Hospitality Exchanges

Catching the FREE Travel Wave 401K fee disclosures delayed So you want to see the world but do not have a lot of money? What can you do? One option, that has been used by millions over the past decade, often allows you to stay FREE in virtually any city of your choice. You simply join a hospitality exchange community. What is a Hospitality Exchange? Per Wikipedia, a hospitality exchange or home stay network is "an organization that connects travelers with local residents in the cities they're visiting." In the purest form there is no money exchanged. You simply sign up as a member to a service, create your profile and then either become a host or a guest to others in the network. The more information you provide, the more likely you will be trusted and accepted by others in the network. As a host you might simply provide a place to sleep or you might provide a local experience to a fellow traveler new to your country or city. These networks can get very detailed and involved. As a community they often organize events, provide feedback/rankings on places to go, and provide ratings of fellow members. There are a number of hospitality exchanges that have popped up over the past decade with the largest being CouchSurfing.com with over 4 million members. Here is a list of some of them: Est. Members Organization 4,500,000 CouchSurfing Project 647,000 Hospitality Club 89,525 GlobalFreeLoaders 50,000 Tripping 20,000 BeWelcome 19,172 Servas 10,824 WarmShowers 4,000 Evergreen Bed and Breakfast Club 4,000 Affordable Travel Club 1,350 Pasporta Servo 700 Hospitality Exchange ? Casa Casa ? Belodged Source: Wikipedia.com Why use a Hospitality Exchange? Circle It saves money. If you are traveling extensively you can save a lot of money on hotel rooms by crashing on a spare bed or couch. Circle You get out of the tourist bubble. Instead of hopping from one tourist stop to another, staying with a local can give you a more realistic experience of a city when seen through the eyes of a local resident. Circle You gain connections throughout the world. The social network allows you to connect with people that sound interesting to you. Many of the members in these exchange communities form long-lasting friendships. Circle It makes the world smaller. Perhaps CouchSurfing says it best: "At CouchSurfing, we envision a world where everyone can explore and create meaningful connections with the people and places they encounter. Building meaningful connections across cultures enables us to respond to diversity with curiosity, appreciation and respect. The appreciation of diversity spreads tolerance and creates a global community." Are There Problems? Hospitality exchanges are not for everyone. Circle Safety. You are staying with someone you have never met. While the exchanges try to weed out bad members from their communities, there is always the chance you have a bad encounter. Circle Hippie Factor. In the early phases of this renewed social phenomena, those who used this network tended to be younger travelers. In addition, this travel concept tends to attract more "free spirit" types than the traditional travel crowd. This however, is changing as social networking attracts a broader segment of the population. Circle Hidden Agendas. Sometimes the exchange is more interested in collecting and building their network than in serving as a means of connecting travelers with hosts. Circle Privacy Issues. Your privacy is often the currency of these services. Some services do not allow you to delete your information, images, or emails from their service...ever. If privacy is important to you, read the fine print before you join. Circle It's only for Young People. The average age of people using hospitality exchanges tends to be between 18 - 29 years old. But this is changing as the service matures and additional services are added to the exchange. While hospitality exchanges may not destroy the hotel industry, it certainly appears to be growing in popularity and it could impact how each of us experiences travel in the future.