10 Airbnb Alternatives You Need to Check Out

Airbnb has become a household name for those who love to travel and need a place to stay. However, although Airbnb has an extensive portfolio in the private vacation rental space, there are many Airbnb alternatives to choose from when finding your perfect holiday rental spot. With these sites, you can find the perfect hideaway that not as many people know about. Airbnb has become a commercial go-to for many so you may find some hidden gems on these Airbnb alternative platforms.

Vrbo

Like Airbnb, Vrbo has many properties listed on its platform. The site is perfect for those who are looking for the perfect romantic getaway for those traveling with a group of friends or family. The platform only has properties where the entire space is available to rent; therefore, you are guaranteed privacy when booking your property. 

Vrbo has a very similar booking process to Airbnb and offers travelers a great user experience. You can filter according to the type of property you want, price, location, as well as amenities, making it easy for you to find the perfect accommodation for your trip. 

Booking.com

Booking.com has a massive array of properties and includes hotels, guest houses, and serviced apartments too. The platform acts as a facilitator for booking accommodation and gives you an indication of how far away the property is from the central hub of your destination or airports. Their loyalty program is also brilliant, and users can often get discounts on their bookings when they use the platform regularly. 

Hopper

Although Hopper is one of the newest platforms in the vacation rental space, having been founded as recently as 2022, it already has 2 million property listings from locations worldwide. The app is best known for its easy-to-use interface, offering guests a stress-free, simplistic way of booking accommodation. The site is only available in app format, meaning that users have to have the app installed on their smartphones to make use of this service. 
 

Sonder

Sonder is an Airbnb alternative that allows travelers to filter their destinations by city, making this app one of the best for finding accommodation during your city breaks. Sonder has a relatively small portfolio of properties in comparison to Airbnb or even Vrbo; however, this does mean that the kinds of properties they list are on the more exclusive side. The platform has a total of 9000 units for guests to choose from, located across just over 40 cities.    
 

The Plum Guide

The Plum Guide is an excellent option for those who are particular about quality. Each of the properties available for rental on the platform goes through a rigorous vetting process before they can be listed on the site. What also makes the platform appealing for Plum Guide hosts is the instant care feature that is provided by the site. 

Plum Guide has an in-house team that attends to the property on the host’s behalf. The site specializes prominently in vacation rentals that are geared toward longer stays. This means that hosts do not have to worry too much about their properties being occupied. Most properties will also aim to get what is known as the Plum Award - a mark of prestige that verifies rental homes are up to a certain standard. 

Marriott Bonvoy Homes and Villas

Home and Villas by Marriott Bonvoy offers guests premium homes with 24/7 care. After each stay, the homes are professionally cleaned and inspected, which ensures that the property remains in tip-top shape throughout the time it is available on the vacation rental market. 
 

Marriott also implements specific quality standards that ensure homes are well looked after and that guests have a good experience. By doing this, Marriott also helps to market the properties so that they remain occupied during peak seasons. What also makes this platform appealing for booking guests is the fact that they can earn and redeem loyalty points through the Marriott loyalty program, curating an audience that will often return for further stays after their initial one. 

Blueground

Blueground specializes in furnished apartments available for rent and is more geared towards those who are looking to rent a space for periods lasting between one month and a year. Blueground offers customers apartments and homes that are hand-picked according to their own selection criteria. 

This offers guests peace of mind when booking and aims to accommodate those who are in between leases, starting a new job, or are traveling and wanting to explore new places. All properties are fully furnished for guests' convenience, and neighborhoods are also vetted to ensure that guests get the best possible experience. 

HomeToGo

HomeToGo allows guests to filter their vacation rental properties according to the experience they wish to have. Hosts are encouraged to add tags according to the experiences they think guests will appreciate. For example, hosts can add tags like “log cabin” or “houseboat” to give those looking to book accommodation a better idea of what they can expect when they book the property. 

HomeToGo acts as a search engine for guests and provides recommendations for properties according to specific search criteria such as location and destination. It’s also a great platform for hosts to list their properties on as it increases their exposure in the online vacation rental booking world.

FlipKey

Flipkey was created by the travel review website Trip Advisor, and offers you properties to book according to destinations worldwide. Those with vacation properties to rent out can list their property on Flipkey free of charge. The process does not take long and will generate a free advert. After contacting a host about staying in their property, Flipkey also provides a secure payment link for those who wish to proceed with bookings, taking the e-commerce admin out of running a property for hosts.

Wimdu

Wimdu is ideal for guests because of its ‘discovery’ feature. Upon entering the site, guests can see where the most popular travel destinations are at a given time and browse properties available for rental there. The site has an array of available properties from all over the world and specializes in city breaks, listing primarily apartments and condos in some of the globe’s best cities.