I’ve been traveling for over 6 years now across 6 continents.
And for those reasons, people always ask me a simple question.
Where do I stay?
Years ago, the only feasible way to have accommodation was to stay in hotels. But it was expensive – you would have had to pay $100 USD a night. Instead, you have the option to secure long-term rents of $400-$800 USD a month depending on the area and quality of listing.
Let’s break down the processes.
Where I Stay when I Travel
You Can Always Negotiate the Prices with Airbnb Hosts
It’s a competitive world.
As a consumer, why would you pay $15 if you can pay $10 to another supplier for the same product?
Same thing with Airbnbs. And hosts know that.
Airbnb is a fantastic platform for short-term and long-term stays. Before booking a listing, always. ALWAYS. Ask for a discount. Click on “Contact Host” to achieve this:
Contact the host to negotiate the price.
The worst thing they can say is “no”. I usually find that asking for an additional 10%-20% discount works. See screenshot example below I requested for me and a friend:
You can always negotiate with Airbnb hosts for the price. They will send you a request to book their place.
If I’m on a Budget, I…
Stay at a hostel at hostelworld.com. No doubts.
Benefits
➦ Really easy to meet people and make friends instantly, really easy to book tours, cheap.
Drawbacks
➦ Little privacy. Expensive if you book a private room.
The Process
Navigate to hostelworld.com and input the city you’d like to stay. Let’s say you want to travel to Budapest in June 2021.
The reviews are incredibly important. The number of reviews and the overall rating are the two metrics that I would look closely at.
$1, $3, and $13 per night dorms in Budapest with great ratings? That sounds great to me!
Closing Remarks
Sure – there have been times when I stay with a friend. Examples: Malta, Switzerland. Maybe there will be a better platform in the future, but for now, I’m sticking with I stick with Airbnb and hostelworld.com.
