Types of accommodation

  Essentials

• Lodging for every style & budget — There are types of accommodation to serve every comfort level and budget. Hotels are far from the only option and often not the best one. Widening your options can save a lot of money and often provide a better experience.
• …except in the smallest places or most costly cities — Most destinations have a variety of lodging for you to choose from. Only the smallest or most remote locations have just one place to stay. At the other extreme, it can be a challenge to find reasonably-priced good quality lodging in many of the world’s major cities. If the price is good, the quality is dreadful or you’re far away from the city’s attractions.
• Commercial lodges — These are businesses, including hotels, bed & breakfasts, guesthouses, inns, hostels, resorts and public businesses that go by a variety of other names. 
• Private rentals — These are not formal businesses and include apartments, condos, houses, vacation homes and others. 
• Social exchanges — These are non-commercial places where your stay is arranged through a social exchange. Your stay usually involves a relationship with your host or host family. They include homestays (and farmstays), home exchanges, house sitting, couch surfing and staying with friends or relatives.
• Camping & casual sleeping — You can choose to camp in the great outdoors, which is good for saving money but far from urban activities. Or you might find yourself marooned in an airport, railway station or bus station. If you’re really unlucky or unwise, you could be stuck out in the open. 
• Institutional lodging — These are not in the hospitality industry but offer lodging anyway. The best known is the worldwide network of YMCAs and YWCAs. Also in this group are universities and colleges that rent out student housing when the academic year is not in session and a few religious institutions that take visitors without a requirement for religious practice. 

When thinking of where to stay in a new destination, many travelers default to a hotel and never consider the many options.

• Save money on the room — The obvious benefit of a longer accommodation menu is saving money. Hotels are usually among the more costly choices, while hostels are often the cheapest. There are many options in between. As a general rule, smaller is cheaper: a small hotel will be cheaper than a big hotel.
• But don’t assume what’s cheapest —It’s worthwhile to do a general check to understand pricing on different types of accommodation for a country. In northern Europe, for example, hostels are still pretty costly. Private rentals can be cheaper per night. 
• Save a lot by staying a long time — You can negotiate a big discount if you plan to stay longer than the typical guest. This is especially true of private rentals for a month or more.
• Save money on food — Hotels rarely have kitchen facilities for the guests. Private rentals and many hostels do. You can save money by preparing at least some of your own food. Since you have much better control of what you eat, you will eat healthier this way, too.
• Manage dietary restrictions — If you have dietary restrictions (kosher, halal, vegetarian, vegan, celiac intolerance, nut allergies and more), the ability to prepare your own food might be worth the extra expense of cooking facilities.
• Find better locations — Especially if a destination is crowded and the hotels are filling up, you could still find a place near your activities if you broaden your menu to include other types of accommodation.
• Calibrate social contact — Hotels are impersonal by design. You have your room and the staff mostly leaves you alone. That’s perfect for some travelers. But in other types of accommodation, notably B&Bs and guest houses, you will usually have more interaction with the owner or other staff people. Hostels encourage interaction among the guests. The opportunity for more social contact can provide much more local insight and other benefits, especially for solo travelers.

The Online Travel Agents (OTAs) use all sorts of names for the various types of lodge, based on what the lodges call themselves. And there is plenty of confusion and overlap, especially among commercial lodges: hotels that call themselves inns, backpacker hotels that call themselves hostels, guesthouses that call themselves homestays and so on.

What about villas, chalets, lodges, pensions etc.? These are just variations on the categories below. Distinctions are mainly for marketing purposes.

OTAs abound for every type of lodge. Some specialist types of accommodation have but a handful of matching specialist sites that cater only to them, while hotels have hundreds of OTAs clawing each other for your business.

Regardless of where you find a listing, read carefully to understand what type if accommodation is on offer and what the deal is. Sometimes reviews are the only way to tell.

Commercial lodges

Hotels

Of all the types of accommodation, hotels are by far the most common and offer the widest range of quality and price. They are usually larger buildings, even skyscrapers or giant complexes, but can be almost any form that contains more than about 6 guest rooms and provides at least a few services. Lots of smaller places call themselves “hotels” even when they would more appropriately be called “guesthouses” or “inns.”

Pros

• Location — A major selling point for hotels is their situation in city and town centers, near transport hubs and along major roads. They’re easy to find — any taxi driver or bus conductor will know. Location near to your activities or public transportation is a good reason to consider using one.
• Opening hours — A hotel should be open 24/7, so they’re a fitting choice when you’re arriving or leaving in the middle of the night.
• Services — Hotels offer not just rooms but a menu of services that may include a restaurant, concierge, travel booking office, bar or lounge, pool, fitness center, salon, spa, room service, transport service, luggage storage and more. The number of services relates closely to the size of the hotel, but service quality relates closely to the price. Budget hotels may have hardly any services at all, perhaps just the rooms and a limited breakfast. You might choose a hotel, even at a slightly greater cost than your usual room budget, because you want to use a specific service, such as an airport shuttle.
• Room options — Hotels usually offer a range of room sizes, classes and amenities. If you find the room you booked is too small, too hot, or too close to a noisy street, ask if you can change your room to another of the same class or upgrade to a better class. On TripAdvisor reviews there’s a special part of reviews for room preferences in a lodge. 
• Privacy — Hotels are impersonal compared to smaller or informal lodges. If you just want to be left alone, a hotel is better.   

Cons

• Price — The convenience of location and services comes at a cost. Only pay the premium if you need the location and/or services. A modest requirement for services may be met by a lower priced hotel or a guesthouse, B&B or other type of lodge. “Backpacker hotels” can compete with hostels and other low-end accommodation.
• Ambience — For the same reason that privacy is a benefit, hotels can seem impersonal, boring and lacking in genuine local color. If you’re looking for a social setting, hotels are not your best bet.

Bed & Breakfasts

Bed & Breakfasts are mostly converted houses, offering either a 
private suite or a bedroom, which will often come with a private bathroom. They’re moderately social in that you will meet your host and other guests, at least over breakfast. B&Bs are regulated businesses, not private rentals (below).

Pros

• Breakfast — Breakfasts can be basic, but are often sumptuous. They are also an opportunity to meet the other guests or the owner.
• Local knowledge — The owner almost always lives on the premises, but is not on call 24 hours. He or she should be able to answer most of your questions about the locality and transport.
• Quiet — B&B’s are usually in residential neighborhoods.
• Price — B&Bs are generally cheaper than more formal accommodations, although there is a trend to boutique high-end B&Bs that can cost as much or more than local hotels.

Cons

• Location — Since they’re often located in residential neighborhoods, they could be far from your activities or transport hubs. If you factor in the time and expense of getting around, the savings might not be so attractive.
• Privacy — While not true of all B&Bs, in some you will find the owner hanging around a lot. That may be fine with you, depending upon whether the owner is being helpful or intrusive. Check the reviews.

Guesthouses

A guesthouse is usually a smaller building or compound, sometimes a converted house. Many guesthouses are indistinguishable from B&Bs, while, in some countries, small family-run hotels also call themselves guesthouses. Even a set of beach bungalows or a hostel can call itself a guesthouse.

It’s therefore important to read the description and reviews to find out what the guesthouse really is.

Pros

• Location — Guesthouses are usually located on secondary commercial or residential streets, removed from the bustle and noise.
• Price — Cheaper than all but the most basic hotels.
• Food — A guesthouse may or may not include breakfast in the price. Predictably, quality varies.
• Services — Selection of services varies — some are posh and some basic — but you may be able to save by finding a guesthouse that barely meets your comfort level requirement for amenities.
• Ambience — Guesthouses can be quirky and personalized by the owners. Some have a garden or grounds.

Cons

• Location — Some are located far from your activities and/or not near convenient transportation.
• Mislabeling — There’s no consistent definition of a “guesthouse,” so you have to find out about each one.

Inns

An inn is traditionally a small to mid-sized lodge, often in a non-
urban setting. In country towns, villages and rural locations, a true inn might be the best (or only) thing going, so they usually have a restaurant and maybe a pub.

Pros

• Ambience — Some inns are loaded with local character. Booking site user comments are where you can find out about what makes an inn special.
• Price — Inns are usually cheaper than hotels.

Cons

• Services — Many inns offer only basic services.
• Mislabeling — Many smaller hotels, guesthouses and (in North America) motels also call themselves “inns” when they’re not. Doing online search, you can see pretty quickly what the lodge really is.

Hostels

Long considered the only cheap way to travel in rich countries, hostels are now facing more competition. The shabby “youth hostel” of yore is mostly history. But, just as in the old days, hostels offer a purposely sociable environment, where guests typically sleep in dormitories and share bathrooms, common spaces and sometimes kitchens. Private rooms are increasingly available, although they may not have private bathrooms. Favored by backpackers, hostels are even labeled “backpackers” in some countries. While the majority of guests are still young backpackers, there’s no prohibition against anyone using a hostel. Only a few have age restrictions.

Pros

• Price — Hostels charge by the person, even for private rooms, but are generally cheaper than other types of accommodation in a district. Travelers should check whether nearby budget hotels and guesthouses are competitively priced relative to private rooms at a hostel. In Western Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, hostels are the default choice for budget travelers who otherwise could not afford to travel in these countries.
• Location — Many hostels are very well located, in city centers and near popular activities, where they are often the lowest-cost option.
• Self-catering facilities — Many hostels provide kitchen facilities, so you can save money by cooking your own food. Equipment and hygiene varies wildly.
• Hostelling International benefits — If using hostels extensively, it may be worth joining Hostelling International (HI), which provides discounts on prices and preferential access if there is a shortage of beds. HI hostels are also used more by older travelers.
• Sociable — Hostels are social places, where you meet other travelers. This is a great way to get current information on the destination and nearby places. You might even find a travel buddy.

Cons

• Privacy — Most rooms are dormitory type (single sex or mixed) with shared bathroom.
• Security — While better hostel dorm rooms have lockers to secure your stuff, they’re not as safe as a private room. Don’t stay in a hostel that doesn’t have secure storage. A hostel dorm is not the place to pull out that fancy laptop or other valuable item that everyone knows will spend the day in your locker.
• Bathrooms — Shared bathrooms can get pretty nasty. If hair in the sink and splatters on the toilet bother you, you might consider paying extra for a room with a private bathroom (where available).
• Restrictions — Some hostels, especially those run by religious organizations, may have restrictive rules, including daytime closure, alcohol prohibitions and curfews. And some really do restrict the maximum age of guests. 
• Noise and disruption — “Social” also means that some hostels (private hostels more than HI ones) are party places. A good night’s sleep may be hard to get.
• Amenities — Many hostels do not supply towels and some don’t even supply sheets for the beds. Bring your own towel and sleeping sheet.
• Guide book recommendation — Any hostel that gets a recommendation, especially in Lonely Planet, will likely see a big increase in traffic. The hostel may then raise its rates.
• Private room pricing — Pricing for dorm beds is per person. Make sure that when you book a private room, you understand whether the rate is for the room or per person. 
• Stay limits — During high season, there may be limits on how many nights you can stay.

If the hostel you’re considering has too many Cons, consider a small, locally-owned hotel or guest house in a good location. They’re often competitively priced with hostels.

Online resources: Hostels

Hostel membership sites

Get a membership to take advantage of discounts:

• Hosteling International

There are national and even local affiliates:

• HIUSA
• HI Canada
• YHA UK
• YHA Australia
• YHA New Zealand
• Japan Youth Hostels

… for others, search “hostels” + “name of country” or “hostels” + “name of city”.

Booking sites

Even hostels now have an aggregator that collects information from other hostel OTAs:

• Hostelz,com — This is a specialist aggregator for hostels and budget hotels. It scrapes all the major hosteling OTAs.
• TripAdvisor.com — Yes, TA has a huge inventory of hostels. On a test for hostels in Siem Reap, Cambodia, TA had twice the number of hostels listed on Hostelz.com and included every one that Hostelz.com had.

All of these hostel booking sites are owned by the same company:

• hostelbookers 
• hostelworld 
• hostels.com —
• hostelclub.com
• hosteltraveler.com

 

Resorts

Resorts are larger facilities, usually found in recreational locations
such as a beach, ski area or casino strip. By offering a wide array of services — some claim to be “all inclusive” — they try to capture a large portion of guests’ total spend.

Pros

• Services — Resorts offer many services to guests, including food, recreation, entertainment, spas and more.
• Rest and recovery break — If you’ve been traveling fast and near to the lower limit of your comfort level, or if you or your companion is ill or burned-out, a resort may offer a few soft days to recover. You can lounge in private facilities without getting pestered by anyone.

Cons

• Prices — Off-season deals may be attractive, but regular prices can be high. There’s usually a nearby alternative, allowing you to save on accommodation while having the same experiences as resort guests (unless the activities or facilities are entirely private).
• Tourists — Resorts are favored by short-term vacationers, many of whom buy inclusive packages and spend their entire vacation at the resort and environs.
• Limited exposure to the destination and people — Many resorts, especially in low-income countries, attempt to minimize guests’ exposure to local people and culture — it’s possible to spend a couple of weeks at a resort and encounter no local people except resort staff. Some resorts try to create atmosphere by presenting an idealized and sanitized local culture.

Motels (motor inns)

In countries like the US, Canada and Australia, where distances are 
vast and public transport limited, many people travel by private vehicle. Motels are lodges located along the highways and often on the outskirts of cities to serve these vehicular travelers. They always have plentiful free parking. In the classic motel design, guest rooms all have exterior doors on to the parking lot, while modern designs are more like hotels, with a lobby and room doors opening on to interior corridors.

In Asia, a “motel” is a specialist hotel, selling by-the-hour rooms for sexual encounters.

Pros

• Price — Cheaper than hotels.
• Services — The service menu is usually quite limited, always including private bath and cable or satellite TV. Some motels offer in-room cooking facilities or a modest breakfast. The limited services help to keep costs and prices down.
• Location — Motels are always located right beside a highway or off a highway interchange, perfect for a one-night stay.

Cons

• Location — If you have activities in a large city, chances are your motel will be quite far. They are therefore inconvenient for stays of more than a night or two when you have activities in the city. Since city center lodges don’t have plentiful free parking (paid parking can be quite expensive), vehicular travelers should look for motels closer to the center, although they are likely to be smaller and older.
• Services — If you need more services, such as a restaurant, bar, room service, fitness center or salon, you’re not likely to find them at a motel. There’s usually an uninspiring restaurant nearby and the motel will usually provide menus for local take-out or food delivery services. 
• Ambience — Most motels are charmless and functional.
• Security — Motels may be staffed by a single person much of the time. Rooms, especially ground floor rooms opening on to a parking lot, may be vulnerable.

Private lodges

There are many types of informal lodging, some requiring payment, others some reciprocal exchange. They require a relationship between the host and the guest, although it may be mediated by a for-profit or non-profit intermediary. That relationship can be intense, such as living daily life with a person or family, eating at their table and getting to know them well. At the other extreme, you may never meet the person who has rented you her home.

Private rentals

Private rentals are rooms, apartments, condos or entire houses that the owner rents to paying guests. Many are part of the owner’s personal residence and some are the actual residence, vacated for the duration of the rental. All are essentially homes, so they are furnished for daily life.

While it’s possible to arrange these agreements directly, they are more often done through Airbnb or the OTAs found through the Tripping aggregator. The important component is a vetting process, so that the host has some idea who is renting the unit and the guest has some idea about who the host is.

Pros

• Price — Private rentals are often a good deal, although hosts are getting savvy about their markets, so many private rentals are no longer cheaper than hotels of comparable quality.
• Self-catering — Cooking facilities are often included (may not be full kitchen), allowing you to cut food costs. Washers and driers may also be included.
• Ambience —  Homes are personalized and often charming.
• Local knowledge — If your host is around, he or she can be helpful with information about logistics and experiences.
• Long-term discounts — You can usually get a better rate for a week and a steep discount for a month long stay.

Cons

• Bad unit or bad host — OTAs have difficulty verifying information about a host or the unit offered. And they don’t have the leverage over a host the way that OTAs do over a formal lodge like a hotel. If a host has received a moderate number of positive reviews, you’re probably okay, although there are stories about OTAs removing negative reviews of hosts. As a guest, you may arrive to discover that the unit is not clean or furnished as described. The host may not be the great person you read about online.
• Fees — In addition to the service fee charged by the OTA, there is often a “cleaning fee” added to the base price. The cleaning fee varies, so quoted prices on the OTA site are not entirely comparable. You have to check individual listings and compare.

Online resources

Vacation homes

Vacation homes are a subset of private residential rentals, but differ in that they’re intended for longer stays. Minimum duration bookings are common: 3 days, a week or even a month. They are often larger, fully furnished houses or condos, able to accommodate more than 2 guests and sometimes families or groups.

Pros

• Space — Many are large units, so you can spread out.
• Price — For longer stays, the per person, per day cost can come well down.
• Self-catering — All vacation homes have kitchens and many have laundry as well.
• Families and large parties — Vacation homes rent at a flat rate, no matter how many people are staying. Since they often have 2, 3 or more bedrooms, they are ideal for families or groups. Families with young children, who must travel at a slower pace and need space for the kids, can find vacation homes a great choice.
• Location — Many vacation homes are in wonderful places for recreation and relaxation.

Cons

• Price — Yes, vacation homes are good for what you get, but you get a lot in a fully furnished home, so they’re not necessarily cheap. If your requirements for amenities are modest, you’ll pay for more than you need.
• Inflexible booking — You may be required to book for a minimum stay, then discover that the unit or its location is disappointing or simply that you want to move on — but you are financially committed to the full duration of the booking.
• Location — Some vacation homes are located near city centers or other activity locations, but most are farther from your activities and may not be well-served by public transportation.

Online resources

Social exchanges

Homestays (and farmstays)

Homestays are another variant of private rental where, as a guest, you are invited to stay with a person, couple or family right in their home. You will get a bedroom, but meals may or may not be part of the deal. There are two takes on the homestay. One is where the host takes on a long-term guest (often a student), while the other is like a B&B, but relating with your host is implicit. In both cases, a homestay is intended as a cultural exchange. The wise guest learns something about the host culture before arrival to avoid misunderstandings and better appreciate the experience. Payment is normally expected — if the amount is small, the guest may be expected to contribute to chores.

Note that this sort of hospitality is reciprocal: if someone from the home stay family shows up in your country, you are expected to host him or her. The “hospitality exchange” is explicitly set up this way, with the reciprocal visit part of the deal.

In some countries, a “homestay” is really a guesthouse, good for short bookings, paid for like a guesthouse and with no expectation of cultural exchange.

Pros

• Price — Usually a very affordable way to stay in an expensive city.
• Local knowledge — Your host invites you, not just as a paying guest, but to help you know his or her city and culture.

Cons

• Security — As with all informal relationships established online, hosts and guests need to be cautious. Try to get references or reviews before committing yourself.
• Privacy — If you’re not prepared for the relationship, a homestay is not for you.

Online resources

Home exchanges (house swaps)

You can offer your home for someone to live in while you travel and you can stay in someone’s home at your destination. It’s ideal if you have a nice home in a desirable location and feel okay about strangers living in it. Exchanges work entirely on reciprocity: you can’t stay in someone else’s home if you don’t offer your own. You can do a simultaneous exchange, where you live in someone’s house while they’re living in yours. Or you can do a non-simultaneous exchange, where you stay in a second home or vacation home of your hosts.

Home exchanges are not usually for short stays, because of all the logistics involved, but some owners are okay with short term arrangements.

Pros

• Cost — Trading for time in your own home is the cost. Exchange sites have a monthly or annual subscription fees, starting at over $8/month, but it’s not much compared to the cost of commercial accommodation.
• Time — You can spend a long time, even months, in a single destination.
• Car swap — In many situations, you also have the option to use the hosts private vehicle. Since your new home-away-from-home can be quite far off pubic transit, you can save on car rental.

Cons

• Complicated arrangements — Each swap should have a long getting-to-know-you phase between owners and guests. Then there’s a written agreement about who pays the utility bills, insurance etc.
• Risk to your home and possessions — Home exchanges involve home owners, so there’s rarely any problems. However, there is some risk that bad things can happen in your home and possessions, anything from broken crockery to theft to major damage. Before you leave home, put meaningful valuables in secure storage.
• Availability — Home exchanges can share the same problem as time-shares — homes in the best locations at the best times are hard to get. 

Online resources

• Homeexchange.com — Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. 
• Homeforexchange.com — Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. 
• Homelink-usa.org — Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
• Intervac.com — Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
• Ivhe.com — Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
• Knok.com — (family oriented) Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
• Lovehomeswap.com — Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.

 

Couch surfing

Couch surfing is yet another variant on private hosting. You arrange
online to stay with a stranger in his or her residence. While couch surfing is much lauded by young and poorly financed travelers as the cheapest way to travel and meet people and payment is not formally required, you shouldn’t just leech off your host.

Pros

• Local experience — Your host can show you the real life of his or her home town. But don’t expect your host to drop his or her daily life to show you around and entertain you (although hosts often voluntarily do so).

Cons

• Mostly for young travelers — Most surfers and hosts are younger.
• Short stays only — Stays with one host should not exceed about 3 days, although longer is negotiable.
• Security — Couch surfing websites create profiles and reviews to improve security, but it remains an issue for both surfers and their hosts. Hosts are more welcoming of women and couples than solo men, while female surfers are often cautious of single male hosts.

Online resources

Couch surfing OTAs:

• couchsurfing.com
• MORE

House sitting

For longer stays, it’s sometimes possible to arrange to house sit while the owners are absent. The owners are looking for someone to look after their property and (almost always) their pets. Responsibilities of the house sitters include basic maintenance. Often there’s an arrangement to cover at least part of utility bills.

You can’t just jump into house sitting. The owners need to trust whomever they’re leaving in charge of their home and pets. It’s necessary to build a profile on one or more of the home sitting websites in order to be chosen by an owner. One tactic is to build references before you leave on your trip by house sitting at or near your home town. A criminal record check is also helpful.

Pros

• Cheap or free — There’s an annual subscription cost to join a house sitting website. But, once an arrangement has been made, the owners generally do not charge house sitters for staying.
• Kitchen and other amenities — Access to an equipped kitchen means that your food costs will be modest.
• Vehicle — Sometimes, use of the owner’s vehicles is included. That can be a necessity for homes that are deep in the suburbs or out of town.

Cons

• Time commitment — You have to stay for the committed period. If you decide that you don’t like the location or house, you cannot move on before the owner returns or another sitter arrives.
• Location — While the home may allow you to live like a local, you could still find yourself quite far from experiences in the region or even from where you need to do retail shopping.
• Pets — The majority of house sitting requests involve pet care. Some house sitters would call pet care a benefit, but pets can be temperamental and high maintenance or have health problems. They also limit your mobility, since you’ll have to be at the home overnight, every night.

Online resources

• Trustedhousesitters — Marketed as a site for pet owners who travel, it has a fairly high number of new listings per month. Costs USD 100 – 120, depending upon the plan.
• Nomador — This site is heavy on listings in France and other French-speaking countries, but has an excellent site in English. There are many useful filters not found on other sites. There’s a
  “Discovery” option, allowing would-be house sitters to sign-up and make 3 applications at no cost. Beyond that, the cost is USD 35 per quarter or USD 89 per annum.
• Mindmyhouse — Modest number of listings, but only USD 20 per annum to join.
• Luxury House Sitting — Supposedly for higher-end homes. Cost is USD 25 per annum.
• HouseSit Match  — 
• Housecarers — CAD 50 per annum.

Friends or relatives

This is much like couch surfing, except with someone you already 
have a connection with. It’s tempting to assume that a friend or relative that happens to live in New York or London or Paris will be happy to put you up for a few days. Don’t be so sure. How well do you know him, her or them? Were you close or not? Has it been a long time? Would you be willing to host if the situation was reversed? Friends and relatives will feel pressured to welcome you, but you should feel them out well in advance to be sure. The same rules apply as for couch surfing: don’t expect your friend or relative to assume the cost of your stay (food and drink, transport, activities) or take time off work to entertain you. Don’t stay more than 3 days unless you’re sure you’re still welcome.

Pros

• Reconnecting — If you knew your host already, it’s a great opportunity to catch up and share a good time. 
• Cost — Contributions of food, drink or other stuff are a fraction of staying in commercial accommodation.
• Local knowledge — Your friend or relative knows lots and can help you with your logistics and activities. He or she may be able to show you around.

Cons

• You’re not as welcome as you thought — Your friend or relative will not likely rebuff you, but he or she may not really want to host you. Reasons for this are many, from a small living space, to work pressures and stress to some negative shared history. You could arrive for that short visit and realize that you need to move on right away.
• Short stay — Even if you’re welcome to stay with your friend or relative, the 3-Day Rule applies. You have to be very sure that an extension is okay. If not, you’ll have to make other plans for an extended stay in that destination.

Roughing it

Recreational vehicles and camper vans

In some large countries with poor public transport infrastructure 
(notably the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand), private vehicles on the extensive road networks are the way to see and do the most outside of cities. If you have a car, you are limited to rented rooms and camping, but you have the option of something you can cook in and sleep in — a recreational vehicle (RV) or the more humble camper van. While you can attempt to park in remote places, you can’t just park anywhere for the night and will be ticketed if you try. You’re supposed to spend the night in a public or private campground.

Pros

• Access to activities — Outside the cities, popular activities are often poorly served by public transit, so a private vehicle can get you there.
• Self-catering — You can cook and sleep in your rolling lodge.

Cons

• Driving — Many people don’t like driving bulky RVs that are often underpowered on hills, easily buffeted by wind, hard to park and unwelcome in city traffic. You’ll have to deal with breakdowns, flat tires and the risk of accidents.
• Price and operating cost — The daily rent even on a small RV, when combined with fuel costs and camping fees, may not be much of a saving over motels.
• Limited and bad overnight parking — Since you can’t just pull the curtains and camp in a supermarket parking lot or roadside rest stop, you’ll use an directory to locate a campsite or “RV park” along the road somewhere. While some of them are delightful, many are simply a parking lot with hook-ups for water and power, minus ambience and privacy. Many are not even near a food store, so, if you didn’t shop while passing a store, you have to drive your big vehicle from the RV park to the store for supplies.

Camping

Camping is a whole different style of traveling, not least because you
 will need an expanded collection of gear and a large hiking style backpack to carry it.

Pros

• Ah, nature! — If you choose well, camping locations can be spectacularly beautiful, with fresh air and wildlife.
• Cheap — Camping can be free, come with a modest park fee or with a paid spot in a commercial or government campground — any of which is cheaper than any kind of commercial lodging.

Cons

• Bulky gear — If you plan to camp a majority of your nights, it’s worth it to carry all that stuff in a large pack. But, if you will be camping only a few nights here and there, you’ll still have to haul all that stuff around transport hubs, on and off transport and into cities.
• City visits — Yes, you can camp in many cities. Usually, the campground is quite far from the attractions you may have come to see, so you will have added urban transport time and cost. In a few cases, campgrounds are fairly close to the action, but sometimes too much action, including traffic, peddlers, thieves and other urban wildlife.

Airports, railway and bus stations

Sleeping in an airport, rail or bus station is usually not a voluntary situation — you’ve found yourself stuck there making a connection or have arrived late at night, when transit to the city lodges is not available or not safe. You could do it deliberately when you have a very early departure and travel from your lodge is too uncertain. 

Pros

• Cost — It’s free.
• Make your connection — If you have a middle-of-the-night or early morning plane, train or bus, you won’t miss it if you are already in the airport or station.

Cons

• Security — Some rail and bus stations are not safe, especially at night, when traffic and security are much reduced. Urban bus stations, in particular, tend to attract street people and the homeless.
• Comfort — Airports and stations are not intended to be slept in, so you may have to scout around to find seating suitable for sleeping or even to find clean floor space. It may be hard to keep away from pedestrian traffic and staff may interrupt you. It may also be excessively hot or cold.
• Opening hours — Before you commit to sleeping in an airport or station, find out if the facility closes at night — you might find yourself kicked-out very late.

Online resources

• Sleeping in airports — this oddball website has information on spending the night in airports all over the world. It’s not comprehensive and some of the information is very dated, but it’s worth a look.

Open air

There’s only one reason to sleep outside and that’s called camping (above). Otherwise, sleeping outside is likely only if you’ve had a bit of bad luck or bad judgment. Perhaps you’ve been locked-out of your lodge. Maybe it’s late and you find yourself somewhere where there’s no lodging and no transport. 

Pros

• Cost — It’s free.

Cons

• Security — Don’t be tempted to sleep outside in an urban area where you might be rousted by the cops or discovered by people who would do you harm. And in a strange city, you have no idea where is safe and where is not. Beaches, too, can be dangerous, unless you’re truly remote and hidden from passers-by. The exception might be if you’re in a large group of fellow travelers or other reliable people — not those two guys you just met at the bar.
• Comfort — Cold, heat, rain, bugs, hard ground — there are lots of ways to be miserable.

Just don’t do it. Make sure you have lodging and local transport available before you arrive in a new destination at night. If you’re out late at night enjoying yourself, make sure there’s going to be safe transport back to your lodge.

Institutional lodging

YMCA or YWCA 

Found in many cities, “Young Men’s (or Women’s) Christian Association,” universally known as “the Y” tends to be a little more expensive than other budget accommodation, but Ys are usually clean and friendly. They rarely have facilities for cooking. They used to have pretty strict sex disaggregation — males only at the YMCA and females only at the YWCA, but that’s loosened up almost entirely now. Limited restrictions may still apply, so check before booking.

Universities and colleges 

Educational institutions with student residences will often rent out rooms when classes are out of session.

Religious institutions

Some religious institutions welcome travelers and don’t even require you to participate in their religious practices. (Arranging to stay in order to participate is another thing.)

You will be expected to respect the sanctity of the place and not disrupt the often strict regimen of the religious residents.