Features

• Online marketplace to find cheap local accommodations.
• Advanced search based on various filters available.
• Get detailed information about the room and reviews from previous guests.
• Book online through credit cards.
• Similar websites: Istopover

Check out AirBnB @ www.airbnb.com (via Lifehacker) (By Abhijeet from Jeet Blog)

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• iStopOver: Affordable Short Term Rentals From Owners
• Roomorama: Marketplace For Short-Term Rentals
• PadMapper: Easy Way To Search Craigslist For Rental Property
• MyApartmentMap: Find Affordable Places to Rent in US
• HotelWorldOnline: Compare Hotel Prices From Top Hotel Reservation Sites

You can browse listings by a city name or simply use a map to zoom in on a particular location. There are also options to filter listings by keyword, price, number of rooms, dogs, cats… etc. Each listing is marked as a colored icon and when clicked brings up the images and price details.

Features:

• Find places for rent and sale in over 35 US cities (more cities will be added).
• Browse by city name or zoom in.
• Filter listings by keywords, price, number of rooms, dogs, cats… etc.
• Each listing is marked as colored icon clicking which will show images and price details.
• Free and no registration.

Other sites that offer similar functionality are RentBits, PadMapper, ApartmentMap and few more in Top 5 U.S. Apartment Search Engines.

Check out HousingMaps @ www.housingmaps.com

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• PadMapper: Easy Way To Search Craigslist For Rental Property
• MyApartmentMap: Find Affordable Places to Rent in US
• RentBits: Rental Property Search Engine
• Roomorama: Marketplace For Short-Term Rentals
• RentoMeter: Compare Rent Rates in Your Area

Bascially, enter the names of your current city and the one you’re planning to move to get a list of similar neighborhoods. Among other things, the site shows homes for sale and real estate agents in that city. Currently, only major US cities are covered.

Features :

• Neighborhood comparison tool.
• Compare neighborhoods of different cities and find the most suitable place for yourself.
• Find homes and real estate agents.
• Simple and easy to use.
• Similar websites: CityMelt.

Check out Homethinking @ neighborhoods.homethinking.com [via Lifehacker] (by Abhijeet from Jeet Blog)

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• RentBits: Rental Property Search Engine
• PadMapper: Easy Way To Search Craigslist For Rental Property
• MyApartmentMap: Find Affordable Places to Rent in US
• HousingMaps: Find Places For Rent & Sale in US
• Zillow

Enter the name of the city and it will display a list of hotels available along with the prices offered. You can compare the prices and select the best deal for yourself. It also provides hotel description, images, location on the map and reviews of the hotels.

The hotel listings can be sorted on the basis of popularity, price, stars, name and distance. Moreover, search results can be refined further using criteria such as distance from specific location, hotel brand, amenities and more.

Hotel World Online boasts of a database of 900,000 global hotel deals from over 30 merchants, and access over 1.5m consumer reviews, 3m hotel images, 2m hotel descriptions and maps.

Features :

• Check hotel availability and rates.
• Compare prices offered by different booking sites.
• Provides hotel description, images, Google map and reviews on the hotels.
• Hotels can be sorted by a number of factors.
• Similar sites: HotelDiscovery, HotelCalculator and HostelBookers.

Check out HotelWorldOnline @ www.hotel-world-online.com (by Abhijeet from Jeet Blog)

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• Roomorama: Marketplace For Short-Term Rentals
• iStopOver: Affordable Short Term Rentals From Owners
• AirBnB: Find Cheap Local Apartments
• WhatsOnWhen: Local Event Guide For Over 500 World Destinations
• UniversalPackingList: Online Traveling Packing List Generator

How It Works:

1. Browse listings by city, stay period and number of guests or post a ShoutOut. The ShoutOut is a message that appears on the homepage where all the hosters can see it and contact you with offers. You don’t need an account to post ShoutOuts.
2. Pay online for the stay in the apartment. Receive a payment code.
3. Give the payment code to the hoster when you arrive to the spot before you check-in

You can filter listings by neighborhoods, max. daily price, room type and extra amenities. Click to view apartment pictures and read description, and inquire further details with a single click. Sign up required.

Features:

• Peer-to-peer short term apartment rentals.
• Rent your spare room to strangers risk-free through innovative online payment system.
• Instantly post “looking for room” messages online and get offers from hosters. (No account required).
• Service available in major metro areas including New York, Miami, Lost Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Toronto, San Francisco, Vancouver and Washington DC.
• Free, sign up to inquire about apartments or list your rooms.
• Similar website: iStopOver.

Check out Roomorama @ www.roomorama.com

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• iStopOver: Affordable Short Term Rentals From Owners
• AirBnB: Find Cheap Local Apartments
• HotelWorldOnline: Compare Hotel Prices From Top Hotel Reservation Sites
• RentBits: Rental Property Search Engine
• PadMapper: Easy Way To Search Craigslist For Rental Property

Advanced search lets you filter listings by apartment type (e.g. house, duplex, condo), number bathrooms and certain amenities  (e.g. pets allowed, garage).

To see average rental rates in your area, check out site’s Rental Statistics. It shows rental price history over the last 6 months for properties in 4000 major cities in US. Its a handy tool for both renters and landlords to adjust to current market rental prices.

Average rental prices in Los Angeles, California

The site also provides downloadable Rental Comparison Widget that lets you view average rates for up 4 locations from your desktop.

Features:

• Rental property search engine.
• Search rental properties all over US and view rental trends.
• Filter listings by location, apartment type, price, amenities and view them on a Google Map.
• View average rental prices for 4000 major cities.
• Download desktop widget to view the average rates from your desktop.
• Similar websites: PadMapper and ApartmentMap.
• Free and no signup.

Check out RentBits @ www.rentbits.com [via TechCrunch]

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• PadMapper: Easy Way To Search Craigslist For Rental Property
• MyApartmentMap: Find Affordable Places to Rent in US
• HousingMaps: Find Places For Rent & Sale in US
• Roomorama: Marketplace For Short-Term Rentals
• RentoMeter: Compare Rent Rates in Your Area

To search simply type in the location, select number of days and guests and then hit the Enter tush. HotelCalculator will bring list of results that can be narrowed down by price, type, hotel star rating (1 to 5) and amenities (Internet access, swimming pool, air-conditioning… etc).

You can also view hotels on a Goolge Map, see its distance from the city center and hotels in nearby towns. To book the hotel, just follow the link and complete the order at the provider’s website.

Furthermore you can add the hotels you liked to a “shortlist”. Shortlist lets you filter and compare hotels from the overall list.  You can save the shortlist and access it later through a provided link

Features:

• Compare hotel prices in over 13,000 cities all over the world.
• Data aggregated from multiple hotel and travel info providers including ActiveHotels.com, Agoda.com, AlphaRooms.com, Booking.com, HotelClub.com, OctopusTravel.com and others.
• View hotel listings, narrow results by price, hotel star rating (1 to 5) and amenities (Internet, swimming pool, air conditioning etc).
• View hotel location on a Google Map.
• Add hotels to a shortlist and access them later via provided link (link valid 7 days).
• Easy to use interface and no registration.
• Similar sites: HostelBookers, iStopOver and SeeYourHotel.

Check out HotelCalculator @ www.hotelcalculator.com

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• HostelBookers: Find Budget Hostel For Your Backpacking Trip
• SeeYourHotel: Find A Hotel Close To Any Address
• Roomorama: Marketplace For Short-Term Rentals
• PadMapper: Easy Way To Search Craigslist For Rental Property
• MyApartmentMap: Find Affordable Places to Rent in US

Travelers can search for place by specifying where they want to stay with the check-in and check-out dates and in return get results with all available places. The results can be sorted by type, price, ratings and filtered by distance, WiFi, laundry, parking, smoking… etc.

Home owners on other hand can create an attractive listing and list their homes or rooms with complete control over pricing and who can stay. iStopOver handles all payments on behalf of the home owner and charges 9% for every successful lending.

Furthermore both traveler and home owner can can review and rate each other to provide feedback for other users.

Features:

• Lists affordable accommodations from home owners.
• Travelers can search for commendations by area and date.
• Rental can be sorted by type, price and ratings.
• Home owners can easily list their homes and rooms.
• iStopOver handles all payments exchanges.
• Travelers and home owners both can leave and receive reviews.
• Free for travelers, but home owners are charged 9% for every successful lending.

Check out iStopOver @ www.istopover.com

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• AirBnB: Find Cheap Local Apartments
• Roomorama: Marketplace For Short-Term Rentals
• PadMapper: Easy Way To Search Craigslist For Rental Property
• MyApartmentMap: Find Affordable Places to Rent in US
• HotelWorldOnline: Compare Hotel Prices From Top Hotel Reservation Sites

To view apartment rentals within a particular area, drag the pointer on a map. Filter listings by apartment type and search radius (up to 10 miles). Red listings are expensive, blue ones are cheaper. Click on a listing to see if the price is below or above area’s average. View area’s average rental prices for recent months for all apartment types. Compare area’s prices with nearest neighborhoods.

Features:

• Helps you find affordable apartment rentals in US.
• View up-to date comprehensive apartment rental data and statistics.
• Data aggregated from publicly available rentals sources.
• Compare average prices between different states, cities and neighborhoods.
• View most and least expensive cities.
• View prices for studio, 1, 2 or 3 bedroom apartments within a selected area on a Google Map.
• View area’s average prices for recent months.
• See if an apartment’s rental price is above or below area’s average.
• Free and no registration.
• Similar sites: PadMapper.

Check out MyApartmentMap @ www.myapartmentmap.com (via Lifehacker )

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• PadMapper: Easy Way To Search Craigslist For Rental Property
• HousingMaps: Find Places For Rent & Sale in US
• RentBits: Rental Property Search Engine
• iStopOver: Affordable Short Term Rentals From Owners
• AirBnB: Find Cheap Local Apartments

You can zoom in down to a street level and view the restaurants, bars and shops in the surrounding area using the Street View feature. It also lets you instantly filter apartments based on criteria such as max/min rent, # of bedrooms, max price per bedroom, pictures etc. Pretty cool.

If you found an apartment that interests you, add it to Favorites and view the list later. However, if you want to keep the saved entries beyond your browser session, provide an email and when you close your browser you will be sent the results to your email address.

Features:

• Craigslist apartment search using Google Maps.
• Zoom in/out to view available apartments in the whole country, state/city or a neighbourhood.
• Zoom in closer to view more results in a particular area.
• Filter apartments based on criteria such as max/min rent, # of bedrooms, max price per bedroom, pictures etc.
• View surrounding area of the apartment using the Street View feature.
• Save apartments in Favorites. Provide your email to view them later when you end your session.
• Free and no registration.
• Also see our related post “Top 5 U.S. Apartment Search Engines“

Check out PadMapper @ www.padmapper.com

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• MyApartmentMap: Find Affordable Places to Rent in US
• HousingMaps: Find Places For Rent & Sale in US
• RentBits: Rental Property Search Engine
• iStopOver: Affordable Short Term Rentals From Owners
• AirBnB: Find Cheap Local Apartments

To find a hostel, drill down starting from the destination country and then to the city you are planning to visit. Once you have located the city, you will be able to see all available accommodations in as a list mode or view them on the map (Google maps).

Features:

• Find a cheap place to stay on your backpacking trip.
• Search for hostels or browse them by countries.
• Sort hostels by price or ratings.
• View result as a list or map view.
• Lists over 2,500 destinations worldwide.
• Check out ratings and reviews for each budget hostel.
• No booking fees or registration required.
• Also see: SeeYourHotel – Find A Hotel Close To Any Address.

Check out Hostelbookers @ www.hostelbookers.com

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• HotelCalculator: Compare Hotel Prices on Multiple Travel Sites
• SeeYourHotel: Find A Hotel Close To Any Address
• Roomorama: Marketplace For Short-Term Rentals
• PadMapper: Easy Way To Search Craigslist For Rental Property
• MyApartmentMap: Find Affordable Places to Rent in US