Weighing up the pros and cons of hotels vs private room rental in a hosts home.
I would like to gain insight from all travellers regarding their experiences of staying in hotels vs staying with a host in their home. I've been working on a new website called RoomFT which allows travellers and homeowners to register their accommodation or search for a room they need if they are a traveller. I personally would think that you would have a far more enriching experience staying with a local in their home but as I am not a seasoned traveller I have no real basis for this opinion. I have already found a room available in eqypt which I am considering using for a trip next year. Please, any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Reply to this I stayed in someone's home in Cuba (in Havana and Antigua) and that was great for getting to know 'real' people and being able to discuss local issues. Hotels are great if you want anonymity and freedom but they hinder you from interacting with the normal culture of a place.
Reply to this Thanks for replying.
I personally have found hotels to be rather cold and clinical. Like gerry and Denise mentioned you seem to be far removed from local culture when you stay in a hotel and half the time the staff in the hotels are foreigners!
Reply to this Before I travelled to Cuba, I thought the idea of staying with a family would be kind of..awkward. Like I would be imposing, or that I wouldn't have my own personal space, but after I stayed in multiple houses in Cuba with Cuban families I realised how awesome it was. You get to meet more locals and understand them better, and all the Cubans I stayed with were so awesome, so helpful and really seemed to care about me which is nice when you're travelling alone!
Hotels, I'm not much of a fan of at all, but hostels are nice in a completely opposite way that homes are nice. I like how in hostels it's easy to meet up with fellow travelers, hear about what they've done in the country, what they recommend, what advice they give etc. They're a less cultural experience, but can be a really fun experience.
Reply to this Partydress, I am hoping to travel to Cuba next year and would love it if you could provide me with some tips and perhaps even a couple contact numbers for places you stayed. Please tell me more as I have been dying to go to Cuba and have yet to meet anyone who has been there! Aaaahhhh, so jealous....
Reply to this I m not really into hotels unless its some special occasion maybe, but otherwise id go with hostels for meeting new people and couchsurfing for meeting the locals and get a locals perspective on things. I think a mixture of couchsurfing/homestay and hostels would be best for any trip you get the best of both worlds then.
Thx Mike 😊
Reply to this hey mike!
If you ever looking for a couch and some crazy new people in London, give me a shout or go to my host site on RoomFT at http://www.roomft.com/members/SuzieQ.
Got to do some couch surfing at varsity and you end up having the craziest times just because people are always coming and going. Good times!
Reply to this Hey Suzie id take you up on the offer but i have just arranged with a couchsurfer for a night in London prior to my round the world trip on the 29.12.07.........if only you had posted sooner...lol, thanks for the offer😉
Mike;0)
Reply to this No worries!
Have an awesome trip. If you have any problems with accommodation go and check out www.roomft.com.
Maybe I'll catch you next time!
Reply to this Hey guys- I just joined this forum and it's great to connect with other travelers!
My partner and I are avid travelers too and we are developing an online platform for non-hotel, short-term accommodation because we feel that as air travel gets more affordable, so should accommodation!
We also want to make it safer and more convenient for anyone to rent out their place and make some money (perhaps to pay for the next vacation!).
www.roomorama.com will be released in Jan for Beta-testing. If anyone is interested in helping us test this out and making accommodation cheaper for everyone, please let me know! Would love to get input from fellow travelers 😊
Reply to this btw, Gerry and Denise- funny enough the idea for roomorama.com was spawned from my bf traveling in Cuba and staying with Cuban families in Casa Particulares. 😊
Reply to this we are a homestay family (over 3 years of always having someone live with us) for international students who attend a english college near our home. I think that staying in peoples homes is great. We stayed with acquaintaces of some family members in the US who we had never met previously. They looked after us so well.
I know that I like to make sure my students have a good time in Australia so I suspect that people who want to open their homes to others are wanting to leave people with a good impression of their country. I have never used couchsurfing or others but you would want to know that the people you are staying with are safe.
The only question I have is that if you aren't young and dont want to party, can you search for more subdued people to stay with? Ha ha This is just from a married with 3 kids, trying to holiday alone with my husband on the cheap point of view?? ( well we arent that old, just boring maybe? 28 and 35 years old)
Reply to this The platform we are developing now (roomorama.com) will allow you rent out your place with ease because you will be able to see a renter's profile, his/her ratings and reviews history, so you have a rough idea of who to expect. it'd be great if you would be willing to beta-test for us and give us feedback to improve.
i have also rented out my place to tourists and you are right- i always want to make sure they have a good time so i tell them the best places to go in the neighborhood. i guess the idea that you can share experiences with perfect strangers is contagious. 😊
Reply to this Great to hear that more people are joining the cheap accommodation movement! Good luck with the site!
In respone to travellingmum's concern. Until Roomorama is up and running, you should go to www.roomft.com. Here you can register as either a host or a traveller, or both, for free.
I think that having a family will not hinder your use of cheap accommodation sites such as RoomFT as it alllows you to dictate your profile. On RoomFT you can register a room request stating that you have a family and that you therefore require a host who can accommodate you in this regard. I've just returned from Belgium and was very impressed by the number of travellers with small children there. This considered, it would then appear that there are many like yourself out there.
Another consideration to bear in mind is the fact that many people who will be renting out their rooms will be retired or have children who have left the house hence the open rooms. These people will most likely be quieter and therefore more understanding and accommodating of your little ones.
Oh and I doubt anyone can be boring when they have little ones to keep them busy😉
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