Not everyone relishes the idea of opening their homes to strangers on vacation.
But in an era when many travelers want an experience that takes them beyond conventional hotel chains and tourist traps, hospitality exchanges and private home rentals are flourishing.
Such alternatives can come at a high price, as home rental site Airbnb has learned in recent weeks. Thanks to a spate of highly publicized rental horror stories, Airbnb has announced new property protections and safety measures that draw upon some of the best practices already in place among well-known sites such as the Hospitality Club, CouchSurfing and HomeAway, which operates VRBO.com.
Airbnb, which pairs people looking for accommodations with hosts for a fee, already represents a hybrid of philosophies underlying hospitality exchanges. It claims to be a community where people "can build real connections" with others eager "to enrich the world through the sharing of space."
But, unlike the Hospitality Club and CouchSurfing, which espouse similar philosophies under the banner of creating a community, money is exchanged and Airbnb takes an additional 15% cut of that transaction. Like Airbnb, HomeAway operates as a marketplace, but communications and financial transactions occur between the guest and host off site, with hosts paying only for their listing.
The operators of those services and one frugal traveler offered suggestions on how to protect your home from thieves and vandals. For more information, consult safety policies and rental guidelines on their websites.
But in an era when many travelers want an experience that takes them beyond conventional hotel chains and tourist traps, hospitality exchanges and private home rentals are flourishing.
Such alternatives can come at a high price, as home rental site Airbnb has learned in recent weeks. Thanks to a spate of highly publicized rental horror stories, Airbnb has announced new property protections and safety measures that draw upon some of the best practices already in place among well-known sites such as the Hospitality Club, CouchSurfing and HomeAway, which operates VRBO.com.
Airbnb, which pairs people looking for accommodations with hosts for a fee, already represents a hybrid of philosophies underlying hospitality exchanges. It claims to be a community where people "can build real connections" with others eager "to enrich the world through the sharing of space."
But, unlike the Hospitality Club and CouchSurfing, which espouse similar philosophies under the banner of creating a community, money is exchanged and Airbnb takes an additional 15% cut of that transaction. Like Airbnb, HomeAway operates as a marketplace, but communications and financial transactions occur between the guest and host off site, with hosts paying only for their listing.
The operators of those services and one frugal traveler offered suggestions on how to protect your home from thieves and vandals. For more information, consult safety policies and rental guidelines on their websites.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/08/03/airbnb.vacation.rental.safety/index.html?hpt=tr_c1
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