Accommodation

Here is the key to saving money on accomodation if you are a family of five. Firstly rename your third child ‘one extra’. Your ultimate goal is to book only one room or apartment. Once you have to book two hotel rooms the price will double (I know I’m good at maths). Before AirBnb we would book cabins in caravan parks or occasionally stay in hostels. This is still potentially an option, but it is much more convenient to rent a house with more space, cooking facilities and sometimes your own pool. I recommend starting your search on Booking.com. If you can’t find anything great when searching for five people, try to search for four and then contact the hotel directly to see if they will allow ‘one-extra’ in the room on a rollaway or mattress. 

When searching on AirBnb I look at the best reviews, but I always make sure there are around 30, with some recent ones included. I do worry that only five amazing reviews could be the friends of the host. Sometimes I will search within the reviews for “noise” and such. Make sure you look past the first couple of pages. Check each individual cancellation policy as these do differ. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how much notice you give when cancelling, you will probably still be charged the service fee, and in some cases you can lose almost everything you paid.

It’s hard not to make comparisons. We spent AU$160 for a sleepless night at Mittra Inn, Singapore, compared with AU$140 at this beautiful Villa in Ubud, Bali.