Airbnb has revolutionized accommodation options for travelers for business trips, holidays, or even extended holidays, and short-term rentals have become trends globally. However, several other platforms offer almost similar services, and all of them may not fall under the category of a hospitality company like Airbnb, but they still control the majority of the market share. Thus, perhaps, it may provide great value for travelers searching for such accommodations, or the hosts planning to advertise their property. Below are some of the best short-term rental options that you can find on Airbnb’s platform.
1. Vrbo
Vrbo (Vacation Rentals by Owner) is among Airbnb’s biggest competitors that focus on vacation homes, too. While Airbnb allows users to search for anything from individual rooms through to entire homes, Vrbo only provides whole properties. This is particularly suitable for large groups such as friends or family members or persons who prefer bigger and separate spaces. As the O’gata says, Vrbo is currently available in several million properties in the whole world, it is excellent for tourists who like privacy and space most of all.
Key Features:
– Specialises in the treatment of whole homes.
– Family and group type of tours are well suited for this available offer.
– Budgetary accommodation for an extended period.
2. Booking.com
Although originally a platform for hotel accommodations, Booking.com has also in the recent past offered short-term rental houses including apartments, villas, and vacation houses. This platform operates essentially across the globe and includes many types of property. It allows travelers to choose between conventional hotels and more eccentric accommodations easily by acting as a filter.
Key Features:
– Different kinds of properties such as hotels, apartments, and houses.
– Promotions as well as subscription services for travelers.
– ABBYY mobile platform is user-friendly along with responsive customer service agents.
3. HomeAway
These include HomeAway which is now a part of the Vrbo family, this is an internet marketplace with a focus on entire home vacation rentals. It is aimed at business travelers or people who wish to stay longer, especially at tourist sites. Consequently, HomeAway is one of the best choices for choosing an Airbnb-like accommodation for families and large groups.
Key Features:
– Family and group accommodations while house and apartment rentals.
– High inventories in major holiday hot spots.
– Books long-term stays at cheaper prices as a result of so many clients seeking cheap accommodation due to long-term contracts.
4. FlipKey
FlipKey is the largest vacation short-term rentals marketplace and operates under the banner of TripAdvisor. If preferences and travel budgets are to be considered, FlipKey features vacation rentals ranging from beach house-like villas to small cottages. Undoubtedly, the option to search for the properties as in FlipKey.com using TripAdvisor reviews is one of the major pluses of the platform.
Key Features:
– Wide choice of objects for acquisition as an investment.
– This was done in conjunction with TripAdvisor reviews to gain more information.
– Low prices for selected goods, reliable brand awareness, and qualified customer service.
5. Plum Guide
Plum Guide is just a luxury Airbnb that can certainly be considered one of the top Airbnb alternatives when looking for only premium accommodation. Plum Guide only curates its properties very carefully to make sure it provides the highest quality properties. All the houses presented in the Plum Guide have been checked and rated for comfort, design, and services, which makes it an outstanding selection for travelers.
Key Features:
– Luxury-focused platform.
– Vanilla searching selected properties based on high specifications.
– Recommended for those, who look for luxury places for their stay.
6. OneFineStay
For those who would like to book a boutique or luxury home, OneFineStay has a list of the best homes for rent as they are located in various big cities and tourist destinations. In addition to it being a marketplace for short-term rentals, the platform offers more services such as concierge and check-in, and therefore, the company cannot be classified as a homogeneous short-term rental platform. It does this in a manner that makes it suitable for use by travelers who wish to avoid inconveniences during their trip.
Key Features:
– Luxury residential properties in most developed and popular holiday destinations.
– Provides clients with a carrier service and customized products.
– Luxury hotels & Resorts for the neVr Son andSpring business traveler market.
7. Homestay
While other forms of personal tourism accommodation might appeal to the mainstream, tourists looking for a more genuine experience will find Homestay interesting; in this accommodation arrangement; the traveler lives with a host family. Unlike some other players such as Airbnb that deal with the leasing of private homes and spaces, Homestay is keen on hosted accommodation giving its guests a cultural touch.
Key Features:
– More so, associated with the families of the locals.
– Perfect for those visitors planning to traditionally experience the country.
– Affordable and community-focused.
8. Expedia
To know what kind of properties are available for investment or purchase and lease to travelers, let us look at the companies that offer short-term rentals: Expedia is an online travel agency that also employs vacation rentals. Aside from flights and hotels, rental offers on Expedia’s website make it possible to rent homes, apartments, and villas. The consolidation of travel packages (for example flights and hotels) is one of the strongest weapons of Expedia.
Key Features:
– Other services include car rents flight services, and vacation rentals.
– Perfect for arranging packages that include flights as well as hotels.
– Business point reward programs for the users that frequent a particular business.
9. Sonder
Sonder works between the concept of a hotel and fully-qualified apartments for short-term rentals like Airbnb and has stylish and modern rent-apartment in main world cities. They directly oversee your buildings making sure that they provide the neoteric characteristics of a hotel such as tidiness, service provision, and design. Due to this, Sonder is among the best hotels for business persons or anyone who wants repeated similar experience.
Key Features:
– Professionally managed properties.
– Basic and luxury services same as that of the hotels.
– Modern, stylish accommodations.
10. Blueground
Blueground provides fully furnished apartments for mid to long-term purposes, targeting primarily business travelers, work-from-home employees, and relocations. Blueground has apartments located in over 15 prime cities thus offering more stability than other companies that deal with short lets only for a week or days but those tenants seeking accommodation for a month or so on.
Key Features:
– Temporary residential accommodation with all essentials included depending on the number of days a guest will be staying.
– Analyzing opportunities for growth to target the clientèle of business travelers and remote employees.
– Customer satisfaction is rapid, and it is easy to work with them.
Which Platform is Right for You?
When it comes to selecting the best short-term rentals platform, it is based on the user’s travel habits and requirements. In case you are a single tourist looking for cheap accommodations, then Homestay or FlipKey may suit you. For group travelers, Vrbo and Home Away offer huge-sized properties that offer privacy to families and friends. For luxury travelers, Plum Guide and OneFineStay are a perfect choice, while those business travelers doing long-term projects might look for Sonder and Blueground.
There is always a suitable Airbnb marketplace out there depending on one’s preferred travel trends, cost estimate, and the intended travel destination.
