Now that Airbnb accounts for a whopping 20 percent of the U.S. lodging market, travelers are no longer limited to hotels for a place to stay. hotel or airbnb

Some value-conscious vacationers automatically book through the home-sharing network, to get the best bang for the buck.  But this isn’t always the best option.

Sure, Airbnbs are the better pick in cities like Anaheim, Chicago and Philadelphia.  Housing costs there are relatively low, making Airbnbs more plentiful, which gives the consumer plenty of options.  Airbnbs there offer travelers a better value, for the most part. That means that Airbnbs in those cities are, generally speaking, a better bang for the buck.  The large number of Airbnb properties in cities like Austin, St. Louis and Miami Beach make booking one on short notice not only possible but, very affordable.

However, Airbnb isn’t the best bet in other cities.  If you’re heading to New York, Atlanta, San Francisco or Seattle, you might be better off booking a hotel room.  These cities have a high average housing cost, which, in turn, gets passed along to the traveler. Additionally, strict housing regulations limits the qualifying Airbnb locations in these cities, which can increase their price. hotel or airbnb

Right in the middle of the list of 15 tourist destinations is Orlando, Florida.  There are plenty of hotels and home-share options, which leads to a slim 6 percent price difference between a seven-night stay at a hotel or an Airbnb.  A thrifty traveler can choose the comforts of home or the amenities of a hotel, and barely notice the difference in cost.

To determine the best cities to book a hotel or Airbnb, the editors at FitSmallBusiness.com, the digital business publication, looked at a variety of factors including availability, price, amenities, location and regulatory environment, and analyzed data from key sources such as Airbnb.com, Booking.com, and WorldAtlas.com.  All of this research helped to determine which cities offered the better deal on accommodations.  You can find the full report HERE:

Fit Small Business editors used this analyzed the following weighted data to make their conclusions:

• Tourism (Baseline) – Editors selected the 15 most-visited cities in the U.S. (listed above) based on data
• Price (55%)
• Amenities, inclusions, travel purpose (20%)
• Availability (10%)
• Location (10%)
• Regulatory environment (5%)

“It’s not always obvious whether you should book a hotel or a home-share when traveling,” says Sarah Wright-Killinger, Managing Editor, Fit Small Business. “We just hope our research makes the choice a little easier.” hotel or airbnb

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