You've been reading my blog and have now decided that you want to live in Brisbane, Australia. I know, it's pretty awesome, right?! Or maybe you've decided you just want to travel the world more. Luckily, AirBnB has made this easier than ever. The company started in San Fransisco but now has rooms ALL over the world. It crowd sources spare rooms in people's homes and makes it easy for visitors or vacationers to find and rent a room for a weekend, a week, or a whole month! We used it to find two great places to stay for a week at a time here in Brisbane, and one of them ended up letting us do a long-term stay for the five months we're here in an area where we were having a VERY difficult time finding a place to rent! It was a win-win for us and the property owner because she got great flat-mates to share dinners with and we got a place to stay in the middle of everything!
We're also using AirBnB for our summer stay in London when it's close to the Olympic Games and hotels have raised rates and overbooked. We've also reserved a room in Iceland, where we don't really know anyone, but want to stay for a couple nights. After Christmas we'll be renting an entire home in Puerto Rico so we can spend a whole week together with the rest of my family in a different place.
Sharing a room in someone's home is so much more adventurous and cozy than a sterile hotel room. Granted, if you're a control freak and want starched white bleached sheets and a spotless bathroom, you really should just stay in a hotel. However, if what you want is a look inside another culture, the best insider tips on great cafes and restaurants, or even someone you might be able to take an adventure with, than you'll LOVE AirBnB.com!
I think this little video really sums up the experiences I've had while traveling and staying in AirBnB homes...
*The following giveaway ended on:
March 17, 2012
Better luck next time!*
BLOG READER GIVEAWAY!!
- Think of a place you've always wanted to go.
- Search AirBnB.com for a place you'd love to stay in.
- Post a comment here on my blog about why you want to go there and include a link to the AirBnB.com place you'd stay in.
- One awesome blog reader will win $20 to be used as "get out and have fun money"!
- Don't forget to include your email in the comment if you want to win the giveaway!
- Deadline is Friday, March 16th
Full disclosure: If you actually book a room, Alex and I get a little extra AirBnB credit for our travels when you use this AirBnB referral link. However, you do not need to create an account in order to search the service and enter the giveaway, but I think you'll find vacation room shopping to be very addicting!
I Love Airbnb.com - We're staying for four nights in a mountain home in Asheville, North Carolina soon. We would have been in a plain-jane hotel but for seeing you and others that we trust using and recommending Airbnb.com. Now, we'll have the whole first floor of a home, with a wide porch that has views of the Smokey Mountains to the east. Sunrise over the mountains every morning! Also, the kitchenette is stocked with breakfast foods! What more could you ask for.
ReplyDeleteNext we'll be heading to Madison, Wisconsin to visit a newborn great niece soon. I'm just now looking up places to stay there. So much better than a hotel, and helps the locals, and they help us finding the best places of interest.
FYI - We're staying here http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/77123 near Asheville, North Carolina.
ReplyDeleteMatt@mattpenning.com
HI Anne,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the awesome post on AirBNB.com I love this site. I have always wanted to go to Kiev, Ukraine because it is where my grandparents are from. one day I plan to go there and research my roots and soak in all the Ukrainian culture. I have even started to learn Ukrainian in hope that I can speak it well enough when I one day visit.
If I had a lot of money I would stay here: http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/320187
But I would most likely stay here: http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/179889
My fall vacation to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.airbnb.com/rooms/63429.
sea, peace, history, and maybe a visit with my daughter and son in law on the way there or back.
looking forward to West End, Brisbane and Loquillo, Puerto Rico--already booked on AirBnB!
Matt, Erika, & Anonymous - thank you so much for sharing your favorite places to travel and stay!! Looks like the odds were really good for each of you based on the number of comments!! HA!!
ReplyDeleteWINNER ANNOUNCEMENT:
By random drawing, I'll be sending Erika & Ryan a lovely gift of $20 to go out and have fun with!! I'll hope to connect via paypal with the link on your names. ;-)