BeWelcome: a valid alternative to CouchSurfing

Now that CouchSurfing has revealed its true nature and gone Corporate (or should we say "they finally admitted that they have always been in it for the money"?) many travelers and users of Hospitality Exchange networks are looking for a valid alternative to Couch Surfing.

Number one contender would be www.bewelcome.org, a non-profit, free and open source travel and accommodation community run solely by volunteers. The number of members is still low (compared to the millions of CouchSurfing) but the community is strong and will hopefully benefit from the new members who don't necessarily like the changes that CS is going through.

Berlin Beach Camp 2008

BERLIN BEACHCAMP VERSION 4.0 FROM MAY 8TH - 12TH 2008 AT "STRANDBAD GRUENAU"

The 4th BERLIN BEACHCAMP will happen from May 8th - 12th 2008 at its traditional
location "Strandbad Gruenau" (Sportpromenade 9, 12527 Berlin).

The Beachcamp is a gathering of Hospitality Exchange members, and one of the biggest events on the calendar.

This time we even can stay longer at the beach, if we want: The official end of the camp is Monday, May 12th, but if there is a minimum of 100 people, who want to stay a few days longer, there would be no problem (as long as we can pay the costs for an extra rescue-swimmer and other expenses).

You will find more informations at the following links:

BeWelcome Forum

Happy-Traveller

Obituary for Bob Luitweiler - founder of SERVAS

Bob Luitweiler, pacifist, war resister, civil-rights and international peace activist, died on April 13, 2008, in Bellingham, Washington, U.S at the age of 89.
Through his passion for peace-building Luitweiler made thousands of people from all parts of the world enjoy hospitality and culture exchange through Servas, a peace organisation he started to build right after WW2. He laid the foundation for fostering peace, understanding and hospitality. Together with Servas BeWelcome will continue to live his ideas and build bridges between people and nations.

Watch a movie about the live work of Bob Luitweiler
Read a news article reflecting his achievements

Servas Open Doors is an international, non-governmental, interracial peace association running in over 125 countries by volunteers. Founded in 1949 by Bob Luitweiler and his friends as a peace movement, Servas International is a non-profit worldwide cooperative cultural exchange network bringing people together to build understanding, tolerance, mutual-respect, and world peace. It works toward world peace by encouraging individual person-to-person contacts.

Servas means "serve", in the sense of "we serve peace", in the language Esperanto. The organization was originally called Peacebuilders.

It operates through a network of Servas hosts around the world who are interested in opening their doors to travelers, and, 'on the other side of the coin', many open-minded travelers who want to get to know the heart of the countries they visit. Travelers and hosts may be interviewed annually according to branch (Member Country) practice; travelers write a letter of introduction annually, as well.

Servas International has consultative status as a non-governmental organization with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, currently with representation at many of the UN's hubs of activity.

There are over 20,000 Servas 'open doors' scattered throughout almost every country in the world.

How Safe are Travel Networking Sites

I read an article today which questions the safety of so-called Hospitality Exchange websites (or Travel networking sites as they are also sometimes called).

As a member of one of those communities (BeWelcome) I was surprised to read about the negative image this article tries to paint. Of course safety is an important concern, but I have the feeling this article is written from the viewpoint of the Hotel Industry.

Maybe they have forgotten that more people get robbed in hotels than they do when staying with friends. I have hosted hundreds of people, have stayed with dozens as well, and never did I have any problems. The only time I got robbed was....when staying in a hotel in Bremen.

In BeWelcome.org we are working on a verification tool which will make it possible for members to verify themselves (without costs, unlike Couchsurfing where this will cost you about 25 euro) and still keep a good balance between privacy and safety. If you want to help us implement this, we'd love to hear from you.

Anyway, i've copied the article here below, feel free to make up your own mind.

How Safe Are Travel Networking Sites?

By Laura Bundock
Sky News Reporter


The craze of travel networking sites has hit record levels, but some experts are starting to question how safe they really are.

Backpackers warned to be cautious

Millions of us have signed up to the sites which link up members and allow them to sleep on each other's sofas for free.

But as the trend grows, there is a concern some inexperienced travellers could be at risk.

Charlie McGrath runs Objective Travel, which provides safety courses for would-be globe trotters, "Young backpackers especially who haven't been away much need to be wary and cautious of these sites because you don't really know who you're going to be staying with.

"It's better to stay in somewhere on the commercial market."

Those who do use the sites believe they are the future of travelling. Journalist Vicky Baker is halfway through a three month trip around South America using travel networking.

Tired of following well-trodden tourist trails, she feels they've greatly enhanced her travels, "Before, I was often staying in carbon-copy hostels hanging out with other backpackers, speaking English all the time and never really getting beyond the surface of the country I was in.

"Having local contacts has made it a very different experience."

The websites do have safety systems to protect members. Couchsurfing, one of the biggest sites, lets users leave comments and "vouch" for each other.

It also has a system of personal verification for a small fee.

Other sites like Global Freeloaders and Hospitality Club make members exchange passport numbers.

Trent Collins, from Couchsurfing said its users are advised to use the safety tools, "There have been no major incidents within Couchsurfing and members are encouraged at all times to make sure that they are careful to see that they follow safety protocols to keep it that way."

One signed up, yet unsuccessful member of Couchsurfing is Simon Calder, travel editor of The Independent newspaper.

Despite failing to find anyone willing to put him up in Paris, he feels with common sense the sites offer fantastic opportunities.

"I celebrate the opportunities that the internet confers to bring us closer together, and if only someone would agree either to host me or to sleep on my couch then I'd love to try it in person. So far, no luck.

"Of course there are risks - nothing in life is risk free - but I believe the potential for good far outweighs the dangers."

Queen's Day

First published May 1, 2005

Message from Frank

Saturday was Queensday, and Queen Beatrix was riding the tram between The Hague and Scheveningen. I was also there, but my attention was directed towards the Freemarkets they were having in the streets.
It seemed like the whole of Holland was trying to sell its stuff, from little vases and boxes to real jukeboxes and tandems.
Everybody was out to make some money. At one place you could even buy an egg for 2 € and throw it to the sales person. ('Get rid of stress and agression').
We bought ice-creams and biscuits (which served as spoons) and in the evening drank Polish vodka and Dutch beer. I can strongly recommend 'het Kanon', a beer with an alcohol percentage of 11,6% !
At night we had fireworks (nothing extraordinary) and at Mark's place we watched a movie...

On Sunday I gave a lift to some of my friends, and when we arrived in Utrecht Kadi from Estonia asked me if she could join me for a ride to Brussels.
But first I had to pay a visit to some friends in Zeist, whose weddingparty I unfortunately had missed when I went to Valencia. Anyway, it was great seeing them after 3 years, and we took a nice stroll through the woods.

Hospex Parties are the Best!

First publishes April 30, 2005

Only a few more days before my trip to Lithuania, and I'm travelling again, this time to Scheveningen, the beach near The Hague.
It's a short trip by car, less than 2 hours.
In the back of my car are Major Phil and Andrea, two Canadian friends (from Montréal and Quebec) who speak a language that challenges me : Canadian French. The accent, the words, even the grammar are different from the French we speak here in Brussels. After a while I got used to it, however.

The music that accompanies our trip is by The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Kate Melua. A strange combination at first but time passes quickly.
Without any big traffic jams we arrive in Scheveningen and register at the Hospex check-in. The party, which will take about 3 days, is being organized in an alternative vegetarian squatters' place which hosts a group of very different and interesting people : anarchists, vegans, vegetarians, squatters, hitch-hikers, Wwoofers (bio-organic farmers), animal-welfare activists, anti-globalists, green boys & girls, backpackers and many more.
We just arrived too late for dinner, but since I knew about 25% of the 70 people that participated at this event, I had plenty of time to talk to them and I forgot I was hungry..

In the evening we went in little groups to the centre of The Hague for 'Queensnight'. The city was nicely lit, everywhere were thousands of people laughing, drinking, smoking grass (this is Holland after all). Rockbands on every corner, food stalls, fun fair attractions : it looked like everybody had a reason to party.
There were so many people that we couldn't avoid being separated from the main group, so in the end we just remained with three people : Auste, Asia and myself. Together we walked back to our bed in Scheveningen, which took us about 90 minutes !
The other members of BeWelcome slept in the "Curse of Scheveningen", but I had found a sleeping place at the house of a Canadian, Mark, and his Australische friend Hew. A house with a sauna, garden, shower...just our luck !

Going to the Hospex Spring Camp

Message from Frank

I'm leaving for Holland today, to participate in the Dutch Spring Camp from various Hospitality Exchange communities. It's a great way to meet old friends, make some new ones and even more importantly : encounter people that Ingrid and I will meet on our way to the Hill of Crosses.
Some of their BeWelcome names sound promising : Globetrotter_tt, Cynamon, Demorganna...yes, I admit you might think they are members of a Hardrock Band ! ;-)

The planning looks interesting (it's Queensday !) :

Friday :

Evening out - Party in Den Haag "QueensNight"

Saturday :

9am - People going to Amsterdam for Queensday

7am - 5pm Freemarket

StreetGames

1-4pm - The Dutch Queen will be around Scheveningen and Den Haag (around the corner of our meeting place)

9pm Fireworks around the corner at Scheveningen Beach

Sunday :

10am - People going to Utrecht for a Day of
.SightSeeing
.Workshops
.Dutch Meal
.and many more things

What is Hospitality Exchange?

Is Hospitality Exchange only free accommodation? Hospitality Exchange, also known as accommodation sharing, Hospitality services, and home stay networks, often refers to centrally organized social networks of individuals who trade accommodation without monetary exchange. While the concept of free accommodation could also include house swapping or even time share plans, it is associated mostly with travellers and tourists staying with one another free of charge. Polish sociologist Paula Bialski even calls it "emotional tourism", because meeting locals indeed involves a lot of emotions and maybe this is exactly how it differs from the mainstream package tour.
Since the 1990s, these services have increasingly moved away from using printed catalogues and telephone lines, but members often use Internet websites. These have grown exponentially since 2000 and as of March, 2007 over 500,000 people are registered users of these networks, which vary in operational structure, layout and geographic focus.
However, Hospitality Exchange offers much more than just free accommodation. Some members do not offer a place to stay, but instead provide dinner, a guided tour, tourist information or will help find a cheap hostel or alternative means of accommodation. Also those travellers who face most difficulties - like handicaped people - find great opportunity and help in networks like BeWelcome, where members can both invite travellers with wheelchairs (according to the accessibility of their place) and use the search function to find the very same hosts.

Motivation and quality of social networking
Basic Motivation
Why do people join social hospitality exchange networks? The basic motivating factors for membership - and they very much influence the quality of later social exchange - include:

- to meet interesting, open minded, people
- to meet locals and to gain an insider view
- to save money through the offer of free accommodation
- the wish for flexibility and freedom of choice when travelling
- to get contacts, pursue effective networking
- to improve language skills


Factors influencing the quality of exchange within Hospitality and culture exchange networks
Based upon those motivations the main factors which influence the quality of exchange have been identified to be:

- the need to be ready and willing for interaction with other members
- a friendly approach of members resulting in interest and curiosity
- the mutual seriousness and effort put into the process of establishing contact between two members
- an open and positive atmosphere within the network
- an un-judgmental approach towards other cultures
- A common ground facilitating successful communication


Opportunity, risk and limitations
But what are the opportunities, risks and limitations of how Hospitality Exchange Networks can influence the quality of social exchange between host-guest relationships?
The opportunities include:


- to discover culture and traditions through the eyes of a local
an understanding of cultures which can remove stereotypes and misunderstandings
- broadening of education
- promoting peace
- make people care about situations and conflicts in other cultures
- make them realize differences and help overcome them


The risks include:

- incomprehension, misunderstanding and stereotype thinking based on individual experiences with members
- generalization of culture according to experience
- ‘Black sheep’ abusing the network (burglary, spam or dating)
- failure to cope with confrontation of different habits and customs

The limitations include that:

- Hospitality Exchange networks mainly address open-minded and curious people
- a high level of tolerance is needed
- members are not representative for entire culture
- access may be excluded to some part of the community : lack of technical equipment, financial resources, old people, social prejudices


BeWelcome: one project, many target groups

BeWelcome is a project open to many different interest groups and backgrounds. Leisure travellers, expats and business travellers, scientists, local communities and the tourism industry as a whole - all take advantage of BeWelcome.

You want to know more?

BeVolunteer Mission Statement
BeWelcome - a new way of travelling?
Wikipedia about Hospitality exchange