Renting a Castle Is the Next Big Travel Trend—and It Can Save You Money

Forget five-star hotel suites. Next year, more travelers will be opting to live like royalty and spend their vacations in a castle, according to a recent report from HomeAway.

The vacation rental site's new trend report for 2019 is based on user data from this year. HomeAway writes that "Super-sizing is taking hold in American vacationing," with demand for luxury estates up 25 percent and demand for castles up 55 percent.

You may think that renting an entire building would be out of the price range of the typical traveler, but it can actually end up saving you money depending on the size of the group you're traveling with. One California wine country estate available through HomeAway goes for $68 per person per night if all 10 beds are filled. The Landmark Trust, a UK-based charity organization, rents out castles and other historic sites for even less. Some of the properties in its network, which includes villas, lighthouse cottages, and castles, can be booked starting at $20 per guest.

If you're planning a castle vacation with a dozen of your closest friends in 2019, Europe is the place to go, with thousands of castles located throughout the continent. Paris, London, Rome, and Florence were HomeAway's most popular European destinations this year, according to the report.