Last Updated: August 3, 2023
Booking.com Alternatives (Airbnb, VRBO & More)
When you are on the hunt for hotel rooms or vacation packages, which hotel booking sites or online travel agencies do you use?
Booking.com is, without a doubt, a fantastic online travel agency and hotel booking site. Their hotel prices are often the cheapest price, their booking services are easy and trusted, and you can even benefit from their loyalty program.
But, what are the booking.com alternatives? Is it worth checking out another hotel booking site when on the hunt for a hotel room and other travel products? Yes, it usually is!
Join me as I run through the 10 best alternatives to booking.com so you can compare travel plans and maybe even book the same hotel for more competitive prices.
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Agoda
Agoda is a great website to make a hotel booking on, book vacation rentals, rental cars, flights, and even airport transfers.
Based out of Singapore, Agoda is renowned as one of the best sites to make a vacation rental or book a hotel room in Asia. It has a ton of options to choose from and the rental/hotel reviews ensure you almost always end up staying somewhere that is what it says it is.
Agoda is actually owned by Booking Holdings, the same company that owns booking.com and they use the same business model. Agoda buys up travel services such as hotel rooms, car rental, and flight seats in bulk at a massive discount, and then re-sells them to travelers like us.
This is how Agoda can be so competitive and give you a price guarantee, beating any rate online.
Expedia
Expedia is similar to Agoda and is an excellent travel search engine as you can compare the prices of hundreds of flights, cars, hotels, and packages, and you can even book experiences at your destination too.
Expedia is part of Expedia Group which is the main competitor to Booking Holdings, and they operate the same business model. They buy up travel services in bulk at a huge discount and then resell them to travelers along with a “best price guaranteed” policy.
When booking hotels or anything else on Expedia you are not getting direct bookings with the service provider, it goes via Expedia. Without a direct booking, it can be hard to change dates or make cancellations, so be sure to check all the policies before you book.
Expedia also has a loyalty program which is excellent for hotel bookings. You get 1x Expedia Rewards point per $1 spent when you book online, and 2 points per $1 spent when you book via the app.
But, be aware you will not earn any points on the hotel’s loyalty program if you book via Expedia.
Priceline
Priceline is another online travel agency that is also owned by the same company that owns booking.com, Booking Holdings.
Like a lot of the other travel alternatives, Priceline is a great place for booking hotels as well as flights, cars, packages, cruises, and experiences. It uses the same business model as the multiple websites we have spoken about.
Something Priceline has that the other sites do not have is their Express Deals which keep the hotel secret until it is booked. These are the best ways of saving money when booking hotels but they are prepaid and nonrefundable so once you book you have to go.
Also, if you book an Express Deal and find a cheaper price for the exact same deal before midnight before you fly, you will get a 200% refund.
RELATED POST: IS PRICELINE LEGIT?
Hotels.com
Hotels.com is also owned by the Expedia group and offers great prices for a hotel stay all over the world. You can book hotels or apartments depending on what you would like for your vacation.
If you become a member of hotels.com you get access to their special secret pricing which adds an extra 5% or 10% discount to your booking. Their loyalty program is also pretty awesome as you get a free night at a hotel for every 10 nights you book through their site.
Your free night is calculated as the average price of the 10 nights you paid for. So, if you book 5 nights at $100 a night and 5 at $200 a night, you’ll get a free night at a hotel for the price of $150. But, you do have to pay both fees and taxes on your free night.
Kayak
Kayak is a little different from the other sites we have looked at as it is not a travel agency but a search engine that finds you the best deals. It basically takes information from other sites and shows you the results all in one place to make research and booking easier.
You can book flights, hotels, car rentals, flights & hotels together, plus bus and train tickets too. What makes it even better are the sophisticated filters that allow you to see the search results that matter.
When booking hotels you can also use the map feature. The map shows you the location of the hotel as well as popular restaurants, sites, and lots more so you can book a hotel in a great part of your destination.
Kayak also does Pricebreakers for more affordable rates on hotels. You will only see 3 hotels and a price, but you won’t know which hotel you have until you have paid.
READ MORE: IS KAYAK LEGIT?
Airbnb
We have all heard of and probably used Airbnb. It is probably the best site to book a private home to stay in while you are away but the site also offers other forms of accommodation including hostels, Bed & Breakfasts, hotel rooms, and serviced apartments too.
You will find some very unique properties on Airbnb plus the booking process is incredibly simple and reliable.
The search feature is very sophisticated allowing you to filter by amenities, price, bedrooms, house type, and lots more. What you end up with are only homes that you want to see in the search results.
The map view is also extremely useful as it gives you a sense of the property location so you can make sure the home you book is where you want it to be.
READ MORE: IS AIRBNB LEGIT?
VRBO
VRBO (Vacation Rentals By Owners) is the original Airbnb as it has been around 12 years longer than Airbnb. Some people wonder if it is a reputable company, and the answer is definitely – YES!
Unlike Airbnb, VRBO only has vacation homes on its site so you always get a property for yourself. You won’t be able to book a room in someone’s home or a hotel room, for example, so it is a great site to book your accommodation through when traveling as a group or couple.
You can find some great places to stay around the world and the rates are often more affordable than Airbnb. Also, the prices are shown as the total with fees unlike Airbnb while still offering excellent search filters.
Every property has reviews so you can read about past experiences of other travelers and you can do the search using their map feature so you can choose your property by location.
VRBO also has an affiliate program that many of you might be interested if you have a travel website.
Travelocity
Travelocity is also part of Expedia and operates as an online travel agent. You can book travel packages, hotels, flights, cruises, activities, and cars on this site, pretty much anything you need for a vacation.
By becoming a member, you will get access to member-only deals that can give you an extra 10% discount on your booking but only for hotels. You can search from thousands of hotels around the world plus will have the option to add a flight or car to your booking at the end.
Booking a hotel with a flight/car is always a more economical option and is always worth searching.
As with online travel agencies, you are not booking directly with the provider and all changes will have to go through Travelocity which can be rather restrictive.
Tripadvisor
Tripadvisor is all about reviews, as you probably know. You can find reviews about hotels, restaurants, experiences, and more all left by people who have stayed there.
This means you can really get a sense of the hotel/provider and make sure the hotel you are booking is up to your standards.
You can also book hotels via Tripadvisor. The site works as a search engine listing prices from lots of online travel agencies for the hotel you are looking at, showing you the most affordable deal.
To book, simply click on the deal and it will take you to the OTA’s website to complete your booking.
Trivago
Another good alternative to booking.com is Trivago. Trivago is a hotel search engine that gathers prices from hundreds of websites for hotels all around the globe.
Just put in your dates and destination and you will have lots of results to compare to ensure you find a good deal on your accommodation. You can book anything from a hotel to a house or apartment.
It searches through sites like booking.com, Expedia, VRBO, hotels.com, Priceline, and lots more, saving you searching on everyone for a good deal. Once you find a hotel/property to your liking, you will be taken to the site to complete your booking.
You can use multiple filters and a map search to refine your search too.
About the Author Roger Timbrook
Roger is a little obsessed with travel. He has been to over 40 countries, broken 3 suitcases and owned over 10 backpacks in 12 months. What he doesn't know about travel, ain't worth knowing!
