Finding the best place to stay when you travel

B&Bs -places to stay and travel memories (Credit: JB)

Continuing the series on travel tips, we take a look at travel accommodations.

Hotels, condos, time shares, B&Bs, hostels, apartments - the list is endless when it comes to accommodations for travelers. There are families, solo travelers, groups of friends, couples, business travelers, college students, and people of various ages all looking for a place to stay.

You can stay in a 5 star hotel in the middle of the city or a quiet B&B on the outskirts of town. Each traveler has his or her own circumstances, likes and dislikes, desires, and expectations when they are looking for places to stay.

It's impossible to cover every situation but we can take a look at many of the options for where to stay. Most of these will be familiar to people while others may be new. Whether you are in Sacramento, San Francisco, the south of France, or Singapore, there are so many options for where to stay. Whatever your tastes, budget, and preferences for accommodations, there is something out there for every traveler.

Hotels - The most well known and most used accommodations by travelers are hotels. From 5 star luxury hotels to themed hotels to very cheap hotels, there are hotels for every need. Most hotels, especially the big named hotels, have their own websites for booking hotel stays. There are also websites like hotels.com or priceline.com where people can find deals and bid on the price of their rooms.

Aside from these web sites, other options for finding good deals on hotels include reward programs, subscription to a hotel or website newsletter or email deals, and travel agents. One thing to keep in mind when looking for a good hotel - always go to sites, like tripadvisor.com, to get reviews of the places you are looking to stay. Never discount word of mouth (or customer reviews). Finally, use Twitter or Facebook to find deals as well. Numerous people are on the internet scouring for the best deals. So look beyond the typical hotel and booking sites to see what other people have found.

Bed and Breakfast (B&Bs) - Whatever part of the country or world you travel, there are people opening up their homes and guest houses for people to come and stay. These B&Bs offer rooms in small or large homes, include a bed and use of a bathroom, are often in beautiful locations or homes, and can include breakfast and interactions with the owners. These can be some of the best experiences as you get to interact with locals in that area, ask questions, get recommendations, and get a different view on the place you are visiting.

Just a few of the sites for finding B&Bs are www.lanierbb.com/, www.bbonline.com, www.bedandbreakfast.com, and bedandbreakfasts.co.uk. There are many sites with this information so search for your destination and find the place that is best for you.

Hostels - These are are well known places with young people and for travelers who are looking for cheaper options. There are hostels all over the world. A few dollars gets you a room with a bed and access to a shared kitchen and bathroom. Not all hostels are dorm room types with young single travelers. There are hostels for families with kids and rooms that are very similar to hotel rooms.

A few good sites for hostels are www.hostels.com/, www.hostelworld.com, and www.hostelworld.com. Note that hostels can be specific to certain age groups and traveling parties and that you may need to pay a hostel membership to stay at some of these places. Twitter is also a good place to find deals on hostels as well as apartment rentals.

Condos and Timeshares - A popular choice for families and large groups, condos and timeshares give people access to multiple rooms, a kitchen, bathrooms, and other amenities for a few days up to a few weeks. Condos and Timeshares are the most popular in locations with beaches. As the real estate expression states, it's all about "location, location, location." And in this case, size and comfort as well. These can be great deals. The cost can be split among a number of different people or you can save money by choosing to dine in, cooking and preparing meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Many of these can be found online through a simple search for condos. Note many of these may be listed under real estate agencies as well. Many timeshares are purchased, like real estate, and give people a place to vacation for many years. Like real estate, they can also be sold and even exchanged with other timeshare owners. Any search on timeshares or timeshare exchange can give a listing of resources.

Apartments and Homes - A step up from condos, apartments and homes offer the comfort of home, just in someone else's home. Numerous sites offer apartment and home rentals in cities all over the world. While many of these are available as rentals, there is also the option of doing a home exchange.

www.homeexchange.com was featured on the movie The Holiday with Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz as they switched homes in England and LA. Twitter is a great place to find cheap rentals all over the world.

Hosting - Another great option is staying in the homes of host families. Many people open their homes to host travelers and this can be a great way to find a place to stay and also connect with locals. www.usservas.org/host.html is one of the best and safest sites for travelers and hosts to use for finding places to stay all over the world.

There is an application and interview process for hosts and travelers to make sure that everyone is carefully screened. Most visits are for 3 days and 2 nights. It's a wonderful way for people to connect all over the world and for hosts and travelers to share their culture and views with one another.

In short, it's a peace keeping effort on a traveler and host basis. You can meet people from all over the world, make new friends, learn a lot, and be changed by these encounters. If you're interested in this, check out the servas website and begin the application process.

Couch Surfing - For some of you, this may be new. For many of you, couch surfing is old news. For travelers all over the world, this is a great way to connect with others and find cheap places to stay when you are traveling.

Couch Surfing is a way for travelers to connect with people who share their couches and other accommodations to travelers all over the world. It's an opportunity for cultural exchanges and new friendships. It isn't an exchange - you can host, couch surf, or both.

CouchSurfing.org is a non profit organization looking to put couch surfers and hosts together in over 230 countries. It's become extremely popular with travelers and it's a budget savvy way to connect cross culturally and make great memories of your travel experiences.

Quite honestly, these are just a few of the different accommodation options when traveling. Reward programs, membership discounts, friends and family, and personal recommendations are just a few of the other ways where travelers can find places to stay. Making sure you find the right place for your travel situation, expectations, and price range are what make your accommodation the best one for you. And remember that finding a place to sleep can be so much more than just a place to rest your head.

A stranger's home and a B&B

Two of my most memorable accommodation stories both happened in Europe. In 2004, I was a single guy in my 20s on a tour in Florence, Italy. I wanted to experience the night life and head out to a club. The problem was my hotel locked its doors at 1 am and there was no entrance until the next morning. I found a club full of Italians that night close to my hotel. I met some Italian women at a bachelorette party and was welcomed with open arms. I came in an American stranger and left with two kisses on the cheek from each of my new friends.

I'll never forget that - or what happened next. 4 am and locked out of my hotel, I began looking for a place on the street to sleep when I ran into an American girl with her Italian boyfriend. In order to keep him from spending the night, she gave a place to stay on her couch. At 7 am, I got off her couch, told her thanks, and walked back to my hotel. I don't recommend this for travelers but sometimes accommodations can come from unexpected places.

Another great story was the Buraka B&B in Ronda, Spain (Exploring Spain and Portugal Part VII - From Granada to Ronda (photo slideshow). My wife and I stayed with Anahid who was an Armenian from Lebanon who had spent time in the US and now made Spain her home. We talked that evening and learned a lot about her life.

The next morning, we met Max and Ana from Calgary, Canada. Max was an Italian chef while Ana was from Canada. We spent over two hours talking with Max, Ana, and Anahid talking culture, travel, politics, and our lives there at Anahid's breakfast table. After we left to tour more of Ronda, we ran into Max and Ana everywhere we went. To this day, we still keep in touch.

What's your story? Where do you like to stay? Accommodations and the people you meet can be as interesting as the places you visit.

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