Staying Close By
The travel site built for visiting family and friends.
The travel site built for visiting family and friends.
When you’re visiting
family or friends,
every extra mile matters.
Most travel sites start with a city.
We start with their address.
Staying Close By is the better way to visit.
Staying Close By helps you find places to stay near the people you're there to see. From walking distance to 5 miles.
Start with their address. That way you can have your own space, your own bed and your own bathroom.
Cozy. Personal.
Welcoming.
A home-like stay
nearby.
Like an Airbnb-More space for your stay.
Simple,
budget-friendly stays.
Room to settle in
for a longer visit.
Trusted brands
when you need them.
Send your guests a link to places to stay near your house. They tap it and see the map. No typing.
Send them the link. They can see places close to your door, sometimes walking distance up to 5 miles away, and you’ll see them for morning coffee.
Your address is in the link. Only send it to people you want to have it.
Staying Close By starts with their address and gives you a clearer way to plan the rest of your visit.
You don't need to know the city. You just need to know where they live.
Enter the address of the family member or friend you're visiting, and Staying Close By makes that address the center of your search. No guessing which neighborhood, no searching around an unfamiliar city. Start with the person you're coming to see.
Find places to stay within 1, 3 or 5 miles of their door.
Instead of choosing a hotel first and then figuring out how far away it is, Staying Close By shows you what's available around the address that matters most. The closer you stay, the easier it is to spend time together.
Your visit is personal. Your lodging should be too.
Maybe you want a comfortable hotel. Maybe you'd rather have a cozy B&B, a private room, a guesthouse, an inn or a vacation rental. Staying Close By lets you explore different kinds of places to stay without losing sight of who you're visiting.
You're not just visiting them. You're visiting their part of the world.
Once you've found a place to stay, discover restaurants, attractions, activities and other things to do nearby. Turn a family visit or reunion with an old friend into a trip you can enjoy before, during and after the visit.
Don't settle for “it's only a few miles away.” Pick a place to stay, tap Directions, and Google Maps shows the actual driving distance and drive time to the person you're visiting. Because three miles across a city can feel very different from three miles on the road.
When it's time to see them, we'll help you get there.
You're in a city you may not know. Your lodging is unfamiliar. Their address is somewhere you've never driven before. Tap Directions and Google Maps opens with turn-by-turn driving directions from your lodging to the family member or friend you're there to see.
Going back to see them? Don't start over.
Sign up for a Staying Close By account and save the addresses of the people you visit most often. The next time you're planning a trip, simply sign in to My Saved Places to view your saved addresses, choose the person you're visiting, and you're ready to find a place to stay nearby.
Your people don't change. Your search shouldn't have to start over.
You love them. You still need a door that closes.
Staying with family is wonderful, and sometimes it's a lot. Your own bathroom, your own hours and a quiet place to reset make the whole visit better. Staying Close By helps you find that place near their address, so you can have your own space without being far from them.
Visits come with real-life needs.
Helping an aging parent. Meeting a new baby. Caring for someone after surgery. Tap Essentials to find the nearest pharmacy, grocery store, urgent care, gas station, ATM and more around the address you're visiting. You shouldn't have to hunt for a pharmacy in a town you don't know.
Whether it's an old friend, a college roommate, a former coworker or someone you haven't seen in years, the idea is the same: you know where they live. Start there.
Staying Close By helps you find lodging nearby, explore what's around their neighborhood, and choose a place that keeps you close to the people you came to see.
You don't need to stay in the spare/guest room. You don't want to sleep on the couch. You certainly don't need to be the 3rd one to use the bathroom. And you don't want to drive half an hour every time you want to see her.
You love them. You're glad you came. But after a long day of visiting, it's nice to have a comfortable place of your own.
Close enough to be there.
Far enough to breathe.
VFR means visiting friends and relatives. It's one of the most common reasons Americans travel. Most travel sites start with a city. We start with the address you're visiting.
Type in the address you're visiting.
View B&Bs, rentals, rooms, inns and hotels nearby.
Compare options and book when you're ready.
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VFR stands for Visiting Friends and Relatives. It's the name the travel industry and government surveys use for trips you take to see the people you care about.
Think of a holiday at Mom's, a friend's wedding, a new grandbaby, a graduation or a family reunion.
It's one of the biggest reasons Americans travel. In a 2025 survey by Talker Research, visiting friends or relatives was the most common type of trip.
A VFR traveler is anyone who takes a trip to see friends or family. That could be a son driving home for Thanksgiving, grandparents meeting a new baby or friends flying in for a wedding.
If that sounds like your trip, Staying Close By was built for you.
For years, many in the travel industry assumed VFR travelers stay for free and spend little, so they got less attention.
Research shows that isn't the whole story. A well-known 1995 U.S. study found that more than one in five VFR travelers in the region it studied stayed in hotels.
Many travelers would like their own space, too. In a 2010 Hotwire survey, 39% of people visiting relatives for the holidays said they'd rather stay at a hotel if cost weren't a factor.
We built Staying Close By for those travelers.
Most travel sites are built for vacations. They ask you to pick a city first.
When you visit people, you already know where you're going: their front door. So we start there. Type in their address, and we show you what's close to them.
Sometimes staying over just doesn't work. Some common reasons:
Staying close lets you spend the day together and still have a quiet place to go back to.
The closer you stay, the less time you spend in the car. You can drop by for breakfast, help with errands and get back fast if someone needs you.
Other sites may show a hotel that's "in the city" but 30 minutes away. We show you what's closest to the address you're visiting.
Visits often come with real-life needs. You might be helping an aging parent, meeting a new baby or caring for someone after surgery.
In a town you don't know, it helps to find the nearest pharmacy, grocery store or urgent care quickly. So we put those one tap away.
Yes. After you search an address, use the Search near this address box. Try things like Walgreens, dog park or Target.
We start with places within 5 miles of the address, because 10 miles away isn't close by. If nothing close suits you, the places-to-stay list can also show options 5 to 10 miles out. The rings on the map mark 1, 3 and 5 miles, so you can see how far away each place is.
Tap Directions to get the drive time and turn-by-turn directions in Google Maps.
Yes. Tap Directions on any place. Google Maps opens with the route from the address you're visiting, including the drive time and turn-by-turn directions.
For a place to stay, Directions shows the route from there to the address you're visiting.
No. When you click a listing, the partner's site opens in a new tab. You book and pay there. Their prices, rules and cancellation policies apply.
Each result in the list says where it comes from. On the map, the little logo on each pin shows which company it's from.
Contact the company you booked with. Their rules for changes and cancellations apply, so it's smart to read them before you pay.
Email us at admin@stayingcloseby.com.
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