# Stay Finder: The Best Hotel or Airbnb, Reviews Read (`zaiq/stay-finder`) Actor

Enter where, when and who is going. It compares every hotel and Airbnb it can find for your dates on Google Hotels and Airbnb, reads the leading stays' recent reviews for what matters to your party, and returns its picks with dated quotes and caveats and the ones to skip, as a page, PDF and data.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/zaiq/stay-finder.md
- **Developed by:** [Zaiq](https://apify.com/zaiq) (community)
- **Categories:** Travel, AI
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1,992.00 / 1,000 stay searches

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Stay Finder: the best hotel or Airbnb for your dates, with the reviews read

Enter where, when, who is going, the budget for the stay and what it must have. It compares every place to stay it can find for your dates on Google Hotels (with every booking site's price) and Airbnb, rules out the ones that do not sleep your party, have no price or are too far, and scores the rest on quality, location, value and cancellation.

For the leaders it reads the recent reviews for what matters to your party (noise, safety, beds, parking, the children) and returns its picks, each with why it suits you, dated quotes copied from the reviews and what to watch for, plus the popular ones to skip and why. As a page, a PDF and data.

### What you get

| Field | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Picks | Best for your party, best value, closest to the sights or the place you name, pool, backup power, family-review pick. |
| Why, in their words | A plain headline and dated review quotes, each checked word for word. |
| What to watch for | Caveats guests raise: stairs, noise, parking, load-shedding. |
| The skips | Popular stays it would not book, with the reason. |
| The market | How many were listed, priced, fit your party and sit near your days. |

### What people use it for

- **Families:** Stays that really sleep everyone, read for safety, beds and noise.
- **Couples:** The best-reviewed places near where you want to be.
- **Travel agents:** A shortlist with evidence for a client, as a PDF.

### How to use it

1. Enter the destination, dates, who is going and the stay budget.
2. Add must-haves, bedrooms and a place to be near if you like.
3. Run it: the picks, the skips and the market, as a page, PDF and data.

### Input

| Field | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Where? | Cape Town, South Africa | City or region with its country. |
| Arrive / Leave | 2026-12-12 / 2026-12-17 | 1 to 14 nights. |
| Who | 2 adults; children \[7, 10] | Prices and beds for the whole party. |
| Budget for the stay | 20000 ZAR | All nights together. |
| Near | V\&A Waterfront (optional) | Otherwise the top sights. |
| Must have | pool, parking | Stays that do not list them are left out. |

### Output

Each result is one row in the run's dataset (download it as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML or HTML, or read it through the API). An example row (values shortened):

```json
{
  "kind": "stay",
  "name": "Example family apartment",
  "roles": [
    "Best for this party"
  ],
  "total": 15514.0,
  "currency": "ZAR",
  "rating": 4.94,
  "reviewCount": 142,
  "bedrooms": 2,
  "sleeps": 4,
  "source": "Airbnb",
  "url": "https://example.com/stay"
}
```

Example row from a real Cape Town family search on 19 October 2026 (752 stays compared, 143 reviews read, 5 picks); the name and address were replaced. SUMMARY records the market counts, each source and the model use.

### Pricing

- **$2.49 per completed search**, charged once the page, PDF and data are delivered and the picks pass validation.
- Model use for reading reviews is billed by Apify at cost on top (about $0.02 a search in tests).

What typical jobs cost at the list price:

| Job | Cost |
|---|---|
| One search | $2.49 plus about $0.02 of model use |
| Failed validation | $0 search event |

On Apify's Scale and Business plans the per-event prices are lower (Store discounts). Set **Maximum cost per run** and the Actor stops cleanly when it is reached: you never pay more than that.

### Tips

- Children's ages matter: beds and prices are checked for the exact party.
- Name a place to be near when you know where your days will be.

### Use it through the API

**Python**

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>")
run = client.actor("zaiq/stay-finder").call(run_input={"destination": "Lisbon, Portugal", "checkIn": "2027-03-15", "checkOut": "2027-03-20", "adults": 2, "budget": 900, "currency": "EUR", "nearPlace": "Alfama"})
for row in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(row)
```

**JavaScript**

```js
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>' });
const run = await client.actor('zaiq/stay-finder').call({"destination": "Lisbon, Portugal", "checkIn": "2027-03-15", "checkOut": "2027-03-20", "adults": 2, "budget": 900, "currency": "EUR", "nearPlace": "Alfama"});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
```

**HTTP (one call, results back)**

```bash
curl -X POST 'https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/zaiq~stay-finder/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"destination": "Lisbon, Portugal", "checkIn": "2027-03-15", "checkOut": "2027-03-20", "adults": 2, "budget": 900, "currency": "EUR", "nearPlace": "Alfama"}'
```

### Integrations and schedules

- **Schedules:** run it every hour, day or week from the Apify Console (Schedules) and keep a history of results.
- **Make, Zapier, n8n, Google Sheets, Slack, Airtable:** connect it through Apify's integrations, or send each finished run to a **webhook**.
- **Datasets:** results stay in the run's dataset; export them or read them by API whenever you need them.

### Use it with AI agents (MCP)

Add Apify's MCP server (`https://mcp.apify.com`) to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code or any MCP client. The agent can find this Actor and run it for you: ask it for "Find a two-bedroom stay in Cape Town for a family of four, 12 to 17 December, under R20,000, with the reviews read". AI agents can also pay for runs directly through Apify's agentic payments.

### Limits

- No login, CAPTCHA solving or forged challenge tokens; a source can withhold public data, and the run says so.
- Prices are public snapshots for your dates and party, not held reservations; check again before booking.
- Market counts describe the listings the searches returned, not every stay in a destination.
- Airbnb shows only a few reviews per home to a public reader; leading homes are re-read in a fresh session.

### FAQ

**Is it a chatbot answer?**

No. Every stay and price comes from live listings for your dates; the model only reads the reviews, and every quote is checked word for word.

**Does it book?**

No. Each pick links to its listing.

### Related Actors from Zaiq

- [holiday-planner](https://apify.com/zaiq/holiday-planner): the whole holiday in one run: stays, days, car hire, experiences and a budget

### Support

Questions, a site that changed, or a field you need? Open an issue on this Actor's **Issues** tab: we answer there, usually within a day.

***

Also found as: hotel finder, Airbnb comparison, best place to stay, hotel and Airbnb search, accommodation finder, family accommodation.

# Actor input Schema

## `destination` (type: `string`):

City or region with its country, for example Cape Town, South Africa.

## `checkIn` (type: `string`):

First night. Leave empty for 30 days from today.

## `checkOut` (type: `string`):

Check-out day, 1 to 14 nights later. Leave empty for five nights.

## `adults` (type: `integer`):

Everyone 18 or older.

## `childrenAges` (type: `array`):

One age per child, for example \[7, 10].

## `budget` (type: `number`):

The most you want to spend on the stay for all the nights, in your currency.

## `currency` (type: `string`):

Three-letter code, for example ZAR, EUR, USD or GBP.

## `tripStyles` (type: `array`):

Luxury favours the highest-rated stays, budget the best value, family space and quiet.

## `nearPlace` (type: `string`):

Optional: a place you want to be close to, for example V\&A Waterfront. Otherwise location is scored against the top sights.

## `mustHaves` (type: `array`):

For example pool, parking, wifi, backup power. Stays that do not list them are left out.

## `minBedrooms` (type: `integer`):

At least this many bedrooms.

## `minBeds` (type: `integer`):

At least this many beds.

## `pets` (type: `boolean`):

Only stays that allow pets.

## `wheelchair` (type: `boolean`):

Only stays that list step-free access.

## `language` (type: `string`):

Language of the written reasons and notes.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "destination": "Cape Town, South Africa",
  "adults": 2,
  "childrenAges": [
    7,
    10
  ],
  "budget": 20000,
  "currency": "ZAR",
  "tripStyles": [
    "family"
  ],
  "mustHaves": [],
  "minBedrooms": 2,
  "minBeds": 0,
  "pets": false,
  "wheelchair": false,
  "language": "English"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

Dataset: the results.

## `summary` (type: `string`):

What each input returned, and notes.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "destination": "Cape Town, South Africa",
    "adults": 2,
    "childrenAges": [
        7,
        10
    ],
    "budget": 20000,
    "currency": "ZAR",
    "tripStyles": [
        "family"
    ],
    "minBedrooms": 2
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("zaiq/stay-finder").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "destination": "Cape Town, South Africa",
    "adults": 2,
    "childrenAges": [
        7,
        10,
    ],
    "budget": 20000,
    "currency": "ZAR",
    "tripStyles": ["family"],
    "minBedrooms": 2,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("zaiq/stay-finder").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "destination": "Cape Town, South Africa",
  "adults": 2,
  "childrenAges": [
    7,
    10
  ],
  "budget": 20000,
  "currency": "ZAR",
  "tripStyles": [
    "family"
  ],
  "minBedrooms": 2
}' |
apify call zaiq/stay-finder --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,zaiq/stay-finder"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/gWWLVyhMemBJMMLET/builds/0VefYkcw6CYIh4nlo/openapi.json