Airbnb & Co.: How to find the right accommodation

Hostel, hotel, motel – often it’s just a single letter that makes all the difference when it comes to holiday accommodation. So when booking, you really need to look very closely. And you need to know what all these terms actually mean. Because that’s the only way to find exactly the right place to stay where you’ll feel particularly at home whilst travelling.

From A for Airbnb to T for Tiny House – we’ve put together the ABC of holiday accommodation for you and will also tell you which platforms offer the best deals.

The ABC of holiday accommodation, including platform recommendations

Airbnb

Airbnb Since 2008, Airbnb has been revolutionising the booking and letting of private accommodation. The online platform was originally called Airbedandbreakfast – because that was precisely the idea behind it: to provide bed and breakfasts with a digital platform where they could be easily booked.
Bed & Breakfasts are by no means a new invention, however. B&Bs have been offering accommodation (Bed) and breakfast (Breakfast) in the morning for years. They are often rooms in private homes or converted pubs or inns, where the hosts also live.
Airbnbs are now the ‘next generation’: private individuals – known as hosts – can sublet their flats or individual rooms, allowing you, as a traveller, to experience local life much more closely. You’ll be living under their roof, far from the tourist hotspots.

You can now find not only rooms or flats on airbnb.de, but also entire houses, log cabins, tiny houses, farmhouses, houseboats and even castles. There really is something to suit every taste and budget.

Aparthotel – see Hotel. Apartment – see Holiday flat. Bed & Breakfast – see Airbnb.

Boats, houseboats & botels

Holidays on the water are possible on houseboats and botels.
Whether it’s a canal boat or a yacht – you decide for yourselves how much luxury you want, and whether you’d prefer to stay moored at a jetty or cruise around the area. The only important thing is to find out in advance whether you need a boat licence for your plans, or whether a simple induction course and a charter certificate will suffice. It’s best to check this individually with your boat hire company.

Houseboats usually remain in one place. The same goes for botels – permanently moored boats that offer an overnight stay similar to that of a hotel. The concept is still relatively new, but is currently enjoying growing popularity. Our tip: the Shipotel in Berlin.

Well-known platforms for houseboats include:

• Floatinghouses.de
  
• Locaboat.com

Camper

If you’re planning a road trip and don’t want to spend every night in a motel, you can hire a ‘holiday home on four wheels’, a campervan. In a campervan like this, you’ll have complete freedom and can head to all those destinations you’ve always wanted to see.

Not all campervans are the same. There are mini-campervans, vans with pop-up roofs, luxury motorhomes and so on. So think about how you want to travel and then choose one of the eight types of campervan.

It’s also always a good idea to plan your route in advance and install apps such as Vansite , which show you great campsites.

Well-known platforms for hiring campervans include:

• Roadfans.de
  
• Off-campers.com
  

Couchsurfing

Your wallet’s not exactly overflowing, but you want to travel the world? Then why not go couchsurfing?

To do this, you can simply go to couchsurfing.com and look for a sofa where you can stay for free with private hosts. Although, what do we mean by ‘sofa’? Since the platform was founded in 2004, it has grown and evolved rapidly. Today, the accommodation options are incredibly varied: everything is on offer, from a sofa or a mattress on the living room floor to your very own, perfectly equipped room.

Well-known platforms for couchsurfing include:

• Bewelcome.com
  
• Couchsurfing.com

And then there’s womenwelcomewomen – a community run by women for women, where members offer each other places to stay.

Holiday home

Your own kitchen, your own bathroom, your own living room, your own bedroom. In holiday homes, you have plenty of space and can really feel at home. You have an entire house or cottage to yourself, which often also has a terrace or a garden.

Holiday homes are popular because they give a sense of freedom and feel less formal than hotels. You can retreat and enjoy having your own little kingdom. You’ll also save money by cooking for yourselves rather than eating out – which is really easy with a fully equipped kitchen.

How many rooms you’ll have, and whether you might even have your own pool or sauna, depends entirely on the type of holiday home you book.

Well-known platforms for holiday homes include:

• Hometogo.de
  
• Fewo-direkt.de
  
• Landfolk.com

Holiday flat

Holiday flats or apartments offer all the comforts of holiday homes – but are not detached; instead, they form part of a larger residential complex.

You’ll still have your privacy here. And your ‘own’ little kingdom, of course. Holiday flats are often fully equipped. You won’t even have to do without a toaster in the kitchen or a hairdryer in the bathroom.

In standard flats, you won’t have any extra services. However, there are also serviced flats. These are managed accommodation options that offer cleaning, room service and other hotel-style services.

Well-known platforms for holiday flats include:

• Airbnb.de
  
• Fewo-direkt.de
  
• Wimdu.de

Home Exchange

Have you seen the winter film ‘The Holiday’, in which Cameron Diaz swaps her property in California for Kate Winslet’s little cottage in England? That’s exactly what a home exchange is. In other words, it’s an exchange between you and a homeowner that benefits both parties, as you get to stay in a holiday home for free.

What makes this experience unique, of course, is that you get to step into someone else’s life. You’ll be in close contact with others, may look after pets, and will make use of whatever you find in the house or flat.

However, you must also be aware that someone else will be living in your home at the same time. It is therefore important that you trust one another .

Well-known platforms for home exchanges include:

• homelink.de
  
• homeexchange.com

Hostel

Hostels are essentially what we know as youth hostels – with the major difference being that you do not need to be a member to stay in a hostel, as is the case with youth hostels.

If you’re travelling as a backpacker or on a tight budget, you’ll be happy staying in a hostel. You usually won’t have your own room here, but will share a dormitory and the toilets and showers with others. The great thing about this is that it allows you to meet other travellers and chat with them. This is particularly helpful and a real comfort if you’re travelling alone. There’s just one thing you need to bear in mind, of course: where there are lots of people, there’s often a bit of a mess. So always read through the hostel reviews to check how clean the place is.

Well-known platforms for hostels include:

• Hostelworld.com
  
• Hostelz.com

Hotel

In a hotel, you usually get the „full service package”. Not only do you have access to your own room with an en-suite bathroom, but also to additional services and hotel facilities such as meals (everything is possible, from breakfast to half-board to all-inclusive), a reception, room cleaning, a laundry service and much more. Many hotels also have their own restaurants and bars, and some even feature fitness centres or spa areas with swimming pools. For more action and entertainment, some hotels offer a programme of activities for guests to join in with. These include games, creative workshops, sports classes and activities for the whole family.

Is one room or a suite not enough for you? In so-called aparthotels, you can rent entire flats – that is, holiday flats where you also have a small kitchen or at least a kitchenette, so you can choose to cook for yourselves if you wish. Your flats are cleaned just like in a hotel. What’s more, you can book aparthotels just as flexibly. Whilst holiday flats can often only be rented on a weekly basis, here you can simply stay for a few days at a time.

The clear advantage of a hotel is the all-round service and the fact that certain standards are guaranteed. Hotels are, so to speak, ‘the safe bet’ if you don’t want to have to worry about anything else. The more stars a hotel has, the more luxury you can expect.

Well-known platforms for hotels include:

• booking.com
  
• agoda.com
• biohotels.de (eco-hotels in Germany)
• secretescapes.de (exclusive deals)

Motel

The word motel is short for ‘motor hotel’. They are aimed primarily at motorists and are therefore often found close to motorways or in suburbs with good transport links.

If you’re going on a road trip and simply looking for a place to stay overnight, a motel is the right choice. You won’t find any pomp or luxury here, but the simply furnished rooms are cheaper than in a hotel, you need no reservation, and the reception usually has a night desk. So you have the freedom, round the clock, to take a break from your drive and rest before heading off to the next stop on your trip.

Well-known platforms for motels include:

• hotelsanderautobahn.de
  
• Hotelsunterwegs.de

Resort

Resorts follow a similar concept to hotels, but take it a step further: resorts are completely self-contained complexes that become holiday destinations in their own right. Here, you really do have everything right on your doorstep: entertainment, shops, restaurants, gyms, bars and much more. If you wish, you don’t have to set foot outside the complex for a single second of your holiday. And yet, all your wishes are fulfilled.

Resorts are particularly recommended for families. Many also have a kids’ club – a sort of nursery where entertainment and fun socialising are the top priorities.

Well-known platforms for resorts include:

• Clubmed.de
• Expedia.de
  

Tiny House

The name itself suggests what a tiny house is. ‘Tiny’ is an English word meaning ‘small’ or ‘minuscule’. That is why tiny houses are also known as mini-houses. They usually measure between 15 and 45 square metres, which are used efficiently. Despite their small size, however, you don’t have to go without anything. All the furniture and equipment are arranged to save space. Everything has been thought of.

These tiny houses are often situated in the countryside and are little oases of peace and tranquillity. So if you’re looking to de-stress, this type of accommodation is simply perfect.

Well-known platforms for tiny houses include:

• Raus.life
  
• Greentinyhouses.com
  

You can find specific tips at IMPACKT.de.

House sitting – a type of accommodation like no other

Now that we’ve told you about a wide variety of accommodation options, we’ll conclude with a rather lesser-known alternative that’s truly special:

With house sitting, you move into the home of someone else who is away on holiday. Unlike a home exchange, you do not swap your flats or houses. Your home remains empty. Instead, the idea is that you look after their property – including airing the rooms, watering the plants and, sometimes, looking after the pets.

The platform that launched this trend is called Trusted Housesitters. It’s your chance to travel without paying for accommodation and to feel like a true local.

Conclusion: Finding the right accommodation

FAQ on holiday accommodation