This post has been updated on October 7th, 2020
It is true that every time you are planning the holidays, most of your money are gone for the accommodation. Everybody will have never to choose the next holiday accommodation between the cheapest and the comfortable one. We stayed in all sort of apartment in a lot of Countries so far. We have been in hostels, Air BnB, Top Luxury Hotels, bad places and beautiful with a great view. So, now is the time to understand and let you know how we choose our accommodation for holidays.
Looking for holiday accommodation sites, you will find a wide range. Sometimes between all the holidays websites there are multiple prices. So, the real question will be: How I choose the right accommodation for my holidays? Also, this guide will help you with a list of website for free accommodation.
A complete guide on how to find accommodation easy
We know to choose the apartment for your next holiday, is a part of the organisation more frustrating than to book the ticket. We know that you will spend a lot of time looking for the right accommodation. The best position, good size of the room and the bed, positive feedback. Also, how many times you are asking friends, that have been already to that destination, which could be the best option?
But here we will give you a list of things to look for. Every person is different, so the way to find the accommodation will be different to. There are some things you need to have a look closely if you want to have well stayed and avoided bad surprise.
Best vacation rental sites
There are a lot of websites for holiday accommodation, so we tried to tidy up a quick list of the best vacation rental sites. Here you can find popular websites and niche ones.
- VRBO
- Home Away
- Vacation Rentals.com
- E-domizil
- Everystay
- Home To Go
- Holiday Homes
- Air Bnb
- Booking.com
How to find the right accommodation
Obviously, stay in a Hotel is always the best solution. We have been in a dozen Hotels. Fancy or low price, you will pay for what you get. The most common advice we can give is to be friendly with the staff, always. This way has given us the chance to get an upgrade more than one time. Everybody’s known his needed. Some of you want just space where stay for a couple of days, and the room is just a place where sleep and go. This will be assumed as Backpackers accommodation, and it will be a hostel, a fleeting Airbnb on the way. Some others are more sophisticated and looking for fancy amenities. Some others are just for a comfortable bed and a relaxing breakfast.
Evaluate your needed
Once you have the ticket for the destination, start to understand which is the best area to stay in. This can give you a certain range of chance, but limited to what you need.
If the area is really wide and you stay for a short time, try to find accommodation near the city center. It will save you a lot of time, that is value for money. If your holidays are longer, you can choose your accommodation a bit out of the center. This will allow you to save money, and enjoy the city as much. You will never know, that just behind your building there is a hidden gem, and you will never have the chance to discover if you were in the city center.
Price Range for Holiday Accommodation
The price for your rental home away is not always a good way to sort the wide range. You will discover that there are many amenities 5 minutes walking away, for a cheap price. We advise managing the price range, just as a way to understand which is the average price for the accommodation at your destination. Also, the price will be different for the period. In high season, the price will be up, as expected. But even in those seasons, if you lower your needed, you will find cheaper accommodation away.
Location range
It is well known that central location is more pricey that far away. In our last stay in Malaga, we have booked an Air bnb, just out the city center. Before the holiday time, we were trying to understand how to reach the house from the airport, and later in the city center. After a couple of days and many mistakes, we understood that the airport was just 10 minutes away by train, and not half an hour by bus. Also, the price of the ticket to reach the airport was less than the bus. We didn’t need public transport to reach the city center, it was just 10 minutes away walking.
Hotel, Hostel, Air bnb or just a couch
This is a hard decision I know. But I can guess you have never thought about, sometimes for the price of a hostel, you can get a fancy room. Also, I think is possible when you are two to split the cost, and at the same price of just a room, you will get more amenities.
How to choose the next holiday accommodation? Take a deep breath and think! Which kind of holiday you are going to do? It is just a backpack, on the road. If yes, go to a hostel. It is cheap and you will meet a lot of new friends. Fancy holiday, like a honeymoon, anniversary or celebrations? Go for a hotel. Have all sort of amenities. On a budget trip, short and full? Go for an Air bnb or a private room in a hostel. In this case, you will have, what you pay.
What you have to know if stay in a hostel
If you choose for a stay in a hostel, you get your privacy over. A lower price is meaning a big dormitory, with a lot of other people. Low price, too many beds in a room with completely unknown random people. But isn’t everything bad. I have tried myself hostels before, not the best expert, but I have got my experiences.
One of the best memories I have is at the beginning of my adventure in London. I was for the first time in this city. It was difficult to orientate yourself in a new community. The hostel has given me the strength to start the new adventure. The hostel is a good place to meet people along the way. Choose one with a bar, it is the first place where you will stay after a long day walking. New friends, with different experience and from everywhere on the globe.
Like you can see, you need to choose the mood of your holiday and take the decision about the accommodation. All the places have the good and bad side, is up to you to decide which is the better one.
BOOKING AN HOTEL
If you want a kind of holiday devoted to the relax and without being overwhelmed by duties, you need to take a hotel. This allows you to think just to go to the beach and drink a beer, have rest and enjoy every minute of your holiday, the service room think about the rest. Better if you get a breakfast with it, and the lunch as well. For this amenities, you need to afford more money, obviously. But there are some hotels, like the Holiday Inn Express giving the breakfast included.
BOOKING AN AIR BNB
If you want a holiday with privacy, take the entire place with Air Bnb. Put the choice of the place on their mobile app refined to “Entire Place” and if you are lucky, you can find a cosy place for few pounds. We have been in a lot of Air Bnb, now we have our way to evaluate the places.
First of all, we have a look at the price, we don’t want places overpriced just because is high season, otherwise, we will go to a Hotel. Also, we check the photos, if there are less than 3 and are not really good on quality, we swipe it away. The third things we see is the position, if it is close to some attraction we will see it is close to the city centre, the distance to the beach and others.
After all of it, we look about the amenities and the review. The amenities are really important, because if we are planning a road trip, we have a car and we need a parking, or could be about the late check-in. Some owner hasn’t cleared the time of the check-in and the checkout, but if you have a strange landing or departure, you need to have a look at this important things.
Last, but not for importance, just because if you are arrived till here, maybe you really like the place. So, look all the review, not all, but a lot, and understand if the general satisfaction is good or not, check if there are main issues, if there are, be clear with your host and ask to them if they have fixed it.
