Specialty Accommodations

In addition to your standard hotels, there are a ton of specialty accommodations designed to meet specific wants or needs for travelers.  These alternatives provide a unique way of experiencing a destination, and while some of these options might not appeal to you, it will at least show you that there is something for everyone out there.

I’ve already talked about my favorite sites for booking hotels, so this article will present you with different types of specialty accommodations and the best sites to book those types of rooms.

Apartment/Home Rental

• AirBnB – AirBnB’s business model has significantly transformed the way we travel.  Rent out someone’s couch, private room, or entire apartment/house.  This is my personal favorite option for specialty accommodations.  It gives you a whole new perspective of the city you stay in.  You can “live” in a neighborhood that might not have any hotels and feel like a local for a few days.

Vacation Rentals

• HomeAway – This is the site to go to if you’re looking for a vacation rental.  Unlike AirBnB, you won’t be getting just a couch or a private room, you’re only getting someone’s entire house.  Locations include beachfront properties, mountain towns, golf resorts, and even in downtown areas.  In addition, HomeAway owns other well-known vacation rental sites like VRBO and VacationRentals.com, so their inventory is extensive.  One last thing: homeowners have to pay to list their properties on HomeAway, adding an extra layer of assurance that you’re most likely getting a well-kept property.
• FlipKey – FlipKey boasts over 300,000 properties on their website, and since TripAdvisor is their parent company, each property comes with ratings and reviews found on TripAdvisor. It has a great layout and is definitely worth checking out.
• Dwellable – Another solid option for vacation rentals.  Dwellable has a great app, which really helps it to stand on its own.  Interestingly, Dwellable considers their site to be like the Google of vacation rentals.  Basically, they aggregate vacation rentals from across the internet and provide links to the owner’s website…Dwellable even links to properties that are listed on HomeAway.

Boutique Hotels

• Quikbook – If you like boutique hotels (smaller hotels with upscale accommodations), look no further than Quikbook.  One interesting feature of this site is that in addition to normal written reviews, users have the opportunity to upload video reviews of the hotels they stay in, so you actually see what the room or breakfast or gym looks like.
• Kimpton Hotels – This is actually a hotel chain in the US whose portfolio consists of only boutique hotels.  All of its properties reside within the US. The Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG), owners of brands such as InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, and Holiday Inn, bought Kimpton Hotels and the merger was complete in 2015, but Kimpton will keep its name and its unique style of hotel.

Bed and Breakfasts

• Bedandbreakfast.com – This is a very well-known site for booking bed and breakfast accommodations, but did you know that it was also powered by HomeAway?  This site is best used when looking for B&Bs in North America and Europe.  Their “world” selection is pretty weak and reviews are scant and unreliable, so I would use one of the other sites listed here for that purpose.
• BnB Finder – I like this site because it is a great search tool for bed and breakfasts.  The map search tool is particularly helpful.  For each listing, BnB Finder provides a link to the B&B owner website, allows you to save your favorites, and lets you write a review. You can submit a reservation request, but it goes directly to the B&B owner rather than booking directly on the site.

Luxury Accommodations

• Jetsetter – Jetsetter offers flash sales on luxury properties, but the deals usually only last 5-10 days, so if you see something you like you need to act quickly.  To show you how over-the-top Jetsetter is, they label their properties as Royal, Posh, and Brilliant…but with deals of up to 40% off, we’ll overlook the fact that their descriptions could also be the names of Spice Girls. Finally, if you click the link I provided for Jetsetter, you’ll get 5% off your booking and I also get 5% of the booking price. Sounds like a win-win to me!
• Kiwi Collection – Another good site for luxury hotels.  An added perk for this site is that when you book one of the Visa Luxury Hotel Collection properties using a Visa Premium card (Visa Signature, Infinite, and some Platinum/Gold cards), you get special perks such as: best available rate guarantee, free wi-fi when available, automatic room upgrade upon arrival when available, complimentary continental breakfast daily, $25USD food/beverage credit, VIP guest status, and 3PM checkout upon request when available.
• Other sites such as Secret Escapes, Splendia, and Voyage Prive all offer flash sales of luxury hotels, so if you don’t see anything you like on Jetsetter, check out one of these.  In each case you’ll have to sign up (for free) by entering your email address before you can book a property.

Hostels

• I’ve never stayed in a hostel because it has never really appealed to me.  However, that shouldn’t stop you from trying it.  It can be a good way to meet people, most will offer or set up things for you to do in the local area, and probably most appealing is they are so cheap.  Since I’ve never stayed in one, I’ve never had reason to book one, but after investigating the big 3 hostel websites, my favorites in this order are:  Hostel Bookers, Hostel World, Hostels.com.

Hospitality Exchange

• Couchsurfing – With over 10 million members, Couchsurfing is a worldwide phenomenon.  You create a profile, search for potential hosts, send a Couchrequest to a potential host, and the host will check your profile to include what other people have said about you, and either accept or reject your request.  For the guest, it’s a free stay and a chance to hang out with locals and see/do things you might not have known about.  For the host, it’s a way to meet people from all over the world and really show them your city.  Typically, guests will also be hosts, which is why it’s considered a hospitality exchange.
• WWOOF – Also known as World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, this is a different type of exchange.  As stated on their website, “In return for volunteer help, WWOOF hosts offer food, accommodation and opportunities to learn about organic lifestyles.” In other words, you work for 5-6 hours a day, usually on a farm or in a garden setting, and you get free meals and a place to sleep.  Many countries have established WWOOF procedures so be sure to check the requirements for the country you’re interested in, to include whether or not you’ll need a work visa.

Home Exchange

• The basic premise of a home exchange is that you find another family willing to swap houses during each others vacation.  There are quite a few websites that facilitate such a transaction, and most are set up the same way: you sign up and for a monthly or annual fee you list your property, send & receive messages to/from potential home exchange partners, and then come to an agreement with another family to exchange homes during your vacations. These sites include HomeExchange, Intervac, Love Home Swap, HomeLink, and Knok.  Things to compare between these sites include pricing options, inventory, destinations, insurance options, and whether or not cars and pets are part of the overall home exchange.

So how did I do?  Did I mention your favorite website?  Did I miss your favorite website or even favorite type of specialty accommodation?  Have you ever stayed in an exotic accommodation like a tree house, yurt, igloo, or ice hotel?  Let everyone know in the comments!