The secret to finding the coolest vacation rentals for summer 2024

Nowadays, many travelers are looking for something more than the standard chain hotel. The new trend in travel revolves around unique experiences and tailor-made accommodations. It’s not surprising that aesthetic accommodations are becoming a top priority for many travelers in the Instagram age. Unique vacation rentals like tree houses, sky streams, yurts, sailboats, cave homes, and fun themed vacation homes are just a few options and vacationers can’t get enough of them. It has become a booming business: Airbnb hosts unique rental earned more than $1 billion in 2021. According to Air DNAwhich provides data and analytics on short-term rentals, unique rentals will continue to grow in popularity in 2024.

Besides the thrill of sleeping in a wild place, tourists are interested in experiences they may not be able to have at home. Farm holidays, where you can enjoy goat yoga or help out in the garden as an alternative to a more traditional holiday, are an excellent example of this. Whether your goal is to get up close and personal with nature or snooze in an otherworldly atmosphere while visiting your favorite city, almost 200,000 unique short-term rental properties exists on Airbnb. The trick is finding the perfect place to surprise and inspire you. Fortunately, popular online short-term rental marketplaces have picked up on this trend and offered a number of easy-to-use search tools to help you book the perfect, unique accommodation for your next vacation. If you’re looking for the best ways to find exceptional rental options, we’ve got you covered with the best tips and tricks for finding weird and wonderful places to stay around the world.

This is how you score the coolest holiday homes

The best way to ensure you find the coolest vacation spots is to be flexible with your dates and destinations. If you’re open to traveling anywhere, you’re guaranteed to find some incredible places to stay, and you might just stumble upon your new favorite vacation spot with hidden gems. Great short-term rentals can be found worldwide; many of these are outside the typical tourist traps, so be open to traveling off the beaten track.

Unique rental properties have become so popular that Airbnb added a new “flexible destinations” feature in 2021, allowing users to search for the type of accommodation they want across the world. To access this feature, click on ‘destinations’ and select ‘I’m flexible’. Discovering unique rental properties is easier than ever with Airbnb categories. There are more than 60 categories to choose from, including tree houses, caves, houseboats and much more. Categories are now at the very top of the Airbnb homepage, right below the search bar. Protip – Click on the “OMG!” category for some of the most exciting options!

HomeAway has also realized the importance of showcasing unique vacation rentals. To find a hip and fun place to stay on HomeAway, visit https://www.vrbo.com/vakantie-ideas. Click ‘Categories’ at the top right of the page, then select ‘Vacation Rentals’, followed by ‘Unique’ from the drop-down menu.

(Cover photo: Exclusive and private island resort: Floral Island)