Where to find the perfect vacation rental Editor's Note: This post was originally published in December 2016 and has been updated with the most recent information.
Thanks to well-known companies like Airbnb and HomeAway, short-term vacation rentals are here to stay in America?s cities. Slick apps and cheaper pricing make booking a vacation property easier than ever, whether you?re paying to sleep in someone?s extra room?the true definition of the ?sharing economy??or renting an entire house.
But it hasn?t been smooth sailing for companies looking to take advantage of the short-term rental market. Airbnb is undeniably popular, now in 34,000 cities and boasting two million rental listings worldwide. Despite this success, the company and its competitors have battled local zoning laws that prohibit short-term rentals and fought grassroots movements that want to limit where and how short-term rental companies can operate. On top of this, Airbnb has come under fire for its increasingly intrusive role in campaigning for lax rental laws, been criticized for exacerbating the already tight housing market in America?s biggest cities, and faced serious accusations of racism?highlighted by the #AirbnbWhileBlack hashtag. For some, Airbnb?s lack of transparency and questionable practices have pushed them to look elsewhere for vacation rentals.
With that in mind, we?ve rounded up alternatives to Airbnb and HomeAway, the two biggest players in the short-term rental industry. Whether...