We got a request from Thu Tran for a blog on finding accommodation cheaper than a hotel, but without huge shared rooms like a hostel, so here it it 🙂
There are 3 main options for a private room that’s cheaper than a proper hotel/motel type room. The trick here is that it’s still a shared room, but a shared room you can split with your friends instead of strangers.
These options get cheaper the more people you bring with you, it’s similar to a hotel room, just think of it as a hotel room, but not at a hotel and a little bit cheaper.
These should go without saying, but all of these options are only meant for short term stays or temporary accommodation. For long term stays, renting a local room by the month/season is still the cheapest option.
1) Private rooms at hostels
A limited number of hostels do offer private rooms. They’re typically a small, but nice room, just big enough to fit a double bed or two single beds. Depending on the backpacker hostel, you may get a private bathroom as well.
You can find private rooms very easily by going to Hostelworld.com and searching for your destination. Why I love using Hostelworld.com is that it gives you a list of hostels with their average private room rates in the search window.
Keep in mind, those rates are displayed as if you were sharing the room with 1 other person, so you have to double the cost if it’s just you.
If possible, book these rooms a decent period in advance because the cheaper options tend to fill up quickly during peak periods.
Cost – Anywhere from $50 to $140 during huge holiday periods like Christmas Day or New Year’s Eve. You also get pricier, family sized rooms at some hostels.
Website – Hostelworld.com
Hostelworld.com Example Screenshot
2) Bed & Breakfasts
Bed and breakfasts are not just for couples 😉 It’s a little bit more expensive, but still a tiny bit below the cost of a hotel for a private room and you might get a free breakfast for it.
Similar the private rooms at hostels, I recommend using Hostelworld.com and keeping the “Beds & Breakfasts” checkbox ticked when using the site search. This way it’ll include all bed and breakfasts with your search.
Cost – Anywhere from $80 up to $180+ for a room.
Website – Hostelworld.com
3) Air B&B
Think of Air B&B as renting a room or even someone’s house for a short period of time. It’s a HUGE company that’s blowing up because it makes it insanely easy for people to offer up rooms and homes for rent.
Now I know you’re probably saying, “Renting a home and splitting costs it nothing new”, it’s true, but think of this as a supercharged version of local classifieds that’s all online.
As with the above options, the trick to cheap rates is bringing multiple people. The more people, the easier it is to just rent an entire home and split the costs and it’s a heck of a lot easier than using your local classifieds and emailing/calling each listing.
Cost – Anywhere from $40 up to $2000 if you want an insane luxury house to split with your friends.
Website – Airbnb.com
Air BnB Example Search
Hope this helps!
– Jed