To Hostel or Not To Hostel + AirBnB Advice

It's time to come clean. Yes, we're "backpacking" across Europe for three-and-a-half weeks, but we're not exactly "backpacking" in every sense of the word. When I think of backpacking, I think of people hopping off the plane after a flight across the pond with no plan of where they are going next or even any idea where they will sleep that night. 

While that sounds nothing short of adventurous, Nate and I are on a tight budget and my anxiety really doesn't favor the idea of things being quite so up in the air. Needless to say, everything in life goes better when appropriately planned out. This method of life offers me peace of mind and provides us with a pretty good idea of what our expenses will be for every day of the trip while still allowing for some surprises along the way. So yes, our trip is (mostly) planned out, up until we get to Italy for the last five days or so. We don't have any idea what we're going to do after that, which is ok with me because twenty-three days planned out of the total twenty-eight is great in my book!

When we first started planning out our trip accommodations I looked into the price of hosteling out of curiosity to see what we could expect in terms of cost and booking. I've read many articles on budget vacations around Europe that recommend hosteling, as does Rick Steves for those of us who can't afford hotels. Perhaps it was a mistake to look at hostel prices in Paris in the middle of June, but gosh were the prices higher than I ever expected and almost completely booked out, too! From what I had read, I was planning on about $20 or under per person per night in an open room with 20-or-so other people and guaranteed vacancy. Nope, definitely not the case. We were looking at about $50-$100 per night per person if there were even two beds available. 
This was not what we were willing to spend on such shabby accommodations.  

Thanks to AirBnB.com, we found incredible accommodations under $250 per night for seven of us (Nate's family will be with us in Paris), including a kitchen. And, for the sake of doing more research, Nate and I could have stayed together in private apartments in the middle of the city for under $100 per night or even in a private room in someone's home for under $50, which is a much better deal than having to share bathrooms with complete strangers in a noisy hostel environment. Aside from the killer deal for our accommodations in Paris, the place we are staying is absolutely adorable. Pictures to come!

Booking Croatia for our separate part of the trip was just as successful; Nate found a flat right next to the beach in Split for $95 for two nights, including the service charge for using the website. I'll admit that I didn't even bother looking at hostels once we discovered the awesome deals on AirBnB because we've had the best luck finding cheap and cozy places to stay in London, Edinburgh, Paris and Prague, all within our budget. 

Seriously, if you know where you want to go and when you'll be there, consider looking into AirBnB before booking a hostel. Who says that you can't be comfortable and thrifty while backpacking through Europe?

A few words of advice about AirBnB:

• Be aware that prices and availability largely depend on the time you are traveling, so enter in your travel dates before you search so you don't risk finding an awesome deal that doesn't actually exist for your trip. 
• Find out whether the flat/homeowner has a strict, moderate or flexible cancellation policy. If you decide to stay an extra day in Prague but have a reservation in Rome, you just might be stuck paying for a night that you didn't actually spend there. Flexibility in reservations can make or break your trip if you deviate from your original plan and need to cancel reservations on short notice.
• Some reservations require a security deposit for any potential damage that could be done while staying on the property. We found a place in Edinburgh that charged $1,000 in refundable deposits! Sheesh! We decided against renting there because we didn't want those funds tied up while we were traveling. Besides, that's just a ridiculous amount to demand as a deposit for just a three night stay. 
• As a side note to that last point, we did contact the renter to see if the rental fee was negotiable and he was willing to cut it down to $400, which gives me the impression that some renters are able to negotiate. If you've found a place in the perfect location but the reservation has some weird fees or deposits, why not try and negotiate with the renter for a cheaper price? It worked for us, even though we found a better place to stay in the end. 
• Some renters charge cleaning fees upfront, others will charge your card after you leave. Be sure to find out what your renter charges and when so you're not surprised with an unplanned charge during your trip!
• AirBnB does have a service charge, but it is minuscule compared to how much you're paying to rent the property. This charge depends on how much you're paying the renter for their property. Don't be discouraged by this charge; AirBnB is hooking you up with a great deal and they have great customer service. If there are any problems with the property or the host, let AirBnB know so they can rectify the situation and possibly issue a refund. 

I have no problem admitting that I was looking forward to the hosteling experience when we first started exploring options about our vacation. Perhaps I was looking at the wrong hostels, or it could have been that we're just traveling at the wrong time of year for hosteling, but I am so glad that we found AirBnB instead. I can't wait to post pictures of the places we are staying throughout Europe!

If you've had any luck with hosteling, I'd love to hear about it below!