Airbnb competitors

The full list of Airbnb competitors. This article is your guide to the most popular Airbnb alternatives and Airbnb competitors worldwide.

Airbnb competitors - the "big five"

The "big five" refers to the biggest and most popular Airbnb competitor sites. Like Airbnb, their brand names are strong and known worldwide. These sites have millions of visitors and a vast number of services:

1) The largest Airbnb competitor: Flipkey by Tripadvisor

Tripadvisor is the largest travel site in the world with millions of users worldwide. If you have heard of TripAdvisor, that is probably because you interacted with their site to find the best things to do when vacationing. TripAdvisor, however, offers more than advice on the good things to do, they have a booking service feature to allow you to book vacation rentals, rent cars, book flights, and even book cruises. Tripadvisor has it's own private vacation rental section where property owners can advertise for free and travellers can read trusted reviews from previous guests.

Visit Flipkey by Tripadvisor here

Property owners can also list on Tripadvisor for free, it's fast and easy and travelers can search 1000's of private vacation rentals or hotels here. Did you know that advertisers on Flipkey earn in average $ 26000 per year? See our guide how to list your property on Tripadvisor here.

Tripadvisor vs Airbnb

In a comparison of the site to Airbnb, TripAdvisor is more like Booking.com. The site offers a variety of other services apart from booking accommodation. Other things you might need when on vacation are available. TripAdvisor has an upper edge compared to Airbnb because you can use it to plan the things that you want to do on your trip. You can easily find the best shopping centers, restaurants, attractions sites and, more. For both sites, based on booking the accommodations there is no significant difference between them.Note: FlipKey is owned by TripAdvisor and there is no much difference between them in terms of accommodation booking. The properties listed on TripAdvisor are the same ones listed on FlipKey hence no need to cover FlipKey. Also, HouseTrip has same properties as them although its design is slightly different.

2) Booking.com

What's Airbnb's biggest competition? Hotels! And Booking.com is one of the worlds largest search engines with millions of hotel offers in almost every country and city.

Furthermore, booking has launched it's own homestay section to directly compete with websites such as Airbnb. Apart from booking hotels with Booking.com there are options to book several other property types, like villas, serviced apartments, cabins, and vacation homes, etc. Considering Booking.com as Airbnb competitor, Airbnb offers the same property types but with Booking.com it is easier in sorting out the different property types.

Search Booking.com here

The site is not only focused on accommodations for vacation. Booking.com is a business site that allows you to search for and book flights, airport taxis, car rentals, and hotels. They also offer deals which let you book a flight and a hotel all in one package.

Booking vs Airbnb - price comparison

On price comparison, the options vary as much on both Booking.com and Airbnb. Campsites can go for as much as $15 per night and penthouses can go up to $1,500 per night. Booking.com although excels at one main thing, it lets you book everything for a full vacation without leaving the site. Book your flight, accommodation, and a rental car. It makes it easy and perfect for those travelers who want an all-inclusive package.

For property owners

Booking.com now allows private propery owners / vacation rental owners and Airbnb hosts to list on their site. It's fast, free and easy. Read how to list your Airbnb on Booking here.

3) Expedia

Expedia is also more like Booking.com. The site lets you book flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises, and vacation rentals. It is, however, more focused on a vacation bundle that mostly includes a flight/hotel/car rental. Expedia is available around the world and you can book places anywhere. Expedia has accommodations for travelers on a European vacation, Australia, New Zealand, and even African safari.

Expedia vs Airbnb

The main difference, when compared to Airbnb, is that Expedia mainly focuses on hotels in its offerings for accommodation. Expedia does not allow clients to book apartments or houses. Also, the experience is less personal compared to Airbnb because the properties in Expedia mostly belong to large holding groups or companies not owned by individuals. With Expedia, it is like staying in a hotel, only that in this case you get more space.

Expedia vs Airbnb - price comparison

The prices on Expedia are also a bit higher than those in Airbnb on average. This is because with Expedia you get to choose the entire home not rooms in a home or shared spaces. Using Expedia the budget aspect is a bit high for travelers but the other benefit of space comes in depending on your needs.

4) Kayak

Kayak is another travel search engine. The company doesn’t offer direct bookings of its own, but instead allows you to “Search hundreds of travel sites at once.” You can compare prices on flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises, and whole vacation packages.

A notable difference from Airbnb and many of the other sites we’ve covered in this guide, is that Kayak only allows you to search for hotels. You won’t find any vacation rentals listed on the site, so it’s not the best option if you’re looking to rent an entire home or apartment.

The main advantage of using Kayak over Airbnb is the possibility to compare prices from lots of different sites at once. Of course, properties from Airbnb and other sites that let you rent full homes or apartments aren’t included, so you don’t get a full picture of the accommodation price landscape for your destination.

If you know you want to stay in a hotel, however, Kayak can be a valuable resource for booking your accommodation and other key aspects of your trip.

5) Tripping.com

Like Kayak, Tripping.com is also a travel search engine, but it only focuses on vacation rentals available for short-term.

Tripping.com searches for sites like HomeAway, VRBO, Booking.com, TripAdvisor, Booking.com and others notably Airbnb and Couchsurfing.

Using Tripping.com you can view properties listed as spare bedrooms, campsites and even large homes.It also allows you to search for properties available worldwide while filtering based on rating, amenities, and property type.

Tripping.com also has an interactive map to allow you to compare locations and prices for rentals available in short-term in specific cities. It is a perfect feature for those who have a particular location or want to stay in a neighborhood particularly near an attraction. In general, Tripping.com is for those who are not considering hotels and wish to stay in short-term rentals. It offers a variety of options you can compare at once.

Free Airbnb competitor: Couchsurfing

Couchsurfing is a very different site compared to all these other sites that have been discussed. Firstly, the accommodation you'll find at Couchsurfing is free. A “Verified Member” fee costs $60, but this fee is not necessary to use the site.

The tradeoff for the simplicity of this platform is that what you will get for accommodation is pretty basic. Just like its name Couchsurfing, the accommodations you might get can be a bed or sleep on a couch, cot or air mattress.

On the upper hand, you will get to connect at a personal level with a local who has invited you into their home. This aspect may not appeal to traveler especially those who want privacy and other services but it is perfect for those on a tight budget.

Couchsurfing is a good option for a lone travelers or a backpackers on a long trip that comes across different cities each night. Couchsurfing is not the best option for long-term stays because of its nature. It perfectly works for a stay of just a few nights, not several weeks. You can, however, Couchsurf on the same city with several different people even though it is not appealing.

Finally, Couchsurfing provides you with an opportunity for free meetups and a chance to participate in community events as long as you are a member of Couchsurfing. Couchsurfing is an excellent tool for meeting up with people from across the world who you are in the same new city with or they are in your own hometown.

OneFineStay

Our final competitor to Airbnb is OneFineStay; a site that only focuses on the most luxurious rentals for short-term stays.

OneFineStay platform pays a visit to inspect and vet each property that is listed on their site. It is not a site for the couches, cots, and air mattresses, here there are divans and four-poster beds and with OneFineStay offering their guests 24/7 concierge-level services.This high level of service, however, comes with a price tag that matches them.

At OneFineStay there is a possibility to see properties that cost more than the average person’s monthly earnings for a single night. Some properties can be found in the low up to $200s, although they are texpectations.

You can find properties in the United States, Europe, the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, Oceania, and Asia. The destinations here are more limited when you compare with other travel sites. This is because OneFineStay wants to make sure that its properties meet the required luxury standards that their users would expect.The site more particularly targets properties in the Caribbean as they are perfect “Getaway destinations.” They however also offer urban bookings that are available only to the largest and most cosmopolitan cities in the world. These cities include New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Rome.

The platform has properties to offer luxury accommodations in the popular ski resort towns like Aspen and Breckenridge for adventure travelers.

OneFineStay is the perfect option for you if you are looking for a luxurious vacation. Comparing this high-end feature to Airbnb, there is a competing service in Airbnb called Airbnb Plus and it offers the same. Airbnb provides higher level vetting of properties and luxury amenities for the Airbnb Plus than it does for the typical Airbnb properties.Airbnb with Plus feature targets the wealthy and the ultra-wealthy people. The Airbnb listings here are more modest furnishings and the prices even more than those available on OneFineStay.

Other Airbnb competitors:

Homestay

Homestay is a platform that helps you find accommodations services around the world in the homes of families. It only focuses on accommodations that are shared, unlike Airbnb whose services are broad.Homestay is for the idea that apart from just getting a place to stay, you will get to interact with a different family and experience their culture. Homestay is not a free service platform but it is less transactional compared to Airbnb. Therefore the rooms in Homestay tend to cost less than Airbnb rooms.The difference comes in because the places on Homestay that you decide to stay in can be pretty basic considering their accommodations. If your purpose of traveling is to experience a new culture or learn a new language then Homestay is a perfect option to use to get accommodation. Homestay specifically would be fit for students who are studying abroad based on the constrained student budgets. It also offers them a great way to interact culturally compared to staying in a dorm.

HomeAway

HomeAway and Airbnb share some similarities at the first glace as they are both online marketplaces for vacation rentals. They both target travelers on vacation, but they can also be used for clients with other purposes, such as business travelers.

The main difference between the two is that HomeAway exclusively focuses on whole homes for rent. There will not be any sharing of apartments or rooms in the houses that are up for rent on HomeAway. Here you can book the whole place and it comes with all the available comforts of home.

HomeAway offers a wide range of options in their inventory. You can find whatever you want; urban apartments, luxury seaside villas, and rustic cottages and cabins. When looking you can sort the homes according to price, location, property type, and amenities available.Generally, on HomeAway, the properties will tend to be a bit more expensive compared to those on Airbnb. The reason is that in HomeAway all properties that are listed are entire homes. The Airbnb options are cheaper because the home hosts are not renting the whole place, they can rent out rooms or just air mattresses on their floor.

Comparing them both based on the whole home rental option their prices tend to be similar.Based on locations, HomeAway has properties to boast of in several countries. If it is a flat in Europe, a Florida beach house, or a villa in the countryside in Asia; you will be able to find what you want on the platform. To find out more information on comparisons about HomeAway and Airbnb, check out our comprehensive guide on Airbnb vs. HomeAway. Note that VRBO and VacationRentals.com are both owned by HomeAway and virtually both websites are identical to HomeAway. The properties offered on all of them are almost the same hence they will not be discussed separately.

Airbnb competition in Europe: Wimdu

In many Central-European countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria Wimdu is the biggst Airbnb competitor. Check out Wimdu here. Altough the company is based in Germany, Europe, it offers vacation rentals in most cities and coutries worldwide.