RivetBangers.com

I am looking to use some frequent flier miles to book a week or so long trip to Amsterdam for New Years Eve time frame.

Since the airfare is pretty much close to a freebie, I am looking at different options for lodging for this trip.

Hotels in Amsterdam are pretty high year round, but even higher the period I plan on traveling. I want to do this trip but the hotel prices are going to price me out of the ballpark.

I considered(only briefly) hostels as an option, but that isnt my thing even though the prices are more manageable.

Somehow, I ended up at a website where you can hook up and find people that rent out parts of their houses/condos/apartments to travelers. I found one place that I can get use of a bedroom and common areas of a townhouse in a good location of the city.

Has anyone ever heard of or used http://www.airbedandbreakfast.com/ ?

There isnt much about it on the web since the site has only been around since 2007. There are a few news articles pointing out that people are utilizing the site to rent and rent out places in DC for the inauguration.

Any opinions or comments?

Are you going to have a car? I stayed just outside of Amsterdam one year in the town of Aalsmeer ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aalsmeer ), famous for the flower markets and giant flower shipping warehouse at a B&B cheaply, compared to the higher prices and noise in Amsterdam. As an annual Euro traveler, my favorite sites to find deals are:
www.venere.com
www.tripadvisor.com
I use mainly the first one, and scored less than a $100 a night in the heart of Venice and Rome a couple weeks ago - both were awesome places with big breakfasts (the Venice place would be considered a luxury room in the US) . Both websites have extensive travelers' reviews including uploaded pics in some cases - whether in this country or abroad, I have never had a miss with the locations that were high up on the ratings list. Good luck.

I lived in Amsterdam for four months in 99 when I did some work for KLM. I stayed at hotels the whole time and I saved a lot of money by calling the hotels and asking for discounts. The hotels would sometimes reduce the rate by as much as 50%. My favorite hotel was the Renaissance. It is the bomb and they always gave me a discount.

Another point: you don't need a car if you are staying in the city. You can take the trains anywhere you want to go.

This is my second trip to Amsterdam, and pretty familiar with the city. I plan on staying in the central section of the city and not planning on a rental car. I will be sampling the many different beers there, so skipping a rental is a wise decision. I can get an unlimited pass for the tram/bus system for about 20€. Since this trip is on a free airfare, trying to stay a little bit on the low budget side.

When first looking, it appeared I was going to hit Amsterdam on the 26th and the hotels between Christmas and New Years are pretty much higher than the usual high prices. Looks like i get in on the 31st instead so my options for better pricing on hotels just improved. Still looking, and always keeping alternate options in mind.

Thats another factor I forgot. When I was there the US Dollar was worth about twice that of the Dutch Guilder. Now that they have switched to the Euro..........

Good luck with your trip. I would be interested in hearing how it all turns out.