I'm going to be spending a week in California...

In August I'm flying over to the USA from merry old England for 3 days in SF and 3 in LA (followed by a week in Vancouver). Does anyone know anywhere to stay that isn't crazy expensive? Would it be worth looking into Air BnB?

We're going to rent a car for the week so it doesn't need to be city center or anything!

When I traveled around Europe several years ago, I used hostelbookers.com to arrange accommodations, and had a generally good experience.

Might be worth looking into, if price is your primary concern.