Super cheap post-Christmas vacation - finding a room

AirBnB - if I want to spend Christmas in Amsterdam, I could stay here for $89/night

Due to a number of reasons, I can't leave NYC over Christmas. H and I are spending Christmas entirely alone, and it's too bad. This is a big Christmas for my family as my brother and my sister-in-law have had the first grandchild. Money is insanely tight in every quarter of the fam as I am unemployed and living in the most expensive city in the Western world, my parents are building a house and my brother just gutted his home. Still, I imagined to convince my brother that we should celebrate Christmas well after Christmas this year. While his family will meet up with my parents in December, we will all meet up in some central location and exchange presents etc. in February.

Now, we have to decide where to meet. We are limited to the continental U.S. and my budget. One thing I have worked out is where to stay. A few of my friends have used Air BnB in the past and have really enjoyed it.

Air BnB is an online service where people post cottages, rooms, apartments they have available to let. The company lists housing all over the world, and manages the exchange of payment. My perusal of the site this week has revealed some amazing housing in some pretty cool places, at low prices.

When I say low, I mean low. Most of the listings I found asked for a flat fee for rental, with little or no price increase to include additional people. I found a beautiful house in a historic Southern city for $167 a night for eight people. That's not $167 per person. That's $167 for all eight. I wish I had known about this service when I was planning my wedding, as it would have been a nice recommendation for guests.

It would seem that with Air BnB I can tie up my housing situation fairly quickly. Now I just have to choose a city that is easily accessible and hospitable in February.