Digital Nomad Apps
Accommodation apps.
If you’ve got where you are going it’s always good to have somewhere to stay. Whether you are digital nomading in style or on less of a budget there is sure to be an app designed to help you out.
Comprehensive search engines.
Useful for those on all budgets but will include options aimed at the digital nomad with deeper pockets (not me).
Booking.com – A great app to start with offering you the chance to view and book a room in over 640,000 hotels, apartments and more. Booking.com is packed full of features designed to make everything easier for the traveller and in my opinion really should be a go to point for all digital nomads. Over 44 million verified reviews give you a great idea of what you are letting yourself in for and the easy to use interface ensures simplicity for the user. As well as the usual search options you’d expect, Booking.com also allows you to search by landmark, meaning that you are able to get as close as possible to that vegan restaurant in Brno you’ve longed to try, seriously, try it, it’s great. A nice feature of Booking.com is that for many hotels you don’t need a credit card to book. Available on all platforms.
Hotels.com – Similar in style and function as Booking.com (they’re all pretty much the same after all!) Hotels.com offers accommodation at over 510,000 hotels in 200 countries. Hotels.com allows you to book in a hurry, with the option to book until 5am and check in straight away, very useful if you’ve caught an overnight train or bus and need somewhere to put your head down. Hotels.com are very fond of their ‘Tonight’s Local Deals’. This feature has a selection of daily offers and late room reservations available exclusively to mobile users. Check out the ‘WelcomeRewards’ scheme which gives you 1 night free for every 10 booked in selected places. Available on all platforms.
Trivago The Hotel Search – trivago is the largest of these 4 apps, it searches over 700,000 deals from over 175 booking agencies in it’s endeavours to get you the best deal. Trivago claims to find you the cheapest deal every time due to the fact that it’s database is constantly updating itself helping you find late deals and discounts. The interface is easy to use and obviously it’s a popular brand, that doesn’t always mean it’s the best though. Available on all platforms.
Expedia – The Expedia app allows you the chance to take advantage of mobile exclusive deals of savings up to 40%. As with the above 3 there is everything here you would expect to find to make things easier for you. If you are a registered member you can complete your booking in less than 30 seconds which is great if you struggle to make decisions! One swipe and you’re done! Available on all platforms.
Hostels.
For the digital nomad that wants to explore as many places as possible on a strict budget, can be a great way to make new friends on your travels.
Hostelworld – Hostelworld can show you over 35,000 unique hostels, motels and B&Bs all over the world. There are over 3.5 million reviews for hostels in the USA, Europe, South Asia, Australia and South America making it pretty likely you will find something to suit your needs. The app is free to download and makes it clear that there are no booking fees or hidden costs which is always nice to see. The interface is well presented and easy to use and offers you all the filter options you would expect such as location, price, customer rating etc. Available on all platforms.
WeHostels – Wehostels has over 40,000 hostels and budget hotels on show in cities all over the world, charging only a 10% deposit to guarantee your reservation you can book with confidence and enjoy your travels. Wehostels has great reviews and is well worth a look at for the budget traveller. Available on all platforms.
HostelBookers – HostelBookers gives you a straight forward, simple to use app for hostel booking, there are over 20,000 to choose from and there is no booking fee. Available on all platforms.
Cut out the middle man.
A calmer approach for the digital nomad that likes the personal touch.
Airbnb – For a more personal experience why not try booking through Airbnb. All types of accommodation are available here and they currently have over 450,000 listings in over 34,000 cities. You will find everything for a one bed apartment in London to a 6 bed chalet in the Dordoigne. I have used Airbnb many times before and have always found it to offer unique, interesting accommodation usually at much cheaper prices than a hotel. Airbnb allows users to refine their search to focus on room type, price, facilities, property type and host language amongst others meaning you are much more likely to find a place more personal to you. An added bonus of Airbnb is that you are constantly in touch with your host and many will be more than happy to show you around or at least give you a few local tips. The properties are reviewed by previous guests and the company offers you comprehensive customer service should anything go wrong. Highly recommended. Available on all platforms.
HomeAway – HomeAway is an alternative to Airbnb, the key features are pretty much identical as far as I can tell however they do claim to offer over 1,000,000 rental properties to choose from. Available on all platforms
Something a little different.
Roomer Travel – Roomer travel is a great way to find to find incredible discounts from unfortunate travellers that have had to cancel their plans. Instead of losing all of their money more and more people are selling their reservations, better to get something then nothing eh? Whilst this isn’t great for them it could be perfect for you!
ACSI – If you’d like to sleep under the stars have a look at ACSI, an app designed to show you the great camp sites of Europe. The app works without internet access, has reviews from fellow campers and allows you to enter extensive search parameters to ensure you find your ideal spot. The app contains information on over 8500 sites but does work on a pay as you download system. If you wish to download the whole database it will cost you $9.99 but if you are visiting Andorra, Portugal and Spain it will only cost $1.49. Personally I find those prices very reasonable, I think a lot of the negative reviews for this app are for people who want everything for free!
Hopefully you’ll have managed to find somewhere without trawling through all of these sites for all of the hours in the day? Do you have any other go to apps for accommodation? Let us know and share with your fellow Digital Nomads in the comments below.