After traveling to over 90 countries, we’ve stayed in every kind of vacation rental you can imagine.
Beach houses, city apartments, mountain cabins, you name it.
And after all those bookings, we’ve figured out how to find cheap vacation rentals without sacrificing the things we care about most: comfort, location, and a good cancellation policy.
And we’re happy to share!
The $500 Lesson We Learned in Spain
In southern Spain, we found a gorgeous apartment with water views listed on Airbnb for $2200 a month.
We were ready to book.
But before hitting confirm, we paused and ran a quick Google Lens search on the photos from the listing.
That search took us straight to the property manager’s own website, where the same apartment was listed for $1695.
No extra service fees, no third-party charges, just a clean, direct booking.
We saved over $500 in under a minute!
And we’ve done it over and over again since.
Why Vacation Rental Prices Vary So Much
Most vacation rentals are listed on multiple sites.
Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com, and often the host’s own direct site.
But here’s what many travelers don’t realize that we learned by being Airbnb hosts ourselves: prices, fees, and even cancellation policies can be completely different depending on where you book.
• Airbnb charges both guests and hosts service fees
• VRBO often charges hosts more than Airbnb, so hosts set prices are higher to compensate
• Booking.com tends to have more flexible terms, like free cancellation or pay-later options
• Direct booking usually skips all those platform fees altogether
If you’re not checking across platforms, you could be leaving hundreds on the table.
How We Find Cheap Vacation Rentals Without Sacrificing Quality
Here’s our step-by-step approach that’s saved us thousands over the years:
- Search on Airbnb or VRBO to find options and get a feel for what’s available
- Run a Google Lens image search on your favorite listings to try and find the property elsewhere
- Check Booking.com for better cancellation policies or last-minute deals
- If the property has a direct website, compare prices there
- Message the host (on any platform) and ask if they offer discounts for longer stays
- When booking direct, confirm what’s included: taxes, cleaning, parking, etc.
When Direct Booking Isn’t the Right Move
We’ve booked direct a lot.
But we’ve also used Airbnb and Booking.com when it made more sense.
If we’re booking just a night or two we’ll sometimes stick with a third-party platform.
Also, when the property has no reviews or something seems ‘off’ we’ll book on a platform. Sometimes the added security of platform support and protection is worth paying a little more.
But for anything a week or longer, we almost always find a better deal by booking direct.
And those savings add up fast.
Final Thoughts on Booking Vacation Rentals Smartly
Whether it’s a short getaway or a month-long stay, you don’t need to overpay for a great place.
Use the platforms to search, but always take a few extra minutes to look for a better deal.
It’s one of our favorite travel hacks, and it’s saved us more money than almost anything else.
And by the way, if you’d like to read about how we sometimes stay in fantastic apartments around the world FOR FREE, check out this article: How We Saved Thousands of Dollars by House Sitting
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