When you're planning a trip, the first item to check off the list (after deciding where to go) is finding lodging. Most people automatically start scanning hotel reviews or booking websites like Hotwire. But there are other options besides the standard La Quinta.

Quick poll: would you rather spend your week in Mexico in a hotel room, or a 3-bedroom villa? Does that seem like an easy choice?

What if, at the hotel, you were guaranteed breakfast, a pool, and maid services, but at the villa you had to cook for yourself and there was no swim-up bar? What if you had to share the villa with another family, but the cost was half that of the hotel?

Once upon a time (in 1995), a couple discovered that they needed help renting their ski condo each winter. To solve the problem, they started a network of vacation rentals by owner, which slowly grew into what we know as VRBO.com. VRBO mostly focused on entire house and apartment rentals, so in 2008 two guys in San Francisco decided to take the idea one step further and turned the living room of their San Francisco loft into a makeshift bed and breakfast.

I, personally, wouldn't have wanted to stay at the original listing for AirBNB. An air mattress in a living room shared by two other people does not sound like a dream vacation, but for solo trekkers looking for cheap travel, that's a dream come true. For just a few dollars a day you could find lodging in a new city.

Now the website boasts 1.5 million listings in 190+ countries, and its changing the way people travel. Here's how it works: as a traveler, you simply visit Airbnb.com and search the general area you want to go. The page will populate with hundreds (sometimes thousands) of private residences to choose from. You can narrow your search by price (per week or by night), area, etc. What makes AirBNB special is that you can also search by the type of rental. Do you just need a bed, would you like your own room, or how about the whole place?

I haven't had a chance to experience AirBNB or VRBO myself yet (vacation rental is on the list for my next vacation), but many people swear by it and you can't really go wrong choosing one. VRBO prices are higher than AirBNB, but they don't charge a guest fee (AirBNB guest fees are between 6-12 percent). The range of listings at AirBNB is definitively more varied and it covers way more places. At most of its properties, you get to interact with the owners, usually locals, who cook meals, drive you to/from the airport, clean your room, and serve as de facto tour guides (Note: if you don't want to interact with the owners, that's always an option too. They're as available as you'd like them to be). VRBO is more like a standard vacation rental: you get the private residence without the owner interaction. Both have exceptional customer service and a comprehensive reviews system so you can rest assured that there will be no unpleasant surprises waiting for you.

So I'll leave you with the question I opened with - would you go for it? Or is hotel living still your preferred option?

Next time: Part 2: Debunking the myth of the murderous, cheap, and dirty hostel.

Julianna Satterly is a Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy graduate who worked as the Editor in Chief of her college newspaper at Washington and Lee University for 3 years. She's lived in 3 states, visited 28 others, and has toured 13 countries. Contact her at juliannasatterly@gmail.com, or on Facebook or Twitter @jsattz.