The most expensive-yet necessary-part of traveling is finding a place to stay. Knowing that people have no other options, hotels can get away with charging ridiculous amounts of money for people to use their services. With the rise of so many communal services where regular people can service other regular people, now there is an entire world of hotel alternatives that many people aren't aware of.
1. Airbnb
Okay, this one is pretty mainstream at this point in time. Nearly everyone has heard of Airbnb, and if you haven't you are probably living under a rock. Although this website is popular, most of its competitors are unheard of so to save you the research I have listed some below.
2. VRBO
This is AirBNB's main competitor, most people who don't have any luck finding an AirBNB turn to this website as a backup. This website serves the same purpose as Airbnb: people with extra rooms host guests who can rent out space through the website.
3. Couchsurfing
This is probably the most different service out of this list, but the concept is almost the same. The one difference with this website is that your stay is FREE!
4. HouseTrip
This website is owned by TripAdvisor and works to find the best offers of places to stay, but not through users of the website.
5. HomeAway
If you have made your way through the list and still haven't found anything, this is a backup option; however, if you haven't found anything yet then maybe you should consider finding a friend in the area to stay with or holding off on your trip until you have a little bit more money saved up.