This treetop cabin in Italy is just £88 a night
One of my least favourite parts of planning a trip has always been trying to find somewhere to stay. Gareth and I are not ones for package deals for breaks away, and often our, er, 'creative' budgets have resulted in us staying in some absolute stinkers of places. There was the time in London, where a £95 a night room in a hotel ended up being the converted house down the road, in the front room no less .... We had to leave the TV on in a hope it would discourage burglars! Then there was the hostel in Amsterdam.... The trip advisor reviews I read when booking were OK (people only write on these things when they have something bad to say, right!?) but 2 days before we were due to fly we stumbled across more recent reviews that indicated we'd probably need several rounds of vaccinations if we stayed there. Granted, we've also had some absolute gems in our time as well... the 5* hotel we got the entire stay including flights for the same price as a regular nights' stay (thanks lastminute.com!) and the Bristol trip where a Hilton stay was cheaper than a Travelodge spring to mind. But more often than not, finding good hotels is a costly experience - in both time and money.
Fancy staying in a castle in Ireland? £88 a night
So when I stumbled across AirBnB, well I got excited! AirBnB allows you to rent a bed, a room or a whole apartment from individuals - previous visitors will leave detailed feedback, and AirBnB act as a middleman between the visitor and host with regards to payment and security deposit, and if there are any issues other party needs to arise them itching 48 hours of arriving at their destination and AirBnB have the final say in all disputes. What's more, finding somewhere to stay via AirBnB is up to 45% cheaper than hotel rates! (this statistic is based across the US, but in my experience applies worldwide.)
What about a room in a Spanish Earth House? Just £22 a night!
That's another thing - AirBnB is worldwide, so there are seriously amazing places up for grabs. Cabin in the woods, anyone? Slick New York apartment? A cave house in Spain for under £30 a night?! Sounds too good to be true! Well AirBnB will even send in their own photographers so you know that what you're seeing in the pictures is for real legit.I actually can't see us staying in a hotel for a short break or holidays away again. In both places we have stayed, in London and Prague, the attention to detail from the hosts has been impeccable; iPhone docks and a binder full of recommendations for takeaways, taxis and local restaurants, complimentary bubbly and chocolates and arranging our airport transfers.
So, where will your wanderlust take you? Have you stayed in an AirBnB property before?
I LOVE AIRBNB omg i have just booked my whole 3 weeks in spain through it, 30 pounds a night in an amazing apartment in Barcelona then the same in Girona in a medieval loft house, the best website for sure. Do you have the link for the last one? it doesn't seem to work but would love to see it x
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