I posted a video on social media last week for Airbnb alternatives and got a lot of helpful feedback on what people still needed options for. So today I’m diving in on longer term, family & pet friendly alternatives and sharing others I found along the way including queer-focused and eco-friendly platforms.
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PeopleLikeUs Home Exchange: Independently owned home exchange platform with options for short & long term stays. Home exchanges themselves are free, though you can pay for an annual membership for upgraded features.
The Details: Founded by travel-lovers Drew Seitam and his wife Kathy Leach, PeopleLikeUs is privately held and based out of Australia. They do not have a profile on OpenSecrets nor a diversity policy for employees listed on their website, but they note clearly on their home page “We are a diverse group of people from all over the world who share a common set of values: trust, generosity, friendship, and adventure.”
How Does It Work? PeopleLikeUs is a community for home exchanges, but has a couple of different ways to exchange. You can do a straight swap or earn tokens towards future stays depending on the arrangement. You can set up short stays or longer-term options. Joining and swapping within the community is free, however you can get a premium membership for $159/yr for additional benefits and features.
Where can you book? All over the world, they operate in 100+ countries
Family & Pet Options: Generally family-friendly, though you can ask potential hosts for any specific concerns. You can request pet-friendly home exchanges, they even have a page dedicated to Cat Lovers stays!
Trustpilot Reviews: 4.9/5 stars, 1.3K+ reviews
Kindred: Venture-capital backed home exchange platform. I will be honest – Kindred is not my favorite, mostly because you still have to pay service and cleaning fees. But, depending on where you’re booking it could still be cheaper than other lodging options.
The Details: Founded by Justine Palefsky and Tas Amina, Kindred is privately held and funded by venture capital, including Andreesen Horowitz and Index Ventures. Kindred supports diversity and does not have a profile on OpenSecrets.
How Does It Work? Verified home exchanges where you must host your own home to travel. You can swap directly, or when you join you get 5 credits equal to 5 nights to book travel, and as you host others you continue to earn 1 credit per night. There is no membership fee, but you will still need to pay a service and cleaning fee when you book which can be $100/night or more.
Where can you book? 300K+ homes across the world
Family & Pet Options: You can’t filter by pet-friendly or family-friendly options, which is frustrating.
Trustpilot Reviews: 4.8/5 stars, 377 reviews
Global Family Home Rentals (GFHR): Recently launched home exchange platform with verified members, built for families looking for longer-term stays of 30 days or more.
The Details: Founded by married couple Joe O’Connor and Lindsey Gleason and based out of Buffalo, NY. (GO BILLS!) GFHR is held privately and has no major outside investors, nor a public diversity policy or a profile on OpenSecrets.
How does it work? Get a membership for $399/yr to access the platform and find listings. You will need to pay a rate per night, however it’s “at-cost” pricing, meaning it should be lower rates than other platforms.
Where can you book? It doesn’t note on their website what locations are available, but generally would think worldwide.
Family & Pet Options: It’s built for traveling families, and any pet specific needs can be discussed with your potential host or via listings.
Trustpilot Reviews: N/A, just launched
MindMyHouse: Independently owned house sitting exchange & booking service with low membership fee. You can either find house sitters for your home, or become a house sitter in a travel location or locally.
The Details: Founded and operated by married couple Susan and Alan, as far as I can tell it’s still owned by them with no major outside investors. MindMyHouse does not have a public diversity policy, which is common for small/mid-size international companies, and does not have a profile on OpenSecrets.
What can you book? You can either find a house-sitting arrangement in the location you want to travel to, or look for housesitters watch your pets/house while you’re gone.
Where can you book? North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand are the most popular, but they have listings across the world. You can view listing locations and a lot more cool info on their stats page.
Family & Pet Options: House sitters can look after pets while you’re away, and if you’re traveling with kids and/or pets you can find suitable sitting arrangements when looking through listings.
Trustpilot Reviews: 4.7/5 stars, 151 reviews
Nomador: Independently-owned pet sitting exchange – you can either find sitters for your pets while traveling or offer pet sitting services to stay in your travel location.
The Details: Founded by Mathilde Ferrari and based out of France, Nomador is privately held with no major outside investors. Nomador does not have a public diversity policy, which is common for small/mid-size international companies, and does not have a profile on OpenSecrets.
What can you book? Pet-sitting focused, you can either travel while caring for pets or find a pet sitter for yours.
Where can you book? 100+ countries worldwide
Family & Pet Options: It’s unlikely that you’d be able to take your own pet/s when you travel as the premise is based on pet-sitting, though you could always talk to the person who has the listing. You can filter stays by family-friendly options.
Trustpilot Reviews: 4.7/5 stars, 12.7K+ reviews
If you have a long-term stay planned, I recommend trying to find local listings for short-term apartment rentals when possible.
Search: “short-term apartment rentals in [location]” or similar phrases to see what local options come up.
Craigslist, Facebook Groups & Marketplace: If you’re looking for a longer sublet option check out local listings on Craigslist and Facebook. Be safe though – do not share financial information or send money until you are able to verify the listing independently, either by contacting the rental company or landlord directly (ideally through the phone), or actually visiting the rental beforehand if you are able to.
Friends/Family: If you have friends or family where you are planning on staying for an extended period of time, ask them for ideas! They will know the best local ways to find short-term rentals, or may know someone who’s looking for a sublet-er or renter for their place.
Flatio: If you’re looking for longer-term lodging options whether for travel or work Flatio has options for up to 1 year agreements.
The Details: Based out of Europe, Flatio is held privately and funded by venture capital. Flatio does not have a public diversity policy nor a profile on OpenSecrets.
What can you book? Airbnb-like listings for 5 days minimum to up to a year-long rental.
Where can you book? Across the world
Family & Pet Options: You can filter by family and pet-friendly options, and they also have kitchen filters like utilities for cooking and dishwashers.
Trustpilot Reviews: 4.2/5 stars, 743 reviews
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HipCamp: If you love camping, glamping, or something in-between you can easily find and book campsites on HipCamp.
The Details: Founded by Alyssa Ravasio and held privately with venture capital investors including Andreesen Horowitz, Benchmark, Bond Capital and Index Ventures. HipCamp notes within their job descriptions they value diversity as a company and do not have a profile on OpenSecrets.
What can you book? Campsites in national parks, private campaign sites, and RV resorts. You can filter options by tent sites, RV & rig friendly spots, and accommodation-provided sites.
Where can you book? US-only
Family & Pet Options: You can filter listings by family-friendly and pet-friendly.
Trustpilot Reviews: 3.3/5 stars, 5.9K+ reviews
SocialBnB: If you want to travel in a way that actually gives back to the local community, check out Socialbnb. Socialbnb vets and curates travel experiences that support and uplift local communities – 85% of a travel price goes directly to local social or environmental projects. They also find accommodations and experiences that are beyond the typical tourist-y sites.
The Details: Held privately and funded through various incubator/accelerator government and private organizations or programs.
What can you book? Lodging, experiences, or full-on curated trips.
Where can you book? Across most of the world, though they do not have listings in the US or Mexico.
Family & Pet Options: You can’t filter by family or pet friendly options, but you can filter by private kitchen and other lodging features.
Trustpilot Reviews: 4.6/5 stars, 36 reviews
EcoBnB: If you want to travel sustainably in Europe, Ecobnb is for you. You can filter by multiple sustainability measures, and their website runs on 100% renewable energy.
The Details: Held privately and funded by European Union governmental projects. Ecobnb does not have a profile on OpenSecrets nor a public diversity policy.
What can you book? Eco-friendly and sustainable Airbnb-like stays, hotels, & other lodging.
Where can you book? Mostly within Europe, though they may have some listings in Australia/New Zealand.
Family & Pet Options: You can filter by family-friendly, but they don’t have options to filter for pet friendly.
Trustpilot Reviews: N/A
MisterB&B: Book a stay from LGBTQIA+ hosts around the world, also features queer-friendly hotels & resorts.
The Details: Founded by Matthieu Jost when he and his partner faced discrimination during an Airbnb stay. MisterB&B is held privately and funded by venture capital and crowdfunding campaigns. Notably, MisterB&B was accepted into Expedia’s One World Accelerator program in 2023, however it does not seem that Expedia has an ownership stake in MisterB&B or is currently partnered with them. MisterB&B does not have a profile on OpenSecrets nor a public diversity policy.
What can you book? Both Airbnb-like home rentals and LGBTQIA+ friendly hotels & resorts.
Where can you book? Worldwide, they have listings in over 200 countries.
Family & Pet Options: You can filter by family and pet-friendly options, and they also have kitchen filters if you need one.
Trustpilot Reviews: 4/5 stars, 3.6K+ reviews
Quouch: The queer version of Couchsurfing! You can find queer hosts, or set up your own hosting, and filter by options like neurodiverse, non-smoker, sober, sign language, and more.
The Details: Founded by queer woman Nora von Breitenbach and held privately with no major outside investors as far as I can tell. Quouch does not have a profile on OpenSecrets nor a public diversity policy, but currently they only have 3 employees.
What can you book? Quouch is similar to couchsurfing, where you can stay or host someone for free. They also offer Hangouts, where you can connect with fellow travelers or locals for a coffee, coworker, or other hanging out experience. It’s free to use or upgrade to one of their paid membership options for additional features.
Where can you book? Quouch is available across 80+ countries.
Family & Pet Options: Varies by host.
Trustpilot Reviews: N/A
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Welcome Beyond: If you’ve got a little money to spend and want something that’s truly unique, check out Welcome Beyond. They handpick hotels & holiday homes around the world that have distinctive architecture and character for uncommon stays.
The Details: Founded and owned by brothers Chris & Oliver Laugsch, Welcome Beyond is based in Berlin. They do not have a profile on OpenSecrets nor a public diversity policy.
What can you book? Handpicked hotels & holiday home listings.
Where can you book? Worldwide
Family & Pet Options: You can’t filter by family or pet-friendly when searching through properties, but they do have a list of family-friendly options.
Trustpilot Reviews: N/A
InnDependent Stays: Super helpful map & directory of independently-owned hotels, motels, bed & breakfasts across the US & Canada.
The Details: Founded by Brett McManus and held privately, InnDependent stays does not have a profile on OpenSecrets nor a public diversity policy, though their company has less than 10 employees.
Family & Pet Options: You can’t filter listings by family or pet friendly options, but details are available in the listings and on the properties’ websites.
Vacasa/Casago: Vacasa was a public company, then was bought out and taken private by Casago in 2025. Now, major private equity firms Silver Lake, Riverwood Capital and Level Equity have seats on the board and own significant stakes in the merged company.
Whimstay: Held privately with investment from venture capital and private equity firm Vibora.
Trusted Housesitters: Owned by private equity firm Mayfair Equity Partners since December 2023.
FurnishedFinder: Held privately and funded by Summit Partners, a private equity firm.
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