The home-tel industry is booming, but one towers above the rest (sometimes in an actual tower-house).
The next tech bubble is swelling in the global peer-to-peer accommodation market. Fast Company has deemed 2012 the year of the home-tel, with start-ups being absorbed as quickly as they’re starting. There was this week’s announcement that Berlin-based company 9flats swallowed Toronto’s iStopOver (now providing a combined 100,000 beds); not far behind are Wimdu with roughly 50,000 and HouseTrip with 100,000.
Leading the market, however, with some 200,000 listings is Airbnb: the original, certainly the hippest, both comprehensive and innovative in its scope of offerings. One EcoSalon staffer nearly choked on her appeltaart upon seeing their new Airstream section. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve praised them for their practicality, whittling housing hook-ups down to their long-term, real world compatibility potential.
Tiniest
The one square meter house in Berlin, from $13/nigh.
Your own private cabin in Amsterdam, from $55/night.
Russian sleepbox in Moscow, from $32/night.
Easy, Breezy & Airstreamy
Dog-friendly RV retreat in Summit, New Jersey, from $115/night.
Andalucian Airstream Glamping in the Sierra de las Nieves, Spain, from $14/night.
Vintage Airstreaming in San Francisco, California, from $222/night.
Tallest
A lavender field runs under it. Italian treehouse, from $446/night.
The tiny fern forest treehouse in Lincoln, Vermont, from $125/night.
Treetop cottage in Cave Junction, Oregon, from $250/night.
Yurtiest
Traditional Mongolian Yurt in sunny Ibiza, from $51/night.
The Blue Yurt in the English countryside, from $105/night.
Eco yurt home in Hawaii, from $55/night edible garden included.
Greenest
Color-blocked garden in the heart of Buenos Aires, from $100/night.
Urban tranquility (and value) in London, from $79/night.
“Plunged into the olive trees.” Another natural Italian oasis, from $89/night.