AmyHuang
The Hospitality Club
Link: www.hospitalityclub.org
I thought since I mentioned this in my last post, I would write about it to introduce you to this wonderful travel concept.I first discovered the Hospitality Club when I was studying in Germany for a year, that was back in 2003. I was introduced to it while taking to a friend about budget travelling and how I prefer hostels to other types of accommodation to save money.
What the Hospitality Club is, really is a network of like-minded travellers that allows exchange of accommodations. Whether it be sleeping in a spare room, on the couch or with a sleeping bag on the floor, they take in other travellers for free understanding that when they need the service they'll receive it in return.
So, say I am off to France tomorrow, I search for someone who is willing to accommodate me, or even simply just to meet me to show me around, and I contact that person, provide my travel dates and they may or may not be able to help, however when they do, you have another friend in the world.
I find the concept is great. I have always believed that the world need a lot more exchange of cultures as well as trust between cultures, and this is one good way of promoting that cultural connection. It's a way of sharing the hospitality we would usually offer our friends and relatives to travellers of the world. After all, isn't a stranger just a friend you haven't met?
Of course, these types of things always come with risks, and I know what you are all thinking: What if the person is a serial killer? What if they steal from me? What if they are just using this service to try to sleep with foreigners?
You would have to keep a reasonable level of caution, and I do the following:
1. I always go with profiles with genuine photos.
2. I go with someone who has bothered to write a full profile, and not just leaving it all blank.
3. When I receive a request, I have a look at the way the person's written the email. If they just wrote "Hi there..." followed by a brief "can I stay at your place", I tend to say no. Simply because I think if you are asking for help, at least address the person by their name or username, and introduce yourself a little in your first email. This indicate mass emailing for request, and you don't know if they really even looked at your profile.
4. Have a look at what others have said about this person. Hospitality Club allows you to leave comments about people you have stayed with and people who have stayed with you, and through this, you can get a grasp of what this person is like.
A similar site is Couch Surfing
There is a risk in everything, however I think this is a great concept not only allow budget travellers a even better way to travel, it provides a channel of cultural exchange and once everyone in the world are friends, there will no longer be enemies, and wars.
If you do visit, you can use my profile as a sample. My username is 'ashuang'
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I also think it's a wonderful idea, but I haven't tried it out yet. On our last trip I went with my family and they were in charge of organising the accommodation. So far I have stayed in hostels where it has been possible, and it's an experience I usually enjoy.
Did you know there's also a site dedicated to sleeping in airports? They give you a rating out of five and tips for each airport, I think. I haven't tried that yet either, but I imagine it would be difficult to relax in that kind of environment.
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