9+ Ways to Score Cheap or FREE Accommodations
How To Score FREE or Cheap Travel Accommodations
Finding somewhere to stay while travelling can be very expensive. I wanted to write an article that offered resources for free and cheap travel accommodations. Some of these options require some open-mindedness. Hopefully, you will find a few options that will work for you!
*Some of these websites charge an annual fee for their services. Please carefully research any of the companies you are interested in working with.
Happy Travels!
DIVERBO
Is English your native language? Want a week long free trip to Spain or Germany?
Diverbo offers free accommodations for one week. Volunteers stay at one of their beautiful resort villages in either Germany or Spain. This offer is for English speaking individuals/volunteers that can help locals practice their language skills. You literally TALK to people in exchange for a free one-week vacation!
“A fun and rewarding experience is offered in exchange for your English conversation.”
TRUSTED HOUSESITTERS
Want to pay for your accommodations by petting puppies and kittens? Are you serious? Sign me up!
*NOTE: These House Sitting Service Websites may charge an annual fee.
Trusted Housesitters connects home and pet owners with house sitters/pet sitters. Let’s say a family in London, England is going on a week-long vacation. A pet sitter/ house sitter can stay at their home in London for free in exchange for taking care of their home and pet. Win-win.
This is great for animal lovers with flexible travel dates.
I.D. verifications & criminal background checks are made for all applicants (home/pet owners as well as house/pet sitters)
Other house sitting options:
HOSPITALITY NETWORKS
Hospitality Networks allow you travel the world, learn from locals, and meet other travelers – all for free. You can find a host that will offer a bed, air mattress, or couch as free accommodations.
ADVENTUREWORK
Looking for an extended vacation experience?
Adventurework offers seasonal trainee positions – perfect for those who love the great outdoors. Some jobs are temporary and some resorts/companies offer training courses that can lead to short-term or long-term employment.
Positions available offering free travel:
- Cooks/Chefs
- Drivers
- Instructors at Resorts/Activity Directors (Sailing, Paddle Sports, Archery, etc.)
- Childcare Workers
These jobs offer:
- Wages
- Room & Board
- Meals
- Free Equipment Rentals
Check out the Adventurework Website to see what positions are available:
Similar work-for-accommodations OR volunteer-for-accommodations websites:
- AnyWork AnyWhere – International job offers from resort positions to child care.
- ESL Café – Teach English in various countries.
- Wwoof – (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) Live on an organic farm (worldwide) and perform daily farming tasks in exchange for accommodations.
- Helpx – Offers free accommodations in exchange for simple labor jobs like painting, cooking, farming, etc. for 2-4 hours per day. Work duties are clearly outlined before your visit, and sometimes, meals are included.
- Work Away – Hosts in over 155 countries offer a free place to stay in exchange for work as a nanny, caring for animals, farm work, help run a B&B, etc.
ROOMER
Roomer offers deeply discounted hotel rooms. The concept behind it is if someone can’t fulfill their prepaid hotel room, their reservation is offered at a lower price (up to 70-80%). Roomer even shows TripAdvisor reviews for the hotels features on their site.
REMOTE YEAR / WE ROAM / The REMOTE Experience
Would you like to travel the world for an entire year?
These companies offer a “workation”, for professionals who can work from anywhere. They provide accommodations, air/train travel, and a shared workspace for participants who are invited.
With Remote Year, you must request an invitation, and participants need to have a job that they would be able to do remotely. This year-long travel opportunity is open to “50-80 inspiring professionals, freelancers, entrepreneurs, and adventurers”. Those chosen to participate will live and work in a new city every month. These cities are located all over the world – from Peru to Thailand to Japan to Portugal.
All travel planning, including flights and accommodations, are taken care of by Remote Year.
We Roam & The Remote Experience offer similar travel experiences for professionals, which is called a “workation”.
Visit These Websites for more information:
- Remote Year WEBSITE
- We Roam WEBSITE
- The Remote Experience WEBSITE
HOSTELS
Hostel Bookers can help you find a hostel in various cities around the world. These dorm-style accommodations are not fancy, but they are very inexpensive. You can pay a few dollars or up to $20 for a bed for the night.
They also offer cheap hotel deals.
HOME EXCHANGE
With Home Exchange, you vacation in their home while they’re vacationing in yours. The website charges an annual membership fee to search for homestays all over the world
Other home exchange programs:
HOTEL POINTS / Travel Reward Cards
If you travel for work or travel a lot and stay in hotels, it is a good idea to sign up for hotel reward programs and collect points. It may take some time, but these really build up after a while. We stayed in New York City for several nights for free by using hotel reward points. My husband travels for work, and he saves his hotel and airline rewards for family travel.
Some also use airline miles/frequent flyer miles and credit card rewards to earn free travel as well.
I hope these options help you save lots of money so that you can travel even more! Have you tried any of these suggestions? Any other ones we should be aware of?
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About The Author
KristyB
Wife. Mom. Graphic Designer. Photographer. Professional Nap Taker. Part-time Traveler (with kids in tow, of course!)
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Great ideas. Ive always wanted to travel more, but just can’t afford it.
I hope these options help you to travel more, Judith! My favorite option is the Housesitter.
Thank you for all the helpful tips!
Thanks for visiting the blog, Tracy!
Almost all of these tip I have never heard of, great article! Thanks for the chance.
I just learned about a few of these myself and thought I should share, Danielle. Thank you!
It would definitely be interesting to pet sit in another country:)
I know! Can you imagine staying in London and/or Paris and all you have to do is take care of some sweet puppies or kittens?!? Yes, please.
I need all the tips I can get. Thanks
I hope these help, Brenda.
Very Nice
Thank you, Diana!
Thank you for sharing these tips. They are definitely helpful.
Thank you, Joy!
These are some awesome ideas. Most I have never heard of. Thank you.
Thanks Anita! I hope these ideas help!
Great tips! I have never heard of some of these. I’ll definitely be looking into them. Thanks!
Thanks! Yeah some of these were new to me too. I thought I should share these. It would definitely cut down on travel expenses.
I am going to remember these tips next time we travel. I love to save money any way I can.
I hope these ideas help Susan!
Home Exchange sounds really interesting. I think we are in a good location that this would be worth looking into for our family. Thanks for sharing!
I agree Vera! I think this idea has gained more popularity after that Kate Winslet & Cameron Diaz movie. “Holiday”, I think was the name of it.
Thanks!