You can save money on accommodation even during a long trip
New York plans to ban apartment rentals via Airbnb: New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo only needs to sign the law (or not). If he signs it, it will be illegal to advertise online apartment rentals for less than 30 days in New York. In other words, it will become impossible to find an apartment in New York on any service offering short-term rentals. This is being done to curb rising apartment rental prices in one of the most popular cities among travelers.
This already happened in Berlin in May: it is impossible to rent a short-term apartment through online services in the German capital for the same reason. The same could happen in Paris and Barcelona – the most popular cities among travelers using such services – where serious restrictions have already been introduced for property owners renting out apartments on a short-term basis: apartments must be registered as commercial real estate.
Tourist-favorite cities are tired of tourists; authorities fear that residential neighborhoods are turning into tourist districts and soon their residents will have no peace from gawkers with cameras. Moreover, they try to save on the most important thing – hotels, which, by the way, were built for them.
In fact, it's not very clear who will benefit from these restrictions: for travelers, renting an apartment is a great opportunity to see Paris or New York and not only survive but also not go broke. However, let's not lose heart. There are other ways to see the world and save on accommodation.
Monasteries
It sounds like a line from a medieval guidebook, but in fact religious organizations still provide shelter to travelers either for a moderate fee or even for free. To stay in a clean room in an Italian monastery or a hotel room belonging to the YMCA, you don't need to be a pilgrim.
To spend a night in a Buddhist monastery in Thailand, Nepal, or Myanmar, you don't necessarily need to strive to escape the cycle of rebirth. But knowing English to find information online about monasteries that accept travelers is highly desirable.
Hostels
Don't dismiss the idea of a hostel outright. Yes, it's a cheap option for students, but not necessarily only for those students willing to live in dorms with 12 beds in one room and queue for the shower in the morning.
First, there are designer hostels – so-called boutique hostels – that are so beautiful you don't want to leave. Second, modern hostels have not only dorms with bunk beds but also private rooms and even apartments with kitchens. And prices are lower than in mid-range hotels.
Homestays
An English word that has firmly taken root among our travelers means that you are offered to stay at the home of locals for a very modest fee, to get as close as possible to the lifestyle and traditions of the country you intend to explore. To truly understand how they live, you need to get right into people's homes.
Not everyone lets you in, of course: instead of knocking on doors, go to the relevant websites where you can find a private room for exactly the dates you need. A separate line is the popular site dedicated to couchsurfing, through which people from different countries get to know each other. If you are not a sociophobe but rather a sociophile, you're probably already familiar with the site where you can find at least a free place to sleep on a couch in the hallway, and at most, lifelong friends.
Farms
This is practically the same as a homestay, only cooler – of course, if you are a big city dweller, and even though you've seen enough goats in your life, you want to see a real one – bearded and horned. Agritourism is a separate rapidly developing branch of tourism, so today both those accustomed to luxury (and then one night in a fancy cottage somewhere in Tanzania can cost $1,000) and those who are content with a clean, bright room and the opportunity to see how agricultural work is done can spend time on a farm.
British sheep farmers, Italian winemakers, Scandinavian reindeer herders will gladly tell and show what and how to do. If you are determined not only to watch but also to do, look for a suitable farm on the website of the world organization of organic farmers WWOOF.
Camping
Traveling with a tent in our country seems exotic to no one. However, opinions are divided: for some, spending the night in a sleeping bag is romantic; for others, it's a nightmare. For those who love living in camping conditions, there are so many gadgets to keep from freezing, getting lost in the dark, and cooking a decent dinner that you might find yourself thinking about a hike. Especially about a trip abroad.
Yes, you can't just pitch a tent anywhere abroad, but is that bad? If you find out in advance where in a country that particularly appeals to you and does not require a visa anytime soon, there are specially equipped campsites, then you can safely pack your backpack and go wherever you like.
Home swapping
The sharing economy is a special joy for those who want to change their consumption model, who don't mind sharing what they have in exchange for something else. You can share clothes, a car, or an apartment. In the latter case, for the time you are away.
To join the organization that allows you to exchange homes with anyone at any time, you need to go to the HomeExchange website. By registering there, you become one of those who don't mind letting strangers into their home if they let them into theirs. Germany, Austria, Greece – wherever you want to go, there are people willing to swap apartments with you for the duration of your trip.