Taking A Vacation? Live Like The Locals & Sublet An Apartment

May 30th, 2011 by Crystal Beran| Posted in Apartment Life 2.0, Apartment Living, Craigslist, Finding Your Apartment, Saving Money, Tips & Tricks | No Comments »

If you’re planning on visiting an area for a period of a week or more, it could make financial sense to sublet an apartment for your stay instead of staying in a hotel. It could also provide you with a unique experience you might not otherwise have surrounded by fellow tourists!

Subletting an apartment can help you feel more like a local when you’re traveling. You’ll be around other residents rather than other travelers, and if the area is friendly enough, you may be able to get tips on things to do that only insiders would know about by chatting with your short term neighbors.

In many cases, subletting is considerably cheaper than renting a hotel room for longer stays. Aside from standard vacation rentals, which can be quite expensive, there are people who sublet in order to offset the costs of moving out too soon, or help save money when they are traveling. In these cases, they may be willing to take a partial loss on the cost of their rent, so you could get a good deal on one of these apartments. People are also often willing to lower prices if you wish to stay for longer as well, and are generally more open to negotiating price than hotel owners are.

Subletting an apartment for a vacation can also help save money on food. In most cases, traveling and eating out for every meal go hand in hand and prices can add up quickly. Making a few meals at an apartment and going out less frequently can save a lot of money on travel costs – as well as cut down on fatigue you will inevitably feel eating out at restaurants day in and day out. Sometimes an evening in and a home cooked meal is just what you need to recharge on a trip!

Staying in an apartment can also make you feel like you have more space. Renting a hotel room for a long period of time can make you feel like you’re stuck in a confined area, especially if you’re traveling with a group. If you sublet and apartment instead, you’ll be able to carve out some space for yourself in your downtime.

With the Internet, it’s not hard to find a place to sublet, especially if you’re looking in a big city. Sites such as Craigslist or Sublet.com have many listings for people who are looking to sublet. It is also possible to look through the online versions of local newspapers to find apartments available for short periods of time.

Most of the time, hotels are located in prime locations, near to downtown areas, restaurants and other amenities. Apartments, however, can be located more on the fringes of cities or  in the suburbs and it may be hard to find things to do around them. It is helpful, before subletting an apartment for a vacation, to know the various areas of the city and to look for apartments near where you’d like to be.

Take transportation into consideration as well. If you’ll have a car where you’re going, it may not be a problem to stay in a place a little further off the beaten track, but if you’re hoping to take public transportation, taxis, or walk to restaurants and activities, you’ll want to make sure you can get between your apartment and your vacation without too much trouble.

Have you done a short-term sublet on a trip before? Have tips for websites we might check out? Chime in here or on our Facebook page!