Travelling used to mean booking a hotel room for the duration of your stay, but over the past several years there are more and more options when it comes to accommodations, especially in the form of home rentals. Sites like Airbnb make it easy to eschew hotels in favour of a room in someone’s house or a whole house or apartment. But which option is the best and most favourable financially? There are pros and cons to both home rentals and hotels, and we’re breaking down which option is best, including average prices for each in major cities across Canada.
Pros and cons: Home rentals vs. hotels
When trying to decide between a hotel room and a home rental, choosing really comes down to how long you’ll be away, who you’re travelling with and what kind of experience you’re hoping to have. With that in mind, here are some main pros and cons for both hotels and home rentals.
Hotel pros
First off, if you’re booking with a chain or a hotel you already know is reputable, you’ll know exactly what to expect in terms of quality. There’s also things like room service and other amenities to consider such as spas, pools, games rooms and gyms. Not that you can’t find a home rental with a pool, but assuming you’re booking a mid-range property, pools usually come standard. Most hotels offer daily housekeeping, which means while staying in one you don’t have to worry about making the bed (vacation bonus) and business travellers should consider that many hotels offer meeting rooms and business centres, something you won’t likely find in a home rental.
Hotel cons
In comparison to home rentals (which we’ll get to) hotels can often feel impersonal or generic. There are also additional fees to consider for things like internet, meals (if your hotel doesn’t offer any in the total cost), movies and other services that go beyond the basics of a room. Also, consider how much space you need, since a hotel will likely be smaller than a home rental unless you’re simply renting a room versus an entire house.
Home rental pros
There are several perks to consider with a home rental. First of all, if you’re travelling as a family you’ll have much more room to spread out in a home rather than a hotel room. A home rental also means access to a kitchen and often laundry, both of which can save you money. Having the choice of eating in rather than eating out for the duration of your trip can cut costs significantly, especially for a family. Another big plus of a home rental is that it can really help you feel like a local. We mentioned how hotels can sometimes feel generic, but this isn’t the case with a home, which will be infused with the personality of the owner. Hosts of home rentals often offer tips and ideas on where to eat like a local or things to do that you might not normally hear or read about.
Home rental cons
If you’re simply looking for a bed to sleep in, located in a central area and you don’t require a lot of space, a hotel might be easier to book than a home rental, which may require more research. Unlike hotels, especially chains, you don’t always know what you’ll be getting with a home rental since there’s only so much you can tell from photos. Opting for a home rental with numerous reviews is the best way to choose something reliable.
Average prices: Home rentals and hotels
As promised, we took a look at the average price of hotels and home rentals in the major cities across Canada. There is a handful of sites, such as VRBO and HomeAway, where you can search for home share options but, for this piece, we used average prices for rentals booked through Airbnb. Likewise, it always pays to search for hotel deals whether on our site or others such as Trivago. For an apples-to-apples comparison, though, we pulled the averages from hotel bookings on Hotels.com.
We based the averages on a one-night stay in October.
Home rental average: $120
Hotel average: $154
Montreal
Home rental average: $82
Hotel average: $167
Ottawa
Home rental average: $83
Hotel average: $151
Halifax
Home rental average: $108
Hotel average: $161
Calgary
Home rental average: $90
Hotel average: $162
Edmonton
Home rental average: $67
Hotel average: $143
Fredericton
Home rental average: $109
Hotel average: $133
St. John’s
Home rental average: $186
Hotel average: $114
Winnipeg
Home rental average: $69
Hotel average: $141
Regina
Home rental average: $72
Hotel average: $148
Saskatoon
Home rental average: $62
Hotel average: $165
Featured image: Mighty Travels, Hotel Deal via Flickr CC BY 2.0
