Newsletter

Hello anonymous, 

 

the main travel season has started, and we hope you will be able to enjoy it with BeWelcome. If you are not traveling, perhaps you will be able to do so by hosting travelers at your home. We know times are tough, and it feels as if society is closing in. But BeWelcome still stands for hospitality, equality, respect and free homestays. This newsletter shares the hospitality experience of Marc and Cristina, and tips for creating some of your own. Enjoy reading.

 

Table of Contents:

• Traveling as a way of life with Marc and Cristina on BeWelcome!
• Tips and tricks for a better BeWelcome experience
• Help us and our Volunteers

 

Traveling as a way of life with Marc and Cristina on BeWelcome!

 

For some of our members, traveling is not holidays but a whole way of life! Such is the case for Marc and Cristina, a couple from Barcelona. The latest of their long-term trips, completed last year: hitchhiking from Barcelona to Oman!

“We always travel with our tent”, says Marc, “because wild camping really gives us flexibility. But we love hitchhiking and hospitality networks, we met so many great people that way!”

They were able to find hosts in all the countries they crossed. They had some worries about Turkey, because it was winter and very cold for wild camping, but they actually found a host every single night: either through a hospitality network ‒ they use BeWelcome and Couchsurfing ‒ or through people who gave them a ride!

They also wondered about Oman, because it was difficult to find reliable information about hitchhiking and camping there. But both finally turned out to be very easy, providing them a few of their best experiences: so much so that they spent 2 months in the country! “People were very welcoming”, says Marc, “and camping is traditional in the desert, so it helps create a relationship with people.”

Now Marc and Cristina are back in Spain, working to earn some money for their next trip… West Africa is the next goal! To learn more about their trips, you can take a look at their YouTube channel:  “locatis pel món”.

 

Top Left : Marc and Cristina. Top right:  Social meal with hosts and friends. Bottom ones: road trips with hosts and hitchhiking.

If you would like to share your own hosting experience with BeWelcome, remember to take some nice photos with your hosts and guests! If you are on Instagram, don’t hesitate to add the hashtag #bewelcome or include our Instagram profile @bewelcome.

 

Tips and tricks for a better experience

 

• A good quality profile picture showing yourself and an individual description help your hosts and guests write or accept requests. Check your profile 
   
• You don’t need to feel pressured to accept any request, even last minute ones. You can always ask for more information before making your decision. But we encourage you to respond to all legitimate requests, even if just using the “decline” button. If you consider the message inappropriate, please report it to BeWelcome instead.
  
  Remember: Hospitality is a gift that you grant voluntarily, never a moral obligation.
   
• Did your potential guest or host receive any comments by other members on their profile? What do they say about the experience with that person? Of course, everybody has to start at one point. So how to get your first comment? Host someone, meet people in Activities or Trips, or show them around.
   
• If you have any doubt or a bad gut feeling, then don’t host or stay with this person, or end the hosting experience.
   
• BeWelcome does not verify members’ ID documents because we would not be able to do so reliably, but you may ask to see each other’s ID. However, you should agree on it beforehand, as not everyone likes this.
   
• Beware of people who immediately ask you to communicate outside BeWelcome: using the BeWelcome messaging system helps our Safety Team to warn you in case it becomes aware of a problem with that member.
   
• If you have to go out, you can ask your guests to leave with you and to stay outside until you’re back, unless you really trust them. You should never feel compelled to hand out your key.
   
• Report problems to the Safety Team or write a profile comment as quickly as possible. 

 

Support us and our Volunteers

 

We are thankful to all our Volunteers who help us keep Bewelcome running!

We have several volunteer groups dedicated to specific tasks: if you have the time and skills to volunteer, please check them out here!

If you’re not sure “where to join”, you can join the general BeWelcome Volunteers Group.

If you don’t have the time, you can also help pay our server costs: 

Donate

 

We wish you a good travel season, and wonderful encounters!

Thank you for reading, 

 

Your Communications Team