Hospitality service

A hospitality service, also known as “accommodation sharing”, “hospitality exchange” (short “hospex”), “home stay network”, or “home hospitality network” (“hoho”), is a centrally organized social networking service of travelers who offer or seek homestays (lodging in a home) either gratis or for money. Hospitality services generally connect users via the internet and are examples of collaborative consumption and sharing. In cases where lodging is offered gratis, they are examples of a barter economy or gift economy. A hospitality service may collect commissions on each homestay, charge a membership fee, or be completely free.

Functionality
Hospitality networks will make the journey more affordable and allow more direct contact with the inhabitants of the country and their way of life. The hosts are registered in host lists, which are accessible in digital or printed form. The traveler looks for his own places of accommodation by contacting potential hosts from the list.

The stay with a host is typically only a few days each. In principle, in contrast to a hotel stay there is neither a fee nor a claim to utilities beyond the night. Shared meals, the use of kitchen, telephone or internet as well as participation in the costs incurred will be arranged individually. Many host lists also list people who are willing to take tourists around the city.

Staying in private homes saves travelers a lot of the money they would normally spend on accommodation in a hotel , hostel or youth hostel . Over a longer period of time (say, over a period of two to four weeks), this strategy can cut the travel budget by half. Not only does this make a trip financially possible, but longer stays in the country become affordable, which is often equated with a much more authentic experience of the country.

History
In 1949, Bob Luitweiler founded Servas International, the first hospitality service, as a volunteer-run international nonprofit organization advocating interracial and international peace.

In 1953, several European teachers who wanted to travel internationally during their summer breaks founded Intervac International, a home exchange network.

In 1965, John Wilcock set up the Traveler’s Directory as a listing of his friends willing to host each other when traveling. In 1988, Joy Lily rescued the organization from imminent shutdown, forming Hospitality Exchange.

In 1966, psychologist Rubén Feldman González created Programo Pasporto, a hospitality service for Esperanto speakers in Argentina. In 1974, with the help of Jeanne-Marie Cash, it became Pasporta Servo and published its first membership directory, which listed 40 hosts.

In 1971, Sue Coppard founded WWOOF (“Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms”), a network in which food, lodging, and education is provided to guests in exchange for housekeeping and farmworker services.

In 1977, Presbyterian minister Wayne Smith and U.S. President Jimmy Carter established Friendship Force International, with the mission of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, friendship, and intercultural competence via organized trips involving homestays.

In 1992, Hospex.org became the first internet-only hospitality service; it later was folded into Hospitality Club, created in 2000 by Veit Kühne.

In 2004, Casey Fenton founded CouchSurfing, the largest hospitality service in which accommodation is offered gratis.

In 2008, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia founded Airbnb after a popular conference made it hard to find accommodation. Hosts receive monetary payment from guests, paid online in advance, and Airbnb receives commissions from each transaction.

World hospitality networks
Especially with the advent of the internet , we have been forming and organizing a series of worldwide free hospitality networks .

They are free in the sense that they allow you to stay free for their registered members, instead of having to pay expensive hotels, or allow you to find “makeshift shelters” for those who do not enjoy a rich heritage. So these associations come to meet especially young people, students and travelers who want to explore the world despite not having too many resources.

Some networks provide for the payment of a “membership fee”, usually minimum, or other small expenses, as can be the food; but not hospitality, which is instead provided free.

Free
At the moment, the only ones totally free, ie they do not even include associative expenses, turn out to be

Couchsurfing , which provides a payment for the Verified User,
BeWelcome ,
Hospitality Club , e
GlobalFreeLoaders .
The first, in addition to the free basic registration, also provides for the option for a sort of registration as a “registered member”, for a fee, which would offer greater guarantees.

With payment of membership fee
The membership fees to be paid are annual, but remain usually minimal and symbolic just to ensure everyone a broad participation.

Servas : in this part of the quota provides for the delivery of a paper guide of all registered member members scattered around the globe.
WWOOF (hospitality exchange / farm work)
Workaway (hospitality exchange / various jobs)
Worldpackers (hospitality exchange / various jobs)
Homeshare (hospitality exchange / housework)
AuPairWorld (” au pair ” exchange: only persons aged 17 to 30).
Other conditions
Apart from any associative fees or purchase of various materials, some are definitely focused on a certain type of exchange or requests.

For example, the members of Mensa who, through the SIGHT program, enjoy this type of service, free of charge, in over 100 countries in the world. This interchange, limited to those with a higher than average standard of intelligence , was born to favor the active knowledge among the individual participants.

Another example can be provided by the chain of hitchhikers (who also owned a similar network of hospitality, then disappeared) or that of the participants of some Banks of Time .

One in particular, Pasporta Servo (and also Amikeca Reto , born from it), would require, as the only condition, only the knowledge of Esperanto language .

Then, we have other types such as Homeshare and Workaway sites or even Worldpackers , which would require in turn the execution of small household chores, company, or work in the Farms ( WWOOF ), or more. In some Nations Workaway, it would even offer a “remuneration” in local currency if the work is too intense to help travelers.

Notable hospitality networks
9flats – A network offering homestays primarily in Europe. Guests must pay in advance via credit card.
Airbnb – The largest hospitality service, it has over 100 million users and over 3 million lodging listings. Guests must pay in advance via credit card and Airbnb receives commissions from each transaction.
BeWelcome – A hospitality service with an open source community with approximately 100,000 members in 200 countries. The network is organized as a nonprofit organisation with democratic structures.
CouchSurfing – With 15 million members in more than 200 countries, it is the largest hospitality service where lodging is offered gratis.
Friendship Force International – A hospitality service with 16,000 members. Members join a 2-week organized “journey”, costing approximately US$1000.
Gloveler – A hospitality service operating in Germany in which members pay for lodging.
GuestToGuest – A service that connects people who want to participate in home exchanges.
Hospitality Club – One of the first internet-based hospitality services; lodging is provided gratis.
Intervac International – The first home exchange network.
Mennonite Your Way – A hospitality service with over 1,600 hosts, mostly Mennonites and Schwarzenau Brethren, in more than 69 countries. Guests pay a nominal flat fee to the host.
Pasporta Servo – A hospitality service for Esperanto speakers, where lodging is provided gratis.
Servas International – With a history dating back to 1949, it is focused on human rights and world peace.
ThirdHome – A worldwide luxury second home exchange service of holiday cottages.
Tripping.com – An online review aggregator that pulls listings from several hospitality services.
Warmshowers – A hospitality service with 100,000 members that travel by bicycle.
Wimdu – A hospitality service focused on renting homes for vacation purposes.
Workaway – A hospitality service with 25,000 hosts in which food, lodging, and education is provided to guests in exchange for housekeeping and farmworker services.
WWOOF (“Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms”) – a network in which food, lodging, and education is provided to guests in exchange for housekeeping and farmworker services.

How they work
Each network works in its own way. The network accumulates information about hosting and lodging requests, from contact data to more elaborate stories in the style of couple services, or recommendations from other users. The goal is to know before making a decision and create the possibility of trusting an unknown user through the contacts of the unknown.

Objectives
Just like certain other organizations and clubs (on the organized hitchhike for example) were born to provide a greater “safety margin” on a practice that has always been used, so these hospitality networks, each of them with its own methods, ensures a minimum of “control” on the people who travel, in order to provide a certain “security”, at least to the members of the same. The practice that has always been used, in this case, is hospitality . Sacred in many places, and for many cultures .

Some then, like Amikeca Reto or Servas, born precisely as pacifist movements , specifically aim for peace in the world , and collaboration among peoples.

There is no shortage of those specific to certain groups or sectors, such as world hospitality for cyclists and the exchange of apartments , a sort of barter of houses.

Hospitality exchange# of members: 100,000,000+

Airbnb was founded after two San Francisco locals rented out their airbed during a conference that made it hard to find accommodation. The service enables members to rent out their spare house, apartment, room, or couch in exchange for monetary compensation. Members can read reviews left for other members and their accommodation. Accomodation can be searched for based on several parameters including specific neighborhoods, privacy, and price. The amount of interaction between the host and the guest varies: in some cases the host will spend a lot of time with their guests and in other cases, they will never meet at all. Airbnb collects service fees from both the host and the guest from every booking. If the guest damages the property of the host, the host may be eligible for reimbursement from Airbnb under its $1,000,000 guarantee.

CouchSurfing
# of members: 10,000,000+

CouchSurfing was founded in January 2004 after computer programmer Casey Fenton found a cheap flight to Iceland but did not have a place to stay. He emailed students at the local university and received an overwhelming number of offers for free accommodation. The service is free, although members can pay a fee to be “verified”. Unlike Airbnb, monetary exchange between the host and guest is forbidden; stays are completely free, although guests are encouraged to bring a gift, buy a drink, and/or cook a meal for their hosts. Guests can either message individual potential hosts with whom they want to stay or they can post their upcoming trips publicly and receive offers of accommodation from potential hosts. Guests and hosts are encouraged to interact and do things together to foster cultural exchange. Members fill out a detailed profile that includes their interests and pictures. Guests and hosts can write references for each other. Members can also use the mobile app to “hangout” with each other. Members can also set up events and many major cities have regular member meetings. The site has been criticized for its term of use, which allows Couchsurfing to use the data in the profiles of its members.

Hospitality Club
# of members: 328,629

Hospitality Club lists over 300,000 members, although based on the limited activity on its website, it appears to be defunct. Its concept is similar to Couchsurfing, in that accommodation is provided by hosts for free and members can leave references for each other. However, the site has limited features and an antiquated interface.

Global Freeloaders
# of members: 115,000

Global Freeloaders is based on the concept of getting a free place to stay and does not necessarily encourage cultural exchange as does Couchsurfing. Members do not send individual requests for accommodation; they blast a request to several hosts at once.

Misterbnb
# of members: 100,000+

Misterb&b was envisioned as a gay-friendly alternative to Airbnb. Co-founder Matthieu Jost had used services like Airbnb in the past with mixed results. After several uncomfortable experiences, Jost looked into starting his own alternative. The site is modeled on Airbnb.

The main function of the website is to match prospective LGBT travellers with LGBT-friendly hosts in numerous cities throughout the world. The website encourages its hosts to make their apartments or rooms available during major LGBT events in their city. It also acts as a social networking service, travel guide, and community for gay travellers throughout the world.

Warm Showers
# of members: 100,000

WarmShowers is an online hospitality exchange organization for touring bicyclists that want either indoor accommodation or just a break from cycling and a warm shower.

BeWelcome
# of members: 93,000

BeWelcome was founded in early 2007 and is grouped in the non profit BeVolunteer organization. It is based on the free and open source BW Rox. BeWelcome is a website run by BeVolunteer, a non-profit association legally registered in Rennes, France. Members of BeWelcome do not have to be members of BeVolunteer. All features of the website are free. Travelers can contact each other via the website with accommodation requests and leave references for each other after they meet. The website also includes a forum, contacts management, map search, and allows for set up of events. Profiles can be translated into other languages to make finding a host easier. The website is currently financed by donations of €1,700 per year and has annual operating expenses of €4,200 per year.

HomeExchange.com
# of listings: 65,000

HomeExchange.com facilitates home-for-home exchanges of various types. Members pay a fee of $150/year.

Tripping.com
# of members: 50,000

Tripping is a portal that aggregates vacation rentals from various sites including Homeaway, Homestay, and Booking.com. The site was founded in 2009 by executives of Stubhub.com and Expedia.

9flats
# of members: 50,000+

9flats is a website for finding and renting other people’s apartments in 104 countries around the world. It was founded in 2010 by a former executive of lastminute.com.

Home Link
# of members: Tens of Thousands

Home Link was started in 1953 as a way for teachers in different cities to swap homes for the summer. It facilitates home-for-home exchanges of various types.

Intervac
# of members: 30,000

Intervac dates back to 1953 facilitates home-for-home exchanges and discounted home rentals. Members pay a fee of $99 per year and a free 20-day trial is available to new members.

Trampolinn
# of members: 30,000

Trampolinn is a network whereby members earn points by accommodating others in their homes, which in turn can be used to stay at other members’ homes.

HelpX
# of members: 27,200

Help Exchange, or HelpX, was launched in April 2001 by computer programmer Rob Prince from England. Hosts offer guests long term accommodation in exchange for help. The website is most popular in Australia and New Zealand.

Workaway.info
# of members: Over 24,000 hosts

Workaway.info offers an opportunity for travellers to provide help for about 5 hours per day to local hosts in exchange for food and lodging.

Volunteers (or “Workawayers”) build an online profile listing their specific skills, interests or ambitions along with a video and photos of themselves. Volunteers must pay a subscription fee of $29/year, after which they can contact any of the hosts on the website and discuss a possible exchange. Hosts also create a profile outlining the exchange they are proposing and the type of help that they need. It is free to register as a host. Types of help required include gardening, animal-care, cooking, and construction.

Workaway is aimed at budget travellers and language learners looking to become more immersed in the country and culture they are journeying through while allowing local hosts to meet like-minded people who can provide the help they require. The exact terms of any exchange are agreed in advance between the host and volunteer and Workaway only acts as a conduit. The duration of an exchange can range from a few days to over a year.

Staydu.com
# of members: 17,200

Staydu.com was created by two German students who had the vision that everybody should be able to travel without spending a lot of money. Everyone can use staydu, but the focus is on low-budget travelers who are looking for a long term stay. Hosts can offer their accommodation for three categories: for work, for money, or for free.

Servas
# of members: Over 14,000 hosts

Servas was created in 1949 by Bob Luitweiler, an American who lived in Denmark. Servas recommends that guest apply at least 4 weeks in advance of travel. Participation in Servas requires 2 letters of reference and paying a membership fee, which varies by country, and a personal interview with a local Servas coordinator. After the interview, the traveler gets a “letter of introduction” that’s good for one year of travel, and a list of hosts in the countries he or she is visiting. Travellers contact prospective hosts in advance (lead time varies as defined by each host), giving estimated dates of travel, and they may be asked to reconfirm one or two days in advance of visit. They can stay with hosts for up to 3 days and 2 nights. Hosts provide sleeping space. Meals may be provided as well as assistance in visiting the city or area. At the end of their trip, Servas travellers are expected to provide a report to the local coordinator with any information that may be useful.

GoCambio
# of members: 5,200

GoCambio is an exchange website that connects people who have a place to stay with someone who has something to share. Hosts share their homes, and guests share their skills in music, sports, cooking, or languages. In most cases, the host accommodation and breakfast in exchange for 2 hours of tutoring from the guest. The host and the guest agree on the conditions before the cambio takes place. A cambio usually lasts 1-2 weeks.

Horizon
# of members: 4,500

Horizon is an exchange network designed to promote hosting and travel within specific trusted organizations. It allows travelers to reach out and connect with hosts with whom they belong to a common group or have a mutual friend. It therefore also allows various groups and organization to strengthen their community by promoting travel, hosting, and sharing within the group.

Affordable Travel Club
# of members: 4,000

Affordable Travel Club is a bed and breakfast hospitality exchange club founded in 1992. It is for people over the age of 40. Members pay an annual membership fee of $75 and may receive a printed directory or access to an online directory. Traveling members pay a gratuity of $15-30/night to their hosts. ATC is a community-oriented club with regular events. It is supported by staff.

Evergreen Bed & Breakfast Club
# of members: 2,000

Evergreen Bed & Breakfast Club is a hospitality exchange network for people over the age of 50 and is mostly active in the United States and Canada. There is an annual membership fee of $75 and guests pay their host a nominal gratuity of under $20/night. Registration is online. Members receive online access where they can search for hosts in locations they want to travel to and interact with Google Maps to help plan trips. There is also a Member Lounge for blogs, managing accounts and profile and classified ads such as Home Exchanges. The Club has paid-staff and a toll free number.

Working Traveller
# of members: 1,700

Working Traveller allows travellers to ‘negotiate’ what they would get in exchange for their skills from hosts. The site allows hosts to set what they are willing to pay, in terms of a bed, food, or money using a bargaining point system and a traveller can set what bargaining points they want to charge. This makes the site different from more traditional volunteering sites and more focused to career minded travellers looking for references on their return home to get a job.

Pasporta Servo
# of members: 1,350

Pasporta Servo (“passport service”) is a home stay network for speakers of Esperanto, an international auxiliary language. It’s sponsored by TEJO, the World Organization of Young Esperantists, who publish a book each year listing thousands of hosts in 80 countries. Travelers pay a fee for the yearly host list. Hosts ask no fee for rooms, but each sets their own requirements for duration, number of visitors, contact ahead of time, and whether or not food is offered. Some hosts ask for compensation for food. Hosts receive the host list for free. All travelers are expected to communicate with their hosts in Esperanto. Coordination with the service is in Esperanto, and the host list is in Esperanto.

Noirbnb.com
# of members: Unknown

Noirbnb.com aims to find a solution to the discrimination experienced while using other home-sharing platforms.

Innclusive.com
Innclusive.com, formerly Noirebnb.com, also aims to address issues of discrimination on other home-style platforms.

belodged.com
# of members: Unknown

Belodged.com is a basic free accommodation site that is run by an accessible team of staff members. Registration is anonymous and free, no personal data except e-mail address and geographic information is needed.

Green Theme International
# of members: Unknown

Green Theme International facilities reciprocal home exchange, whereby members exchange their house for a short or long period of time with someone else. Membership costs $40/year.

Handytravelers
# of members: Unknown

Handytravelers

helpStay.com
# of members: Unknown

helpStay.com facilitates the introduction of travellers and hosts for short-term work in exchange for accommodation. In general, a host will provide 1-3 meals a day and accommodation in return for about 20 hours of work per week from a volunteer. Hosts may also provide additional perks such as free internet, laundry, language lessons, use of kayaks or bikes, and local excursions. Some may offer live-in accommodation with the host family, a separate guesthouse, or lodging in a hostel, sailboat, or beach hut. Stays are usually at least one week in duration, allowing for a real local experience. ‘Work’ can be anything from working with animals to help around the house. New members can register as a volunteer and/or host. Searches can be conducted by age, gender, nationality, work type, languages spoken, travel dates, etc. A feedback mechanism also exists for rating other members and leaving comments about their experience with one another. It is free to join and create a profile. Hosts are automatically upgraded to Premium status so they can contact other members. Volunteers may upgrade to a Premium Membership at any time for a small donation.

HomeForSwap.com
# of members: Unknown

HomeForSwap.com is a facilitator of home-for-home exchanges. Membership costs $93/year.

Knok
# of members: Unknown

Knok facilitates home exchange and apartment rental for families traveling with children. New members pay a listing fee of $29/year.

Mennonite Your Way
# of members: Unknown

Mennonite Your Way is focused on Mennonites, although members do not need to be Christian to join. Hosts offer guests accommodation on a donation basis.

Obunia.com
# of members: Unknown

Obunia.com aggregates vacation rentals listed on other sites such as HomeAway and RoomORama.

Switch
# of members: Unknown

Switch is a facilitator of home-for-home exchanges. The site is free.

WorldEscape
# of members: Unknown

WorldEscape offers peer-to-peer short-term rentals focusing on unique and stylish accommodations in 40 cities around the world. Properties are hand-picked by WorldEscape representatives before being entered in a database organized by city. Booking service is very hands-on with WorldEscape managers on the ground in each of the cities that support both guests and property owners in person 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This makes a huge difference on those rare occasions when things go wrong.

WWOOF
# of members: Unknown

WWOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms) is a network that allows hosts that own farms to receive 4-6 hours per day of help on their farms in exchange for food, accommodation, education, and cultural interaction. Monetary exchange is prohibited, although joining requires payment of a membership fee of up to $72/year, depending on home country.

Zotel
# of members: Unknown

Zotel is a website for finding places to stay around the world, with all properties costing $40 a night. People the hosts don’t know aren’t allowed to stay in a property, but if you are in their “LodgingCircle” you can stay (people such as friends of friends are in your “LodgingCircle”). There are also quality standards for the properties, which include bathrooms cleaned every day, and the hosts showing guests how things like Wifi, TVs and laundry facilities work.

Hospitality Exchange or Home Stay is a form of accommodation whereby visitors stay in a house or apartment of a local of the city to which they are traveling. The stay can be for free, in exchange for monetary compensation, in exchange for a stay at the guest’s property either simultaneously or at another time (home swapping), or in exchange for help on the host’s property.

Advantages and disadvantages for the guests
Home stays can provide several opportunities to home stay guests:

Savings on accommodation costs
Personal connections with people from a different culture and/or social class
Local perspective and information about the city that is not easily found in guidebooks
A deeper understanding of the life of the locals
More interactions with foreigners, thereby strengthening intercultural understanding and reducing prejudices and intolerance
Opportunities to stay in areas under-served by hotels or hostels
Opportunities to stay in unique properties such as igloos, cabins, and castles
Compared to staying in a hotel, a home stay may result in a lower carbon footprint
Home stays may have disadvantages over hotel/hostel accommodation:

May require additional planning before travel
Last minute changes or cancellations by either the host or the guest may inconvenience others
Accommodation and sleeping surfaces may be less comfortable and/or have less privacy
Guests may be required to adhere to a schedule or follow rules set by a host, which restrict freedom
Accommodation may not be close to tourist attractions
If the guest and host do not get along, the home stay can make a visit to an otherwise pleasant city unbearable
Home stay networks
A home stay network is an organization that connects travelers with local residents in the cities they are visiting.

Joining usually just requires filling out an online form; although some networks offer or require additional verification. A listing of available hosts is provided either in print and/or online, sometimes with references by other travelers.

Each network has its own niche: some are based on monetary exchange while some require accommodation to be free, some cater to older travelers while some attract younger students, some encourage more social interaction between host and guest while others are more of a financial transaction, some are focused on home-for-home swapping while others are focused on lodging in exchange for work. Almost all networks operate worldwide.

Source from Wikipedia