All we needed was a 10-person mansion in Napa Valley for a weekend. On short notice. Preferably with a hot tub.

We were traveling for a wedding, so our dates were definitely not flexible. Oh, and there was a big wine tasting event that weekend so hotels and Airbnb had been booked for weeks, if not months.

Luckily, I d encountered this problem before, six months earlier. I already knew about an Airbnb alternative that doesn t get as much publicity but would save me in a tight spot.

The Problem with Airbnb

First off, let s all agree that Airbnb is awesome. They ve got great inventory (from cheap mattresses to entire islands ), gorgeous photos, and a beautiful user interface.

If you haven t signed up yet, get $25 off your first Airbnb stay when you join using this link .

However, being this awesome has brought Airbnb a lot of press and, consequently, renters. Therein lies the problem. Airbnb is now the #1 or #1A option for many travelers.

While they have plenty of supply for most occasions, demand surges for holiday weekends and special events. If you don t book way in advance, you might be left scrambling to find a reasonably-priced place to stay.

If Airbnb is booked up, hotels probably are too. Or they ve increased their prices enough to be unaffordable.

I ve run into this problem twice this year: for the aforementioned wedding in Napa and for Coachella.

Both had fixed dates and a lot of competition for accommodations.

What s a budget-minded traveler to do? Stay home?

Hell no.

VRBO to the Rescue

When accommodations are scarce, VRBO  is my new first choice. It s not as pretty or as well known, but it works.

As popular as Airbnb may seem to tech-loving travelers, it s not the only game in town. Especially from the owner s perspective.

VRBO, or Vacation Rentals by Owner, has been in business for over 15 years and is now owned by HomeAway. one of the biggest names in online vacation rentals.

For us renters, VRBO and HomeAway are fairly similar, both to each other and to Airbnb. The biggest difference is that HomeAway and VRBO focus on vacation or second-home rentals. The property owners typically use the homes themselves for less than half of the year.

On Airbnb, you ll find a greater variety of properties (like a room or an apartment). Sometimes the owner will still be living there while you re in the guest room. Because of this flexibility, you ll find cheaper accommodations on Airbnb, especially for 1-2 people.

VRBO and other vacation home rental sites are ideal for larger groups of 4 or more. The bigger your group, the cooler properties you can afford.

Our group of 10 stayed in a  compound with a pool, hot tub, and freaking bocce court in Napa. For Coachella, we booked a 3-bedroom house right in Indio. Yes, it also had a pool. Is this a recurring theme?

Other Airbnb Competitors

The accommodations market is huge. With new models like Airbnb and HotelTonight, you ll find plenty of legit competitors and me too copycats.

Aside from VRBO and Airbnb, you have plenty of other options when availability is scarce.

Couchsurfing  will certainly beat everyone else on price: it s free. The downside, of course, is that you only get a couch.

If you re looking for a room, flat, or apartment, check out Tripping.com. Tripping aggregates inventory from smaller sites like Wimdu, 9Flats, House Trip, Flipkey, and Roomorama.

When traveling outside of the US, you can also search for listings on local sites. You can find plenty of options based on your destination in these Quora threads:

Have you used Airbnb or one of the vacation rental sites? Let us know which one you recommend in the comments.

(Photo: VRBO)

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