Hotel – Short term overnight accommodation.

Resort – Accommodation providing a wide verity of amenities and recreational facilities. It is more about the experience. Usually used for vacation or getaways.

B & B – Some sort of breakfast is included with your hotel night stay. They breakfast to range from a drink or coffee with a roll to a full breakfast.

Home exchange or House Swap – This is exchanging your home for another house for a set time period. This is often arranged through a travel service or club that you join.

Apartment Rental or Flat – Usually has a kitchen, sleeping area and bathroom not shared.

Hostel – Shared bedrooms & bathrooms (anyone they rent them to – no choice of roommates) Some hostels have private bedroom or bathrooms at an extra price. Mostly used by young single travelers.

Pension – Usually a family run Bed and Breakfast

Motel – Rooms usually open out to a parking lot. As the name implies it caters mostly to motorists.

Lodge – Usually out in nature, often made from logs, wood or other natural material.

Yurt – A domed portable tent usually covered in skins. It reminds me of a domed teepee. Usually used for accommodations out in the wilderness.

Inn – An inn is a small hotel usually either in the country or with a pub or tavern. A lot of the time they also have food available there.

Campus or Dorm Room – College room style usually twin beds or bunk beds.

Capsule or Cube – Small sleeping cube or capsule, nothing but a bed. There are usually a shared area with TV and bathroom

Bungalow – A small house or cottage is often called a bungalow. People call all kinds of houses bungalows so check to see what it really is.

Villa – Usually a country estate made up of several buildings or structures tied together. In some countries a villa could be just a vacation house or in other places a detached or semi-detached house.

Extended Stay – Usually more like an apartment that rents by the week or month.

Resort – Along with the hotel room will be common areas amenities such as a swimming pool, dining, game room, workout facilities, etc.

Parador – A luxury state-run hotel

Guest House – A house used to rent on a short term basis for travelers

Unique Theme Accommodations – Lighthouse, Cave, Ice Hotel, Railway Car, Underwater Hotel, Tree House, Dog House, House boat, Hotel with theme rooms, Castle, Cabin, Airplane Hotel, Utopia Bubbles

Depending on the country that you are traveling the names of the type of accommodation may change. There are many different choices when it comes to picking your vacation accommodations. Maybe next time look through this list and see if there is one you would like to try that you hadn’t thought of before.