Hotels vs homes: what guests compare before they book
By Joseph Kalaydjian, Founder & CEO, Cheez Hospitality
Airbnb now lists hotels. Booking.com has shown hotels and homes on the same screen for years. For anyone who owns a furnished apartment in Athens or Beirut, that changes who you compete with: it is no longer only the flat in the next building. It is every hotel in the neighbourhood.
A new PriceLabs survey of 1,082 travellers across five countries shows how guests actually compare the two, and where homes win.
Who looks at both hotels and homes
30% of guests who stay in small hotels also considered a rental home for their last trip. For guests of large hotels the figure is 16%, and for people who book rentals it is 12%. Small-hotel guests are twice as likely to look at a home, which makes boutique hotels the closest competitor for a well-run apartment.
The trips and stays that compare the most
Work-and-leisure trips compare the most, at 30%, ahead of special events (21%), holidays (18%) and visits to family (18%). Length of stay matters too: 16% of one-to-three-night guests compare both, 21% of four-to-six-night guests, and 25% of guests staying a week or more.
That is the mid-term guest: in town for weeks, working, living. It is where a home has the most to offer.
Couples and groups shop around
When a couple or a group decides together, 51% compare hotels and homes. When one person decides alone, 32% do. More people in the decision means more comparing, and more chances for a home with space and a kitchen to win.
Where they book
45% of guests compare both on Booking.com, where hotels and homes sit side by side. Only 29% do when they book direct with a property. Being listed where guests compare matters, and so does a direct booking channel that makes your own price clear.
The price line
82% of boutique-hotel guests say they would book a home instead of their hotel: 48% at the same price and 34% if it were slightly cheaper. 18% would never switch. Loyalty to a boutique hotel has a price ceiling.
Homes do not win by default
When guests compare both, 60% still choose the hotel and 35% choose the home. What tips it towards a home is location (44%), a kitchen (31%), free cancellation (31%) and no extra fees (29%).
What this means for owners
Price your apartment against the hotels around it, not only against other flats. Be listed where guests compare. Offer the stays where homes win, from a week to eleven months. Show one clear price with no surprises at checkout.
That is how we price and run the homes we manage in Athens and Beirut. If you own a property that sits idle or earns less than it should, write to us at hello@cheezhospitality.com and we will send you a breakdown for your apartment.
Designed Living. Operated by Cheez.






