not offer as many choices as VRBO or Airbnb for regular travelers.

BUT if you are planning to visit big cities like San Francisco, Amsterdam, and Barcelona for a period of time and you are looking for a nice, centrally-located place to stay for a while, the properties on Sonder are some of the best you can find on the internet, so be sure to check them out before booking anything.

To browse the available properties on Sonder, you can click here: browse properties on Sonder. If you have properties in big cities and you are looking to rent them out via Sonder, you can do it here: Partner with Sonder.

3. Plum Guide

Plum Guide is another great Airbnb alternative that focuses more on high-quality homes rather than the catch-all type of homes you often find on Airbnb. Curbed.com actually dubbed it "The Michelin Guide for vacation homes", and I do have to agree with them.

Plum Guide is so focused on providing the best quality homes that they have decided to limit their listings to only the top 3% of homes for each price point in each location. This guarantees that what you see on Plum Guide are the absolute best homes available for rent in the places you are planning to travel to.

You will find vacation homes on Plum Guide all over Western Europe and the US, spanning more than 15 countries, and they are of the highest quality. How high, you ask? Well, in order to get a property listed on Plum Guide, it will have to go through a 4-stage meticulous home test with over 150 criteria.

They actually visit each place themselves, review the hell out of them using their "The Plum Test", and handpick each property to be listed on Plum Guide themselves so you do not have to worry about essential things like reliable WIFI when you book a home on Plum Guide.

If you are looking for the highest quality of homes to rent abroad, I highly recommend you browse through Plum Guide's listings here: browse high-quality homes. If you own a property, you can list it on Plum Guide here: become a host.

4. Homestay

Homestay is where you can truly experience a home away from home. On Homestay, you will be able to find affordable homes to rent when you are traveling abroad, and I mean a real home with a real host that does more than just hand you a key and call it a day.

Booking a home on Homestay, you are guaranteed to have a great experience with your host, as they will help you settle in a new city. This is what having a host should be like, and you can contact your host anytime for help during your stay with their Homestay app.

Homestay has over 33,000 homes across 160 countries around the world, with prices averaging only $30 USD, making it the best Airbnb alternative for budget travelers.

Even though it doesn't have as many properties as Airbnb, it still has more than most on this list, and with its focus on providing budget homes to stay and authentic connections, Homestay is the couchsurfing and Airbnb hybrid that combines the quality of Airbnb with the authentic experience of couchsurfing.

To book your first homestay or browse Homestay's listings, you can click the link here: browse Homestay listings. If you want to list your property on Homestay, you can also do it here: List your room on Homestay.

5. Booking.com Holiday Homes

Did you know that Booking.com also has homestays, apartments, and vacation homes you can rent? Booking.com is probably one of the biggest hotel booking platforms in the world, and of course, they would jump on the home-sharing bandwagon when Airbnb took it to the mainstream.

On Booking.com, you can use it as you would when you want to book a hotel. However, instead of browsing through hotels, you can filter your search results to list only homestays and apartments and pick the best one available from there.

Some of the greatest benefits of using Booking.com to book vacation homes are the ease of use and the number of properties and users' reviews available on the platform.

A lot of you are probably using Booking.com on a regular basis, so you can continue to browse through Booking.com the same way you did, but with a homestay filter toggled on, making it one of the easiest platforms to use out of all the platforms on this list.

Properties on Booking.com are also guaranteed to have a ton of users' reviews, pictures, and important information that can help you decide whether to book a place or not, which is often missing on other platforms.

If you are looking for an Airbnb alternative with a familiar experience and trust, be sure to check out the Booking.com Holiday Homes section. You can also list your property here on Booking.com if you wish.

6. Agoda Homes

And of course, Agoda has to have a home rental section of its own as well called Agoda Homes, just like Booking.com. Since Agoda itself is more focused on the Asian market, you might be able to find more properties on here that match what you are looking for than on any other platforms.

On Agoda Homes, you can filter the results by property type and list only apartments, homestays, or an entire vacation home that you can choose from. The benefits of using Agoda Homes are pretty much the same as Booking.com, with an easy-to-use website, a ton of listings, and many user reviews available to help you decide more effectively.

That said, what makes Agoda stand out from Booking.com and the rest on this list is its focus on the Asian market. So, if you are looking for cheap apartments to stay for a long period of time in places like Chiang Mai, Agoda is one of the best, if not better, Airbnb alternatives you should definitely check out.

To browse through Agoda Homes, simply search on their Agoda Home search page and apartments and homestays will be listed first among other types of properties. You can also list your property on Agoda Homes here as well.

7. Tripadvisor Vacation Rentals

Tripadvisor is no longer just a place to search for reviews, tips, and things to do when you travel. Ever since the home-sharing craze hit the mainstream, Tripadvisor has spun out another wing of its booking services and has become one of the major players in the home-sharing space by aggregating and listing available vacation rentals and homes from across 200 countries.

Just like Booking.com and Agoda.com, Tripadvisor was able to utilize its massive user base to propel its services above other competitors by providing relevant information such as user reviews and high-quality photos to help you decide which property to book, unlike other Airbnb alternatives out there.

Combine these with its easy-to-use website and over 800,000 properties available on the platform, and you have quite a fierce competitor and a great alternative to Airbnb that you can use to book a vacation home for your future trips.

To browse for vacation homes on Tripadvisor, you can easily do it on their dedicated Tripadvisor Vacation Rentals page. Input the location and the date, and you should find plenty of homestays in vacation rentals for you to choose from. You can also list your property here if you want to earn some extra cash.

8. Outdoorsy

Outdoorsy is another alternative to Airbnb with a unique take on home-sharing, and they have taken it to the next level by focusing on renting out homes on wheels. Yup, you heard that right!

For those of you who are into nature and hiking, sometimes, you do not want to stay in just one place. You want to move around every day or two into the wilderness and spend your time in nature away from people, and home rentals just won't cut it.

Enters Outdoorsy, an RV rental website that you can browse through to find and rent campervans, trailers, or even Class A family buses for those of you who are looking for a more flexible stay during your adventure and hiking trip out in the backcountry.

With thousands of RVs and campervans listed on Outdoorsy across countries like the US, Australia, and Western Europe, the platform is one of the best places to find the perfect RV for your travels.

All you have to do is browse through Outdoorsy.com, send the RV owner a booking request, arrange a pick-up time and place, and off you go. If you own an RV that you rarely use and are looking to make some extra cash, you can also list your RV on Outdoorsy here.