Hotel or Rent a House?

How do you know which one is right for you? Do you rent a house or should you stay at a hotel? Often booking where you are going to stay can be the most frustrating part of your planning process. There are several factors that you need to consider when making the right decision for you and your travel group.

Let’s break it down to these 4 factors:

Traveling Group

• How many travelers are in your group?
• Are there kids and if so, how young are they?
• How many rooms would you need to book in a hotel or how many people might be staying in one room?

Time

• How long are you staying in one city or location?
• How much time do you actually plan to spend in your room/apartment/house?

Special Needs or Circumstances

• Do you have special dietary needs? 
• Does everyone in your travel party get along or do they need some space?
• Do you need a place to rest mid-day?
• Are you looking for extra amenities like spa, pool, day care?

Budget

• Will all of your meals be “out” or do you want to try to make any meals while on vacation
• Are you concerned about budget

All of these questions and their corresponding answers can have a major impact on your decision. Let’s talk first about how the size of your group can impact your decision.

Group Size

If you are traveling in the US, you will have more options for hotels that fit 5 or 6 in a room. But in Europe for example, rooms are much smaller and you often have to have joining rooms to fit more than 3 or 4. Our family of 5, often needs a small suite or a bigger room, thus costing more money. Even in the US with more options, if we are vacationing and want to enjoy time in our room, then we often look instead for a home or condo to rent in the US through Airbnb or VRBO. Five in a single hotel room can be claustrophobic and the bathroom situation can be an issue.

When we are a Party of 10 and need a minimum of four rooms, the budget of what we are willing to spend often helps us decide. With 6 teenage kids, it’s often more convenient and easier to control if we are all in one house together vs. four rooms. Can you imagine four teenage boys in a room together? Well, we’ve done it most recently on a cruise. Whew the smells and mess coming from that room were enough to maybe consider doing it differently next time. 

Do you have young kids in your group? Do they need space to run around and make noise? A hotel room may not be the best choice. A house with a backyard might be what the kids need if you are spending more than just nap time in there.

Time

Which leads me to “time”. How much time will you spend in your hotel room or house? Is it just a place to crash at the end of a long day of adventure? A rental house allows you some extra time to make meals and enjoy some coffee (or wine)  out on a deck or balcony. Movie nights and games can be a great way to wind down for the night. But those are all much easier to accomplish in a rental house rather than a small hotel room. If all of your time is out on the adventure, then crashing to just sleep in a hotel room is probably all you need.

The other factor of “time” is how long you plan to stay in the city or location. If it’s a short time, then a hotel may make more sense. If you are staying for a longer period, like a week then the cost associated with a house rental may make more sense. Now some hotels will give you a longer-stay discount so make sure to check that out. You may want to call the hotel directly vs. booking online to inquire about the discount. In addition to costs, for longer stays with kids or larger groups, the hotel room, even if a suite, may feel too small after a few days being crammed into together (no matter how much you love each other).

Special needs or circumstances?

We’ve talked about kids but they also have special needs sometimes. If you have babies or toddlers, often they have special food or bottles that require a way to refrigerate them. If you do stay in a hotel, make sure it comes with a small refrigerator. It’s not a guarantee these days. There may be other dietary issues that make more sense to cook meals. Some hotels come with mini-kitchens (or even full kitchen if it’s a condo-style hotel) but often renting a house with a full set of utensils and cooking supplies may be more of a fit.

The other factor with kids is that they often need a nap mid-day. I love naps so I often need one too and sometimes a hotel room isn’t always the quietest option.  Other guests walking by the room or noises from the room next door can impede a good nap. If you have a fussy kid, sometimes it’s embarrassing to have them cry it out if you know your neighbor next door can hear it all. The argument to stay in a hotel is the fact that you can often get a crib requested for your room, sometimes at no extra cost. This is a must when you are traveling and don’t have access to a crib or pack-n-play. 

Are you traveling with a large group that maybe can sometimes be combative? Now you may not want to book a trip in the first place, but if you do, more space may be what you need. Now you can accomplish this with separate hotel rooms, maybe even on different floors. But you can also accomplish this with a larger house or multiple condos. 

Lastly, hotels most often come with more amenities like spas, pools, kids activities and even child care in some cases. If you need or want activities on property then a hotel may be the right fit for you. Some rental homes will come with a pool or even a community pool. We almost only stay in homes with pools since we don’t have one at home and it’s a nice perk in hot Texas. Again it all depends on how much time you plan to stay on property or in the house. We recently stayed a house that had a pool, a dock and provided canoes and paddle boards to go out on to the water. Extra amenities like this made it an easy choice for our adventurous bunch.

Budget

And finally the budget. This is of course, the main reason to do your due diligence and compare the cost for renting a house vs a hotel. If you have the budget of a “budget hotel” but aspirations of a hotel with benefits or better accommodations, then often renting a home for a week may be comparable to a budget hotel for a week. 

On the lower end a budget hotel ranges from $50-$150/night. That could total to about $350-$1,050 for a week. In comparison, a week’s home at a basic house could be more around $350 to $700 for a week. The prices of course go up depending on location and amenities of the hotel. We think it makes most sense when you are looking for luxury accommodations and can find a large home centrally located with some or all of the amenities you want (e.g. pool or near the ski resort) for less money.  

Additional considerations

Safety is always top of mind. Even though there were only four of us women traveling recently to Paris, we felt more comfortable and safe staying in a hotel. There is just a small level of comfort knowing there is someone downstairs that you can call to help you immediately if needed. Hotels tend to be more centrally located near attractions whereas homes tend to be more in suburban centers. Another safety concern is if you have young kids, splitting up into two rooms most likely isn’t feasible unless they are connecting rooms. These are harder to find in Europe. I’ve even had hotels split us up on separate floors when we checked in late one night. 

On a recent trip to Greece with our Party of 10, we started our trip in Athens and we decided that a house would make more sense for us. We wanted something centrally located and we struggled to find something that wasn’t outrageously priced to get 5 in a room or even split into three rooms. We had a full three story house, each room with i’s own bathroom and little kitchen. It’s like they were three apartments. Our trip ended in Venice and houses were not as easily available so we opted instead for three hotel rooms and worked with the hotel to ensure we were all very close together. 

The best part of traveling is to immerse yourself in the culture around you. Living amongst the locals is something to consider as a benefit to renting a house. If you prefer a quieter, residential neighborhood, then living like a local in a house is something to consider.

If you decide to rent a house through a service like Airbnb or VRBO, you need to ensure it’s a real listing. While we have been very lucky in our selections, it’s not uncommon to get to your destination and find that the house doesn’t actually exist. You are then stuck trying to find a replacement with the listing service or renting a hotel at added expense. We only rent from listings that have several reviews over an extended period of time and with some recent reviews as well. We do prefer to rent from super hosts (those that have a high rating and have been renting for a while). Make sure you read all of the house rules because sometimes they may have quiet hours (e.g. you may find this to be true in European countries where siestas occur). One major con for renting is that often houses don’t come with shampoo, conditioner or more than one roll of paper towels. So make sure you understand what they do offer so you know if you have to stop at a store nearby or bring it with you. And finally, whether you choose a house or a hotel, do a google search and see what type of neighborhood you are in. What is across the street? Is there a bar across the street that will be open late and thus it’s not quiet at 1am? 

Hotels vs. House rentals. They each have their pros and cons. We like a combination of both. Which do you prefer?