How I figure out where we stay on our world trip

A big part of our trip has been finding good/appropriate/cost effective/interesting accommodation. My main ‘go to’ website has been Airbnb and for Europe, booking.com. In some places we have limited choices and I try to choose the best option and in others there are so many options to choose from that it is difficult to pick which one!

Choosing our accommodation is also a great opportunity to interact with local host (like we did in Stavanger, Helsingor area and Landskrona) or experience the region (by staying at a typical house/accommodation from the area, like our stay in Fläm, Føns and the archipelago near Stockholm) or just a fun stay (like our pirate room at Legoland!)

When I am searching on Airbnb, there are a couple of basic requirements and items that I aim for:

1) Location: I take into consideration if we have a car rental or not. This is certainly important if we don’t have a car and need to walk to and from the place when arriving and leaving. As we are carrying our year’s worth “stuff” on our backs, I try to limit the distance that we have to carry them. (It can get heavy....) For example, when looking for a place in Stockholm, there were a couple of good options on the outskirts of the city, however the nearest bus stop would be 0.5 miles from the house. I ended up finding an adorable little house on an island where we needed to take a 25 min ferry to, but only 200 meters from the dock to the house! This ended up being a perfect option, as the kids are in heaven that we are sleeping on an island with gorgeous views, no cars, tranquility and in a cute historic house. Win win!

2) Amenities: Wifi: as we have some online businesses, when staying at a place for more then 3 nights, we need it! However, we have stayed in a couple of places with no WiFi and it is actually great to disconnect, have the opportunity to read a good book, play games and have long conversation over a glass of wine! Washer/dryer: with 3 kids in tow and with limited luggage/clothing, we need a washer at least once a week. So far, we have had no issues finding these! Beds: at least 4 beds/surfaces to sleep on. Madeline, who is 4 and petite, can sleep anywhere and we have been able to accommodate her with some sofa cushions next to her siblings beds. This also opens more options for us: when searching on Airbnb for a place for 4 and infant provides more alternatives then searching for a place for 5 people. The numbers of rooms is not as important for us as we can all sleep in one big room or we can have individual rooms. Bathroom: one is plenty for us and we have had some very tiny bathrooms, which is fine as we all take turns to shower or use the toilet. (It is actually a great way to teach the kids patience, respect and show them how most people share a bathroom. Our house in Broomfield had 5 bathrooms!!!). There are exceptions: in the Lake District in Finland we will be staying at a typical lake house with no shower (only a sauna!) and an outhouse… it will be an interesting experience! ;-) Kitchen: as we tend to have breakfast and one other meal at home, a kitchen is important. For us, the most important item in a kitchen is a fridge, coffee maker (we need our coffee in the morning ;-) and some basic plates and utensils. Having a toaster, stove, dishwasher, etc are bonus but not crucial!

3) Price: Airbnb makes it easy to view the available properties on a map (you enter the dates and the amount of people and you can search a specific area). I get a general idea of the average nightly rate and define a budget for that stay.

In summary, when search for a place on Airbnb I take the following steps:

I enter the days of our stay and amount of guests (4 people + 1 infant) and look at what is available on a map of the area we are visiting.
By looking at the average prices of the places available, I define an average spend (mainly by putting a max $ for the stay)
Then I start narrowing it down by looking at the pictures. It is funny to me how some hosts ignore the importance of posting good pictures (I have seen some weird and very bad pics). This is one of the first things people look at, it’s their ‘business card’ and opportunity to grab the attention of the potential guest. You can click on the ‘heart’ to favourite the places.
I don’t consider places with less then 4 stars or places with no reviews yet (we have had a bad experience several years ago when we stayed in London at an Airbnb with no reviews. Even after asking the owner if the pics were recent, the place was a dump!)
After favoriting 4 - 5 places, I start narrowing it further down by reading the reviews. It is a very important step as you can find good tips and input from previous guest.
Finally, if I end up with 2 perfect places, I see if Jason has a strong opinion on either one and if not, I get the cheapest.

Each experience has been unique and we have all enjoyed exploring and experiencing the different places we have stayed.

I have fun picking a place and we have had great stays and fun experiences. We do have a couple of hotels booked in some places, but, for us, Airbnb’s are often the best option!

If you haven’t tried Airbnb and would like to get an extra incentive to try it out, here is a link to get $50 credit towards your next stay!

Below are some highlight pictures of our stays in the last 3 weeks: