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See the sights of London, including Big Ben, for less money than you ever may have imagined. |
Cheap travel using internet connections
A limited income does not mean you are forced to stay home and watch the
trees grow. Thanks to the internet there are new ways to take that trip
to Santa Fe or London or San Francisco without
hotel costs devouring all your dollars.
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The secret is a new variation on that old standby, the vacation rental. You can, of course, find vacation or short term rentals on Craigslist or by searching for “vacation rentals” at the destination you have in mind. Unfortunately, the information and photos you find for accommodations in this free-wheeling online want ad world can often be flakey and, obviously, you cannot be quite sure who you are dealing with. |
The newest wrinkle on short term rentals tightens up some of the loosey-goosey aspects of renting a room or apartment for a few days while you are taking in the sights.
Several websites in particular have become popular with thrifty travelers of all ages. San Francisco-based AirBnB is clearly the largest and most experienced. And there is also Istopover, Roomarama and 9flats. They all have listings for everything from single bedrooms in private homes and apartments to entire urban condos to gorgeous ocean front villas--all at astonishingly low rates. There is also HomeAway.com which is noted for vacation rentals of entire homes around the world.
This is important: AirBnB holds the money you pay until after you have actually seen the place you will be staying. Only then do they release the funds to the owner of the home.
Thousands of short term vacation rentals around the globe.
| AirBnB, for example, has 1127 listings in San Francisco starting as little as $60 a night. You will also find 32 listings for Santa Fe and 840 listings in London, again starting at about $60 a night in both locations. In all, they currently claim to have over 100,000 listings worldwide in 168 countries. (As of August 2011.) |
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Alongside listings are reviews by people who previously stayed there. Reviews can only be submitted through AirBnB by actual guests, so you don’t have to worry about “fake reviews” by the homeowner’s friends. Read the reviews to discover if you will get the added bonus of having your host give you tips on local sights to see, little-known restaurants and the best affordable entertainment.
And you will see photos on AirBnB and the other websites. Plenty of photos. In fact, AirBnB offers to send a photographer to take pictures of the rooms that homeowners want to list for rent.
They do not, however, screen 100% of the listings. Neither AirBnB nor Istopover are travel agents. They charge a modest fee on the rental amount and serve as a financial intermediary between the renter and the homeowner. You pay ... and there's more
NOTE: All names
on this site have been changed to protect individual privacy.
The stories are real, the names are not.
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