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Tips: Hospitality Exchanges So much of who we are is where we have been. What are hospitality exchange programs? Hospitality exchange programs maintain lists of people who are willing to open their rooms, spare beds, tents, cots, or couches to travelers for free. The usual stay lasts from one to three days, though longer stays can be arranged. You do not have to open your home to participate in a home exchange. You do have, however, to be willing to share some of your interests, life stories, and friendship. Unlike home exchanges, hospitality exchanges can be arranged without a lot of advanced notice. While most hosts prefer at least three days advanced notice (usually the listing tells how much advanced notice the host prefers) it is possible to make arrangements up until the eve of your arrival. One of the cheapest ways to travel is to arrange to stay in many peoples? homes for a couple of days each. By making multiple arrangements, travelers not only save the cost of accommodations throughout the trip, but also get exposed to a wide range of lifestyles in their destination. Hospitality exchange arrangements are relatively easy to arrange. You consult a directory of other members, and then phone or write to learn if they are available to host you. Most hospitality exchanges are intended to be similar to receiving a relative in your home. Guests are expected to help with light chores and or share in some of the costs. Hosts usually will try to set aside sometime to show their guests around their community. The majority of hospitality exchange programs are free. A couple like the World for Free and Hospitality Exchange require a small yearly fee for a listing. Many hospitality exchange organizations specialize in connecting small communities of people together including Rotarians, teachers, artists, gays and lesbians, and seniors. Many churches also offer exchanges (to the best of my knowledge, there is no organization that assists these exchanges. They are done informally.) Three hospitality exchange clubs exists that are free and open to anyone: CouchSurfing.com, Global Freeloaders, and the Hospitality Club. Safety While I have never read of any serious problems with hospitality exchanges, many people are reluctant to join out of fear for their safety. They don?t want strangers in their homes or they are afraid of their safety in someone else?s home. While this concern is understandable, it isn?t really justified. You have to remember that most people involved in hospitality exchanges are also opening their homes to travelers. They have opened themselves up to risk because they are both trustworthy and open to trusting other people. Interviews with Two Hospitality Exchange Program Founders: A Profile of CouchSurfing.com and its founder, Casey Felton Casey Felton, a 26 year old political consultant and computer programmer in Anchorage, Alaska, set up coachsurfing.com in February 2004. CouchSurfing.com has nearly 5000 members worldwide who agree to provide hospitality. Usually (approximately 70% of all members) the hospitality takes the form of providing a bed for a few days stay to other members. However some hospitality is limited to offers by hosts to spend some time showing guests around their community. The majority of the members come from the US and Canada, though, there are a number of members in Europe and East Asia. Couch Surfing also has several members throughout the third world. Casey has put in a lot of thought and time into the site. He has succeeded in getting a lot of press interest (including articles in the New York and Los Angeles Times and several major European papers) and developed a site that allows members to post a lot of information to help ?break the ice?. Couchsurfing.com also has excellent tip sheets, useful member profiles, and an intuitive, easy to use design. In October 2004, I interviewed Casey for this book. Here is a short summary of that interview: Paul: When did you start developing couchsurfing.com? Casey: I started planning Couchsurfing.com four years ago. It started traveling after I spent time traveling throughout the globe and thought it would be great to get to know people by staying in their homes. In Egypt, I was invited by a young boy to stay with his family. His family offered me a dirty blanket and put me on a bed outside, but they also taught me that the Earth was full of hospitable people. In order to see how receptive people would be to couch surfing, I sent e-mails to the entire student population of a University in Iceland before I went on a trip there. I was met at the airport by an Icelandic pop star and received a really wonderful welcome from people throughout Iceland. Paul: How has couchsurfing.com become so popular, so quickly? Casey: I think the name has attracted a lot of attention. I also believe that many people are attracted to couchsurfing.com because of its non-profit status. I also encourage members to get in contact with their local press to let them know about our service. It has worked well. I expected to have 3000 members at the end of 2004 and it looks like we?ll have around 5000 instead. Paul: Is most of your membership young? Casey: Our average age is 29. Last week, I hosted a pair of nurses who were both in their 60s. We have members in their 80s. Paul: How do you deal with safety issues? Casey: We recommend that members refuse to host people if they don?t feel comfortable with the exchange. We have two ways that we help to establish trust. One is that we give members the option of becoming verified. ?Verification? requires $25 payable by credit card. This enables us to establish that the person is at least creditworthy enough to have a credit card. We also verify the members name and address by sending them a letter. We also offer members the option of ?vouching? for each other. Hosts who have enjoyed a guest can ?vouch? for the guest by posting their remarks on the website. So far, I have not received any comments about any significant problems with any guest. One host did complain, however, that a guest was interested in spending much time with the host. This, however, is a question of good guest-host communication rather than safety. Want to Learn More about Hospitality Exchanges? Check out these links for several good websites on hospitality exchanges. In addition, some of the books listed on the website contain chapters on hospitality exchanges.
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