Over the past two weeks, zipping across Northern California in a cheap rental car, my wife and I passed countless roadside motels flashing vacancy signs. Wall Street analysts who cover such things may blame the empty rooms on the sagging economy and fuel costs (which, in truth, are laughably cheap when compared to Europe). I have a different explanation. It’s the popularity of websites such as VRBO.com, ownersdirect.co.uk and Craigslist.com that enable locals with a spare room or cottage to let them out to holidaymakers. If this direct rental model isn’t yet sinking some of the big motor lodge hotel chains, it will soon.

Letting out summer holiday homes online is nothing new. I’ve been letting out my stone cottage in Central Italy on Ownersdirect.co.uk for the past few years, primarily to Britons desperate for a bit of summer sunshine. I have had a new perspective of it here in my home country over the past few weeks, being on the customer side of the transaction for a change. Also, this was my first glimpse of it in the United States, the first time I’d organised a summer holiday here in almost a decade. Not surprisingly, we bumped into scores of Europeans gleefully spending their cheap dollars like it was Monopoly cash. And, I wasn’t surprised either to see so many of them opting for the comforts of a local’s home over a hotel chain or fancy holiday resort.

Our first stop took us to San Francisco where we found a spacious garden apartment in tony Nob Hill for five nights, spending a little over $800 (£400). An equivalent hotel room in this same neighbourhood would easily have set us back over a grand. We found the place on VRBO.com, a site that several Californians had suggested to me, helpfully pointing out that the site’s holiday rental selection in some locations exceeded that of Craigslist.com. I was grateful.

Stop two was Sonoma County. Wine Country. Here, we drove along California Route 12 on our way to our hilltop hideaway and saw a fair number of “vacancy” signs at the various little inns and roadway hotels, strange indeed for early August. But then it was a Monday and Tuesday; you could imagine the American working stiffs with their precious two-week holiday allotment still toiling away behind a desk somewhere.

What was truly surprising was the number of hotel vacancy signs in and around our next destination, Yosemite National Park, one of America’s most visited and most splendid holiday spots. A room in the luxury Awahnee Hotel in the Yosemite Valley was still dear, but otherwise there were plenty of options for last-minute holidaymakers. This blew my mind. The last time I’d visited Yosemite National Park, in the mid-1990s, I had to make do with a sad little campsite on the periphery of the park. For several days, I went without plumbing and a shower -- naturally, for a campsite -- and spent $50 a night for the privilege. It was sold out. America’s National Park Service had a great racket on its hands. Steady demand meant the punter had to accept meagre accommodations at a disproportionate price. That was the case up until just a few years ago.

This time through, the campsites were half-full. Just outside the park, in an incredible high desert valley in the Stanislaus National Forest, was a different story. We hired a spacious and secluded stone cabin with built-in pool, wi-fi and all the comforts of home on the edge of the park. The place is called Spinning Wheel Ranch, a magical spot that has been lovingly constructed by the owners, Pete and Deb Barsotti. It felt like five-star camping, minus sleeping bags, bug spray and killjoy park rangers. It was for a few short days a vacation paradise, not so much for the accommodations, but for our gracious hosts who shared with us a memorable meal and tipped us off about a local swimming spot called “The Rainbow Pools” where you could dive off cliffs into the sparkling waters of the Tuolomne River. It was a small gesture, but it was a highlight of our trip, one we’ll remember fondly for years.

For me, the biggest appeal of renting out somebody’s house for a summer holiday is a side perk – the peek into how other people live. I’d much rather walk through somebody’s neighbourhood, see them, their friends and neighbours in their natural setting, hear their stories, their criticisms of the local politicians and their perspective on how life is changing too fast or, perhaps, not fast enough. I’d pay extra for this feature. A fancy resort or hotel chain, a place populated solely by tourists and tourism professionals, depresses me. It just reminds I’m an outsider, and little more.

When I rent a person’s apartment or cottage or a room in their house, by contrast, as I’ve done throughout parts of Europe, it instinctively feels more inclusive, less alien. And, invariably the experiences are more memorable. I fondly recall touring the caverns underneath a 600-year-old chateau in France’s Loire Valley with the colourful owner, Claude. And I’ll never forget a simple but delicious breakfast of breads and jams prepared by a sweet woman in Normandy who opened up her home to us. My wife and I found both places on Ownersdirect.co.uk.

There’s certainly nobody in the hotel business like Pete and Deb or the other gracious people who’ve let out their homes to us in France, the UK and Spain over the years. They have a tremendous pride for their region and precious insights into the area we explored that turned our vacations into wondrous adventures. For me, the best hotels could never compare. Judging by all the vacancy signs I’m seeing, I am not alone.

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Bernhard Warner, a freelance journalist and media consultant, writes about technology, the internet and media industries. He can be reached at techscribe@gmail.com