Travel Like A Human Being: Don't Stay in a Hotel
Image: dannyman.
Hotels are often cold, lifeless places to return to after a day in a foreign land. If you're on a business trip, you might relish the chance to unwind and buffer yourself from the business day. But, a traveler likes to meet people, experience the culture and get a taste of the place that they're visiting. And, a hotel makes it entirely too easy to miss out on this experience.
If you're not naturally outgoing, staying outside of a hotel is even more important. In a hotel, it's easy to let your inner homebody ruin your trip. You're simply too comfortable. Instead, plan on staying somewhere where you have to interact with others. Good or bad, it will make for a memorable travel experience, where you can say you've lived like a local. I'll admit, I definitely have my days where I just want to hide in my room and ignore the rest of the world. But, my most memorable trips have been ones in the homes of others, getting dragged out to a party or on an impromptu siteseeing tour. Keep on reading for a few alternatives to staying in a traditional hotel.
Call a friend.
I always let out of town friends stay with me. Sure, it can be inconvenient and tiring, but it breaks you out of your routine and forces you to see your home in a new light. And, most importantly, it's good karma. Call up that friend that crashed on your couch and see if they wouldn't mind if you do the same.
Couchsurf
We haven't done this yet, mostly because we haven't had a friend turn us down for a place to stay. When they do, I'd be sure to give Couchsurfing, a community of travel lovers and friendly souls, a try.
Airbnb
An alternative to couchsurfing is Airbnb, a startup developed by a few enterprising designers who decided to rent their spare room for the night in San Francisco. What grew out of that idea was a community of enterprising DIY bed and breakfast owners. Money does change hands, but how is that any different than taking a gift or your friend out to dinner? Besides, it's far cheaper than a hotel room and gives you friendly faces to usher you into a city where you might not have an old friend's couch to crash on.
Craigslist
The home of where everything is for sale, including spare rooms and apartments for rent. It's easy to find someone renting out their mother-in-law apartment or a spare room. Say what you will about Craigslist, but a little common sense will carry you a long way. (It'll be pretty easy to tell by that first e-mail whether or not you'll want to do business.)
Home Away
If you're a little queasy about staying with strangers, but still want a home away from home, try Home Away. I had the opportunity to stay in one of their rentals last summer, while attending the Travel Blog Exchange. It's not the cheapest option, so you'll probably need to have a group to make one of their rentals budget-friendly. You won't get a friendly local concierge, but at least you can feel like you're at home.
Hostels
Hostels have long been a cheaper alternative to hotels, but they're also a (typically) more social place to stay. No matter what time of day (or night) there's likely to be someone around to talk to, or go on a spontaneous sightseeing expedition with.
What's your favorite hotel alternative?
Trackback URL for this post:
http://www.travellious.com/trackback/647
via RSS Feed
via email
on twitter
on youtube
on flickr
on facebook
I've always been a fan of hostels. When traveling solo, it is a great way to meet people and learn about some places to visit your guidebooks don't include. I've made some great friends via hostels and had some incredible experiences.
We often travel with a friend who is in her 70's -- so hostels and couchsurfing don't quite fit our group. However, we've had great luck using vrbo.com, Vacation Rentals By Owner. Looks like a competitor to Home Away. Much, much better than a hotel room, less expensive, and you have no choice but to venture into the grocery store, learn the neighborhood, and interact with local folks.
VRBO.com is part of the HomeAway.com empire. A few years ago HomeAway bought up all the big "rent-by-owner" sites. All of their sites are good for finding vacation rentals to rent directly from the owner.
I am a big fan of vacation rentals for traveling in the US and in Europe. Vacation rentals and farm stays have been popular in Europe for decades. There are good locally-based vacation rental agencies for Europe - where they represent several local owners. Or you can find farms that rent out apartments/cottages. And, as posted above, Craig's List is a good resource too.
"Hotels are a cold and lifeless place."
couldn't have said it better.
Do you know about CasaCasa? Take a look -- it's kind of an interesting idea. Not quite CouchSurfing, not quite AirBnB...
http://casacasa.org/
Plus, the founder is a Seattle neighbor.
I believe I'll stay at your house next time I'm in town. Where am I going again? Kidding, and I allow houseguests as well, though they generally have to invite themselves, since there's no way I'd guess anyone was coming to Santiago on a whim. Though Pam's making waves, so you never know.
I've tried each of your listed hotel alternatives except for Craigslist, and the only one I won't do is dorm style in hostels (though many hostels have private rooms, even family rooms, so hostels are most definitely still in my mix). I'll actually be using AirBnB for the first time in a few months, and though I don't think $75 for an air mattress quite qualifies as "budget," I'll be happy to not be paying $250 for a hotel room in Manhattan (I think expensive cities is where AirBnB is most useful. $75 for a loft futon in Green Lake here in Seattle is a bit spendy when you can stay in an established B&B for that.)
There's an alternative missing, though!
Hospitality exchange is the most budget-friendly, green, community-oriented travel alternative. And it's clearly here to stay. But I think it needs to evolve to accommodate budget travelers with more discerning tastes. Beyond the couch, if you will :)
That's why I started Casa Casa, which is a new hospitality exchange club (www.casacasa.org). As a traveler with Casa Casa, you stay in guest rooms in private homes of friendly members and pay your hosts a small gratuity ($15). When you host travelers in your home, you provide your guest room, some warm hospitality, and share a favorite breakfast recipe. We're a new club and have just 155 members in 12 countries right now, but we're growing all the time.
Check it out. And thanks to NerdsEyeView for posting this post on twitter - I'd missed it!
love love love Couchsurfing.
amazing hospitality with people who have similar mindsets.
There's also plenty of short term apartment leases available. The last time I traveled to New York I stayed in a Tribeca apartment for rent which was fully furnished and full of character! Definitely a better way to travel than staying in a boring hotel. It's really affordable too!