Before I left for Istanbul, I decided to try out a new concept in vacation rentals via an online service called Wimdu. I found out about it after receiving some recommendations from friends who were making a lot of money renting their apartments (free to list) with them in the States. Basically,Wimdu is a website where you can list your apartment or house for a night, week, month or however long you want, and vacationers can “book” it for a short stay. It’s a great way to make a little supplemental income and meet some interesting people in the process. Wimdu offers users a much more affordable accommodation option than staying in a hotel, but you get much more for your money than a hotel in the same price range. Think about it, what do hotel’s really offer besides biased “advice” on what to do, where to go, and a bedroom that you spend barely any time in.
A day before coming to Istanbul, I tried to book an apartment that ended up being unavailable, but the local Wimdu representative in Istanbul contacted a few other users for me on their own and sent me an email offering even better options than I found . I gave her a virtual “thumbs up” on a place I liked, and the next thing I knew I was walking into a modern apartment that was nicer than my own in Miami for about $60 for the night. The Wi-Fi was great, it had a queen size bed, great bathroom and was spotlessly clean. It was an awesome place to start out my trip before I inevitably would be spending the majority of my two weeks on vacation at hostels. If you’re looking for a cool place to stay like an apartment in Amsterdam, Barcelona or Paris, Wimdu is a great place to start.
