Over the last few years, the travel sharing economy has received a great deal of attention, making the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) marketplace more prominent. In the travel industry, P2P travel accommodation businesses are particularly soaring. More and more travellers are opting to rent private rooms or entire homes or partake in exchange visits, instead of staying in hotels, thus promoting the ‘living like a local’ trend. Removing the middleman also speeds up the process of securing accommodation and will probably do so at a relatively cheaper cost (no agent fees).
Websites like Airbnb and Couchsurfing have successfully made names for themselves in the P2P travel market but they aren’t the only players out there. There are a number of websites following in their footsteps. Here are a few other options for accommodation as collated by Travlpeer:
For Rent:
1. Flipkey
Flipkey is owned by TripAdvisor and powers its vacation rental feature. It includes a strong presence of vacation homes and maybe less urban locations than Airbnb. Listings are managed by property managers as well as directly by owners. It recently announced reaching 300,000 listings in 179 countries.
2. HomeAway
Initially focused on second homes managed by property managers, it has grown to include some urban accommodations and such managed by owners directly. The platform is for renting entire properties and tends to be used for longer stays. HomeAway is part of a larger portfolio of websites owned by HomeAway Inc. It has more than 600,000 listings and it partners with Expedia to promote them.
3. VRBO
VRBO stands for “vacation rental by owner”. As its name implies, it was founded by vacation rental owners to advertise their properties. VRBO was later acquired by HomeAway Inc. and now operates in a similar way as Homeaway.com.
4. Wimdu
A Berlin-based startup for rooms, apartments or entire houses. Wimdu is active mainly in Europe as well as in Asia, North and South America.
5. 9Flats
Another startup based in Germany. Operating out of Hamburg, 9Flats competes with Wimdu, Airbnb and the likes. The platform has about 120,000 listings worldwide.
6. Accommodation.co.uk
Accommodation.co.uk is a lettings portal & app with rooms and houses to rent throughout the UK.
For Free:
7. HomeExchange
One of the world’s biggest home swapping platforms. You pay a small monthly membership fee and get access to 50,000+ listings in 150 countries. If there isn’t a good swapping match, you can find accommodations for rent at a reduced price. See HomeExchange
8. LoveHomeSwap
A rival of HomeExchange based in London. You can list your home for free at LoveHomeSwap. The platform has over 54,000 homes in 160 countries, both free swaps and rentals.
9. GuesttoGuest
Another social network where members exchange homes while on vacation. You stay at other people’s homes while they stay at yours. Exchanges are free and paid services are optional. Based in France, GuesttoGuest was launched by several families around Europe and the U.S.
10. Knok
Knok was built as the first home exchange travel network especially for families with young kids. Visitors get recommendations for local activities that children love, and are automatically connected to trusted local babysitters if interested. Knok has over 1,000 destinations, mostly focused on the U.S. and Europe.
11. MyTwinPlace
Another home swapping platform. It offers accommodations in thousands of cities in more than 140 countries. It operates as a global community of vacation home owners who exchange nights. You host travellers when your house is available in return for free nights when you travel anywhere in the world. Visit MyTwinPlace.
Read the full article at: 15 websites for peer-to-peer travel accommodation
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