Robert Malcolm is heading to Las Vegas this fall and after weighing the options of staying at a hotel or an Airbnb rental property, he is leaning towards booking a hotel.
鈥淏asically, it鈥檚 the Airbnb fees that kill you,鈥� the 38-year-old said.
If you鈥檙e looking to get away in the next few months, you might also be wondering how to get the best accommodation experience in the most cost-effective way.
Experts say the best option for you ultimately comes down to what your goals are for the trip, where exactly you鈥檙e going and how many people will be joining you.
鈥淭he way I see it is, it鈥檚 no longer Airbnb versus hotels. They are similar to a certain extent, but they offer different opportunities,鈥� said personal finance and travel specialist Barry Choi.
Airbnb is the biggest name in the accommodation rental game right now and has seen triple-digit growth over the last decade, giving travellers access to unique properties, the ability to live like a local and even find places to stay in the most remote parts of the world.
But its getting costlier to book Airbnbs in many cases as prices rose substantially over the last two years, noted Choi.
If booking an Airbnb is going to cost close to the same amount as a hotel, 鈥淚 feel like most people will just lean towards the hotel,鈥� Choi said.
He added that its easier to get discounts with hotels compared to vacation rentals.
The Marriott鈥檚 loyalty program, for example, allows members to earn and redeem points for free nights and other redemptions at its Bonvoy brands.
The best way to get a discount with Airbnb is by booking a rental for an extended period of time.
鈥淏ut I鈥檓 seeing that less and less these days,鈥� Choi said.
The cleaning fees have also increased significantly, he noted.
And oftentimes, you鈥檙e expected to do chores.
鈥淎 property I was looking at, they wanted me to strip sheets, start the laundry machine and the dishwasher while charging me a $150 cleaning fee. When it gets to that point, I might as well just stay at a hotel.鈥�
Choi said there are certainly times when an Airbnb will definitely make more sense over a hotel even if it is the same cost or more expensive.
鈥淧erhaps you want some extra room because you鈥檝e got teenagers that fight often, so definitely getting an Airbnb makes more sense. Or if you鈥檙e going on a multi-generation family trip, it definitely makes way more sense,鈥� he said.
An Airbnb might also make more sense if you鈥檙e going on a romantic getaway or going on a solo trip and want to be out of the city, he added.
Stuart Martin, 32, is going to Berlin for the first time in November and after debating over hotels and Airbnb, he opted to book a small apartment through the vacation rental platform.
鈥淢y typical pattern is if I鈥檓 only staying in a city for one or two nights, hotels seem to be the way to go,鈥� he said.
鈥淚f I鈥檓 staying longer than a couple days, I prefer Airbnbs because I can offset some of my costs by cooking my own meals, and it鈥檚 more comfortable to collapse on a real couch at the end of the day.鈥�
He said getting the best deals depends on the research you鈥檝e done and how far in advance you can plan your trip, based on his experience.
鈥淥ne of the best parts of Airbnb is connecting with the host and getting their recommendations on what to do and see,鈥� he added.
If you want to widen your net when it comes to rental options and shop around Vrbo, which is owned by Expedia Group, is the probably the second-most popular option.
But sites like Booking.com and Tripadvisor also offer rental options these days.
There are also other platforms on the market such as Sonder and Vacasa, although their listings are not as extensive as Airbnb. You can book these rentals through Booking.com instead of directly going through their sites as well.
Travel writer Natalie Preddie, who finds herself leaning more towards hotels as of late, said there are some limits to hotels that will sway people towards a rental, especially if they are visiting a new country.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to have a more curated experience, which for a lot of people, when you鈥檙e travelling, you鈥檙e trying to experience a new country, so with a hotel you鈥檙e likely going to get the same holiday here that you鈥檙e going to get in, say, Mexico. It鈥檚 a very similar experience,鈥� she said.
鈥淧lus, you鈥檙e putting your money into a larger corporation and taking it away from something more local.鈥�
Preddie said travel overall will likely be more costly regardless of accommodation for the foreseeable future amid high gas and fuel prices, other inflationary pressures, a labour shortage, and demand, taking a bigger bite out of Canadians鈥� pocketbooks.
鈥擜dena Ali, The Canadian Press
