Best 8 Apps like Airbnb To Book Holiday Homes

Airbnb was once the sole option for finding accommodation for vacations and experiencing authentic local experiences while you travel. It is no doubt that the present, it's one of the most popular, largest holiday rental sites available. However, they are not the only ones on the table.

If the thought of living in a cozy, luxurious multi-bedroom or chic city home while holidaying is infinitely more appealing than a standard hotel, it’s likely that you've already got Airbnb on your list and are available to explore any occasion that you're in the mood for wanderlust. It's not the only way to book unconventional accommodations. Many rental apps such as Airbnb provide all kinds of travel, no matter if you're traveling to a large city or looking to get far from the beaten path.

It's not difficult to see how Airbnb created a significant disruption in tourism. The peer-to-peer marketplace has broadened our options for accommodations that fit our budgets and personal preferences.

However, like every other website that is a third party, Airbnb app is far from flawless when it comes to reservations, reliability, and security. In this regard, looking at other vacation rental services is worth your time.

How the Travel Industry Has Been Affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Although several industries have been spared the effects of the COVID-19 virus, fewer have been as severely impacted as the tourism industry. When 2021 ended with significant travel restrictions, the effect of World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) announced that international tourism arrivals were up only 4 percent over the year but were still 72 percent lower than the levels of 2019. This amounts to over 1 billion fewer international visitors compared with pre-pandemic numbers, keeping the tourism industry at levels last seen in the late 1980s.

Before the coronavirus outbreak, the global tourism industry was experiencing steady growth for years. Since 1980, the number of international tourists soared from 277 million in 1980 to 1.5 billion in 2019. The two most significant crises in the last few years, the SARS epidemic in 2003 and the financial meltdown, were minor bumps on the road compared to the COVID-19 epidemic.

• The monthly number of air passengers arriving in the UK decreased from 6,804,900 in February 2020 to 11,300 in April 2020, a decrease of 98.3 percent.

• Greater London saw the largest drop in room occupancy among any English region between 2019 and 2020, with only twenty percent of its rooms booked in July 2020, compared to 90% of rooms in the same month of 2019.

• Travel and accommodation businesses have seen the biggest drop in turnover in the lockdown's first phase, which dropped to 9.3% of their February level in May 2020.

• The share of businesses operating in the tourism and travel industries topped 85 percent in October 2020. It then fell due to restrictions on travel in November.

• For the period from June 2019 leading up to June 2020, the number of people employed in the field of accommodation for visitors dropped by 21.5 percent when compared with the same period in 2019.

• In the tourism and travel industries worldwide, the number of those aged between 16 and 24 years was the highest reduction in the number of jobs for any age group between the quarter of 3 (July to September) 2019 and the quarter ending 3 2020.

What is Airbnb?

Airbnb is an international platform focused on improving travelers' experience. Airbnb is a traveler's marketplace that allows them to find and book incredible accommodations across the world online using their smartphones or tablets.

Airbnb is not restricted to making reservations for rooms. Users can also reserve a suite, an entire apartment, a yacht, or even houseboats.

Airbnb is an online peer-to-peer marketplace that allows people to sign up or lease long or short-term stays in their residence. This means that Airbnb is a broker that assists individuals in leasing any accommodation for those looking to rent it on a private basis.

As of now, Airbnb has expanded to about 192 countries. The list includes 3000 lodgings or accommodations in over 65000 cities. Anyone looking to rent a room, an apartment, a villa or even the entire house can do it on Airbnb.

How Does Airbnb Work?

It's an online travel application that lets users book accommodations, purchase tickets, book accommodations, and compare prices online. This is why the app is expanding rapidly. Looking at the stats and growth of the global Airbnb, we see that approximately 5.6 million listings are active worldwide. Additionally, in more than 100,000 cities, Airbnb operates.

Property owners can advertise their properties and apartments for tourists or travelers to rent. You can search for the location and homestay services on the Airbnb app and book the accommodation and place on the internet. The app lists users' required bedrooms and other information with filters through trusting each other and building a strong community between owners and travelers. This will help you get high reviews and ratings. It also helps to review one another.

Top Airbnb Alternatives to Book Holiday Homes

Are you planning to travel and looking for apps like Airbnb to rent space? You've come to the right website, My dear friend. Since the COVID restrictions were lifted, everybody wants to travel. But, finding a place that is suitable for your needs is a challenge. This is why apps such as Airbnb can be helpful. They allow you to rent out vacation homes that meet your needs.

Booking.com

In 1996, the company was founded. Booking.com is among the most prominent travel websites. It offers more than 28 million listings, accommodations, and hotels across 120,000 locations worldwide. Unlike similar apps, such as Airbnb, which mainly offers holiday rentals, Booking.com offers various services.

Users can make reservations for stays in flights, hotels, car rentals, city tours, and airport taxis. Combination of flight tickets as well as hotels and more. So whether you're searching for an affordable leisure trip that includes spot-on service or a relaxing stay at an apartment rental for your vacation, booking.com has you covered. Like all Airbnb options, this site lets you list your home for free.

Want More Information About Our Services? Talk to Our Consultants!

HomeAway

Suppose you're searching for an entire house you can rent for a brief period. In that case, HomeAway provides rentals in over 190 countries across the globe. Follow these easy steps to locate the perfect vacation house. First, enter the city, state or country you want to visit. Enter your travel dates to see if a car renting option is in place. Use filters or maps to narrow the results.

You can add vacation rentals to your preferred list, monitor messages to and from homeowners, and organize all your booking details in one place using your no-cost HomeAway account.

Sharing these gorgeous rental homes with noisy neighbors or curious owners is unnecessary. The beauty of HomeAway lies in the fact that it allows you to have the entire property entirely on your own. It's like having an apartment that is your own home away from home.

Outdoorsy

This is the perfect app if you've ever wanted to live in an RV. Outdoorsy is now on the list of applications similar to Airbnb because of the identical but different approach it provides. Through Outdoorsy, you can lease an RV or caravan instead of villas, rooms or other accommodations. You can get the opportunity to stay in a room with your wheels! So, Outdoorsy solves two issues that you face: traveling and staying. 

You can rent these spacious caravans to travel to the next destination with your loved ones or family.

For caravan owners, Outdoorsy provides a simple method of registering your caravan. It's a plus that registration is free.

Vrbo

Vrbo can be described as the more sophisticated older sister of Airbnb. There are more refined listings of vacation homes on Vrbo because the owners and hosts tend to be professional and make a living from listing. If you're seeking an upper standard of accommodation, Vrbo is the best option.

Vrbo (an acronym for Vacation Rentals By Owner) is another good alternative to Airbnb. It's a lot like Airbnb. However, the primary difference is the properties available.

Vrbo has approximately 2 million homes for rent across the globe. One factor that makes it different is the number of homes. Most of the homes listed on Vrbo are larger and have backyards. That means Vrbo is better than Airbnb as a booking platform for those in a large group or with a family with kids.

Like many of these booking websites, Vrbo has its integrated review system. The owners aren't able to remove negative reviews, so you're guaranteed that reviews will inform you if there's any issue with the property.

Sonder

Sonder is a different great Airbnb alternative that has decided to turn the home-sharing and hospitality industry on its head with its unique take on vacation homes for rent and also provide quality hotel-like services without the hassle or shakiness of home-sharing.

What is what makes Sonder different is the fact that they manage more than 4,500 properties across more than 30 cities across the globe. You're guaranteed to enjoy consistent satisfaction throughout your stay at Sonder.

With their state-of-the-art technology, which allows you to access assistance via your phone and the emphasis on providing a simple and contemporary space for short-term and long-term stay, It's hard to get anything else as good as it.

TripAdvisor Rentals

It was founded in 2000. TripAdvisor was an online travel agency that allowed its customers to create reservations online for hotel and reservations for transportation and travel experiences and many more. It's very similar to booking.com regarding the services that are offered. To keep up with the growing trend of holiday homes and the decreasing hotel demand, the company decided to offer a separate service called TripAdvisor Vacation Rentals.

You have to pick your preferred location, check-in time, and check-out time then it's done! There are the most luxurious spaces accessible that provide exceptional service and the privacy you deserve.

Flipkey

There is a chance that you may or not be familiar with Flipkey However, you've most likely had the pleasure of hearing about TripAdvisor, which owns the company. Similar to Airbnb, Flipkey provides property listings that are of various kinds. However, fewer cities and properties are available, which is the case for most apps similar to Airbnb. Another significant difference is that Flipkey does not offer dormitories. No hostels or communes are on this site, and it's not always budget-friendly.

The FlipKey website Flipkey offers quite a clever search filter. They've got the answer if you're searching for something specific, like a home with a view of the ocean or mountains in the vicinity. Suppose your four-legged companion is accompanying you on your journeys. In that case, You can also search for accommodations with pet-friendly amenities.

Property owners who want to register with Flipkey are a significant benefit. After registration, the property will show on your TripAdvisor Search Engine, making sure that your property receives all the exposure it requires.

VILLASdirect

A lot more efficient and professional than other vacation rental companies, VILLASdirect is an excellent location to locate properties tailored to a person's needs. The great thing about it is that they're not part of any larger group, so their listings are typically distinctive. If you're looking for a wide range of unique options that you won't get elsewhere, VILLASdirect fits the bill.

However, the way that the application works differs from other apps that are on the list. The properties are rented through management companies, not the owners, to ensure higher quality and services. There is also no cost to book when you book a property through VILLASdirect. That's an enormous benefit for any tourist.

Homeowners can still have their homes registered here. However, not directly. They typically work with a middleman company that helps to move the process up. However, the owners must pay a commission for each successful booking.

Plum Guide

Plum Guide is a London-based company that launched its services in 2016. Its website currently has more than 10,000 vacation rental and apartment homes. It has many properties in major international cities such as Los Angeles, London, Rome and Paris. It is, however, expanding its offerings to other cities and includes properties in rural and smaller town regions.

It is similar to Airbnb in that Plum Guide is similar to Airbnb in that it's an online peer-to-peer rental site. However, the company is more selective in the properties listed in the Plum Guide. Staff members are sent to visit hosts and assess every property using an assessment checklist to determine whether it's a good choice.

The company's goal is to contain the most well-known and rated properties and market itself to a sophisticated traveler who doesn't need to browse through a wide variety of listings to find the perfect spot.

In contrast to most peer-to-peer rental sites, Plum Guide does not provide guest reviews for properties on their site because they feel that peer reviews are flawed.

Core Features of Travel Apps Similar to Airbnb

It's generally recommended to be aware of the key aspects of apps like Airbnb before deciding on the amount it would cost to develop an app similar to Airbnb. Each guest and host have distinctive features.

Similar for Guests and Hosts

• Log in/Sign up via social networks or by email

• Settings like notification settings, alter the email address or password

• Profile (personal details)

• The Notification System and the Panel

• User-friendly dashboard.

Extra Features Only Available to guests

• Control your Profile (Personal Information)

• Explore for properties

• Check these listings

• Make and receive messages and messages to communicate

• New claims can be made

• Accept and decline Offers

• Manage and view the bookings

• Leave reviews and rate hosts.

• Manage payments and review the history of transactions

Extra Features Available to Hosts

• Create a page for yourself to be a host

• Information on the Manage Page

• List (information like photos, details, prices, details, and schedule)

• Send messages to guests regarding their reservation

• Accept or decline bookings

• Check out the past and update the details of your booking

• Write and rate reviews for guests

Want More Information About Our Services? Talk to Our Consultants!

The Key Takeaway

Although Airbnb will likely be the most popular vacation rental company for a while, it is prudent to be on the lookout for the services listed here since nothing can be set in stone in the ever-changing and fast-paced web of services and apps.

In the end, it's all about your tastes and preferences and the destination you're going to. Consider Vrbo and Vacasa when looking for top accommodations to accommodate larger groups. If you're looking for Airbnb like apps, Booking.com, Agoda, and Tripadvisor Rentals could be suitable choices.

Airbnb is the undisputed leader in sharing economy accommodations. These are only one of the many Airbnb alternative sites available. They all have similar features, while others offer special services. However, they all are looking to get a piece of this pie Airbnb has made.