Accommodation can be your biggest expense during your travel if you stay in an expensive hotel for a few weeks. Being on a budget does not mean that you should cancel your travel plans, however. There are options to have a free stay while you travel to other cities or even other countries. So, consider the following options next time you plan your travel.
Hospitality Exchange
Sites like crouchsurfing.com, globalfreeloaders.com, and hospitalityclub.org are specifically designed for people who are looking for free accommodation while they travel. Although these services have gained widespread popularity and acceptability, many people still do not know about them. And many still wonder why someone will offer free accommodation to them without an ulterior motive.
In fact, there are many people who like to offer their spare rooms to travelers like you. Sites, like crouchsurfing.com, have a mechanism to match persons who want to offer their accommodation with the persons who need it. And there are certain mechanisms to verify the reliability of the host. The best of these is to read the reviews the previous guests have left for these hosts. If there are positive reviews, you can expect a good stay. In many cases, you might find an interesting company in addition to free accommodation.
Home Exchange
Imagine this situation. You are planning to travel to another country, and at the same time, someone from that country is planning to visit your country. What about swapping your homes? This is the idea behind home exchange services. Homeexchange.com is one such service that facilitates home exchange. It might be a bit complex than hospitality exchange, and it is a good idea to talk to each other over the phone and make sure that both you and the other party are comfortable with exchanging your homes.
Other options like hostels, farm stays, and short-term rentals are not free but can be great money savers if hospitality exchange and home exchange are not suitable options for you.
Hello, I’m Kelsey Thompson. My goal is to show that traveling can be affordable and fun! I love to explore new places and experience different cultures. I also like iced coffee, iced tea, and ice cream (in that order).
