travel
Family Travel: Lodging for Less With Airbnb.com
travel • tips for traveling with children
In 2012, the website Airbnb caused the concept of family travel lodging and hospitality to take on a whole new dimension. No longer are accommodations restricted to corporately-owned hotel chains. Now, individuals can rent cute apartments in the heart of a city. And families can find multiple-room condos with kitchens for less than they'd pay for a suite in a hotel.
Airbnb—named #19 on Fast Company's list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2012—is a rapidly-growing website that connects individuals who have a space to rent with travelers seeking a place to stay. Airbnb started out with people renting out spare rooms in their homes but has since grown to include entire apartments and other types of accommodations. Hosts are generally private individuals who are not professional hoteliers. In July 2012, the company had over 200,000 listings in more than 26,000 cities and present in 192 countries with over 1,000,000 hosts and travelers on its platform.
Airbnb.com: The Perfect Lodging Choice for Family Travel
Airbnb is perfect for family travel. Family travel is longer restricted to expensive hotel rooms. Now your family can rent an entire apartment in the city of your choice for as little as $100 a night. Here are a few places available for rent on the website:
Location: North Lake Tahoe, California Space: Entire Apartment Accomodates: 4 Price: $195/night
Location: Los Angeles, California Space: Entire House Accomodates: 4 Price: $175/night
You can choose the room based on its location, photographs of the home, reviews from past guests, as well as a biography of the family that owns the space.
You also have the option to communicate with the host(s) before booking a room to ensure the apartment is exactly what you need.
7 Perks of Lodging With Airbnb.com
Using Airbnb has its perks and benefits. If you are going to use their services, you can expect:
- Lodging prices can be half the cost of renting a nice hotel or having to get two rooms in a hotel to accommodate a large family.
- Accommodations can be one room or a full apartment/house including kitchen, playroom, backyard, and living room spaces.
- Accommodations can be found right inside any major city, near any attraction, or any place you want to be.
- The website is easy to navigate with filter features that allow you to specifically search for family and kid-friendly accommodations.
- Airbnb.com takes some of the risk out of vacation rentals by holding back payment to the renter until 24 hours after check-in.
- To those who choose to rent their homes through Airbnb, they offer a $50,000 guarantee to secure against the rare event of theft or vandalism.
- A personal connection. If you choose to stay with a host, he or she can give you tips about enjoying the neighborhood and the destination, and perhaps show you some of the local sites.
Traveling with your kids has never been easier, and you no longer need to crowd your whole family into one small hotel room to cut costs. Airbnb has thousands of family-friendly accommodation listings, and makes it easy for families to find these places. If you're also planning to have your own Airbnb, consider hiring expert Airbnb virtual design services to help you create a space that stands out to potential guests. These professionals can assist with staging, interior design, and even optimizing your listing for better visibility and bookings.
You can start planning your family-friendly travel right now by creating a wish list on Airbnb.com.
Happy Travels!
What do you look for in family-friendly accommodations?
Photos courtesy of Flickr (top) and Airbnb.com.
Jocelyn Lieppman
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