I am such a huge fan of Airbnb! I guess there are a bunch of others home rental options, like VRBO or HomeAway, but we’ve only used Airbnb and we’ve loved it. We’ve used Airbnb to stay in a cozy cabin on the Lake Michigan coastline, a fresh, beautiful townhouse in the suburbs of Minneapolis, a beachfront condo on the Gulf of Mexico, and more! One of my favorite Airbnb experiences was a home in downtown Portland that I stayed at with my sisters and brother last spring — the host left us food and wine (who does that?! amazing!), and the house was just the cutest thing! All of the hosts we’ve rented from have been absolutely wonderful!

I also love it when my brides find a unique Airbnb to use for their wedding day! From cabins tucked away in the woods to apartments right in the heart of a downtown area — renting a unique space can be such a fun and relaxing place to spend the morning of your wedding getting ready!

I’ve heard some crazy stories of people’s experiences with home rental services, and we’ve definitely come across some listings that look a little sketchy… (Once, I was scrolling Airbnb on my phone, looking for a rental house to stay at on our drive to Florida, and I showed Marty a picture of the living room of a listing that looked really promising. He looked closer, then gave the phone back to me. “Babe — look at the angle of that photo. That’s a security camera that they have, mounted in the corner of the living room.” Ehhhhh. Yep, we passed on that one haha!) But IN GENERAL, if the host is rated well, and if you take good care of the place you stay at as a guest, Airbnb can be such an amazing way to explore a new city and meet new people! We love it!