AirBed and Breakfast

[archerships]

What is AirBed & Breakfast?

AirBed & Breakfast is an online marketplace for peer-to-peer traveling.

We enable people to earn money by renting out extra space, and offer travelers a viable alternative to hotels.
How it works

It’s simple. Nice folks, folks like you, list their guest rooms, futons, and even couches on the site and set a price per night. Adventurous travelers looking for a place to stay can search the listings for an accomodation that’s just right. When they find a match, guests can book your room via credit card. You receive a notification to check out their profile, and decide if the guest is appropriate for your pad. When you accept a guest, contact information is exchanged, itineraries emailed, and the transaction is completed confirming the reservation.

Original: craschworks - comments

Comments

[cramer.livejournal.com]

While it's certainly an interesting concept, I don't think opening your house to complete strangers is all that good an idea. I wish we didn't live in a society where everyone necessarily need be wary of everyone else, but here we are.

[altamira16.livejournal.com]

Actually, this sounds a little better than couch surfing (http://www.couchsurfing.com/) where people offer you their space for free. Is it better because you are exchanging money for the service? I am not sure. It sounds a little safer from both sides and that it is probably not homeless guy from the library is not asking you if they can sleep on your couch.

Having followed crasch's blog for several years now, I think I would let him stay in my guest bedroom for $0 even though I have never met him in person.

Certain countries where people go away for a month or two in the summer are willing to rent out their space. I am sure they probably take their valuables and store them elsewhere, but I think that cost should cover incidentals like broken dishes.

[cramer.livejournal.com]

Maybe, but that takes him out of the circle of "complete stranger". The chain of trust gets weaker the longer it gets, but I'm sure I know someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows you; and none of us are axe murders.

I have met Chris. As a friend of a friend, or acquaintance, I'd be more inclined to give him a room than rent a room to someone I don't know.

[ersigh.livejournal.com]

Couch surfing is an alright site. I think it's only questionable when someone is new to the site and doesn't have any feedback from others.

I haven't stayed with anyone or let anyone stay with me but I have met up with people just to hang out or show someone around and I've had consistently positive experiences.

AirBed & Breakfast vs ...

[catithat.livejournal.com]

I'd never heard of this website, it looks interesting. I'm not sure if there's a big enough niche for this to fill that's not covered by couchsurfing.com, regular B&B's, motels, hostels, or campsites.

I used couchsurfing.com to find a place to stay for a week in January. I had a great time, met some nice folks. More fun than a hotel, more intimate than a hostel. One person from the site has stayed with us - it was fun to have a random fun Lithuanian houseguest for a day. Plus, a hotel would have been ~150/night, a hostel $50/night, vs taking my host out for lunch.

The couchsurfing pairing process involves exchanging several emails, which left me perfectly comfortable in both directions. At the same time, I'd love to see couchsurfing.com get facebook integration in order to only search friends-of-friends-of-...-of-friends

-Steve