You may have heard about vacation apartment rental agencies, but in some cases it may be a better idea to cut out the middleman entirely and rent directly from the owner.

These days the traditional methods have been to respond to an ad in a newspaper or on Craigslist.

But now there are several peer-to-peer services that can hook you up with someone who wants to rent out their apartment for short time, while you are in their city.

There’s a Web site called Roomarama.com that offers apartment rentals in cities like New York, Boston, Chicago, and Toronto.

The average cost for a Lower East Side New York apartment is $159 a night. Compare that to $279 for a standard hotel room in the same area.

AirbedandBreakfast.com is a San Francisco-based service that connects travelers with locals in 63 countries, who may have a spare room to rent.

It won’t get you your own apartment and you may not have sleep in someone else’s couch, but you only have to pay an average of $50 a night.

And if the owner is friendly, you may even get a built-in host.

Get more information about accommodations in our Hotels section.

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