Different options for accommodation

What type of accommodation you use, often differ for different types of travels.
Here are some tips covering staying overnight in a private home, as well as some special types of housing.

Private housing:
I often prefer using Airbnb when travelling. Both because it is often cheaper than hotel, and more comfortable than a dorm in a hostel. But, the main reason is to get a little more feel of the places I visit. How do they live, and more important; get the locals insiders tips. Interaction with the hosts vary quite a bit, but if they are not present in the apartment themselves, my experience is that it is always possible to ask for tips in advance or during the stay.
If you are new to Airbnb you can sign up using this link, and get $25 off on your first booking!

Hotel:
Using search engines such as booking.com, hotels.com or agoda.com to name a few, are useful to get the overview. Or the Norwegian site finn.no, actually searching all of these, and more! They often do offer the best prices, but do not forget also to check the hotel website as well for good deals.

If a very specific hotel is not that important, I suggest checking out www.hotwire.com, or the similar site Last Minute Travel. Here you can search for a certain area, and get information about the star rating and the price you have to pay, but you will not get the hotel name before you have actually done the non-refundable booking. The reason is the hotels of course want to get as many bookings as possible, but do not want to openly sell their rooms cheaper.

Hostel:
I have often stayed in hostels when travelling alone. It can be an easy way to get to know other travelers and hang out with them, and the staff is often local, knowing the secret spots. Some of the ones I have met while staying in hostels have ended up being friends for life. As they tend to come from all parts of the world they have so many different stories to tell about their country, as well as from other places they have traveled. The perfect way to get tips for new destinations to explore, and also a great personal experience when I end up visiting their hometown.
I mostly use hostels.com or Hostelworld when searching for hostels.

Unique accommodations:
Depending of the place you visit, there can be unique ways to stay overnight. Houseboat in Netherlands, cottage in Scandinavia, Rorbu in Norway, büd on Shetland, Trully house in Italy, a Mongolian Yurt, an old prison, or a vineyard, castle or lighthouse in different counties, just to name a few (or quite many, actually…). In other words, make sure to check the possibilities!
Airbnb has quite a selection of these “odd” places to stay, so check out their suggestions. If you like any of those, or decide just to go for a regular apartment instead, feel free to sign up at Airbnb using this link, and get $25 off on your first booking!