Newsletter

Hello anonymous,

You are receiving this newsletter because you are a member of the BeWelcome community of travelers and hosts.

In 2007, volunteers launched BeWelcome with the promise we would be a new form of hospitality exchange. As other platforms disappear, change business models or add fees, BeWelcome remains democratic, open-source and free to use. It remains volunteer led and run, and a permanent non-profit means of exchanging hospitality. We kept our promise.

Because of COVID-19, it’s hard to think about travel and physically meeting travelers or locals. There is a time you will. Hospitality exchange will continue to be a beacon of hope and trust in futures unknown, and in the possibility of a better, more equitable world after the pandemic.

BeWelcome welcomes new members

BeWelcome extends a warm welcome to all who have either recently joined, or re-activated their profile here. We hope that you will have many enriching hospitality exchange experiences through this site, once travel and hosting resumes safely.

For members joining us from CouchSurfing: While many aspects of BeWelcome are similar to CouchSurfing, we call references ‘comments’, and their purpose is the same. It is just as important to complete your profile. Other things may take a different form here, so please check the ‘Questions by new members’ thread in the Couchsurfing group . According to one blogger, there are many things that make BeWelcome unique and worth fighting for.

New and Improved Features and Tools

Member search now returns better results, even for regions and entire countries. You can also search for members based on their username or part of it. We also introduced new search options like: member “has profile picture”, improved translations, and rewrote some old code (safety, about, community, FAQ and legal pages). We fixed many, many reported issues and member reported bugs and feature requests.

Two features to focus on

1. The BeWelcome mobile app

Android users can now install the “BeWelcome – Hospitality Exchange” app from the PlayStore, or download the installation file from BeWelcome. It is a Progressive Web App which lets you access the website from the home screen of your Android device almost as if it was an actual native app.

If you don’t have an Android phone, or want to access BeWelcome without installing an app, you can simply put a shortcut to BeWelcome.org on your smartphone or tablet. Our FAQ article explains the three clicks it takes in the most popular browsers.

And yes, before you ask – volunteers are now working on an app for iPhone and on a complete native app. If you are an app developer or have knowledge of user experience (UX), join the discussion.

2. Hosting Interest setting

We have replaced “Maybe” (offering a place to stay) with a new setting system. It’s called “Hosting Interest”. In the past, you had to choose between “Yes”, “Maybe” and “No” to indicate if you wanted to receive hosting requests. Many of you were unclear about the difference between “Maybe” and “Yes”. We have simplified this to “Yes” and “No”. If your setting was “Maybe”, this was converted to “Yes” with a Hosting Interest of “medium to high”. You can adjust this hosting interest setting up or down at any time in the Accommodation section of “Edit my profile” to indicate how interested you are in receiving Hosting Requests. This setting influences where your profile appears in search results. In the future you will be able to see when a member’s hosting interest setting was last updated, and display your Hosting Interest on your profile.

New communication channels

Jitsi Meet is a free, secure, flexible, open-source video conferencing platform. We like it ​​​​​​​because its free, secure and open source :) During this pandemic, BeWelcome members have organized or joined virtual BeWelcome cafés. Explore the Wiki page with a timetable of forthcoming video meetings. While some are language and geography specific (e.g. Brazil), others are open to everyone. Why not organize a Café? Contact our volunteer duesseldorf if interested.

You can also create your own online activities and events on BeWelcome. Why not create an online activity for your area? For those locations where lockdowns have eased, create legal and safe in-person activities.

BeWelcome has always had a video channel. It has now been updated and moved to Vimeo. If you would like to make a BeWelcome “fan” video, we would be happy to share it! For example, BeWelcome member PeterBurk made this video in July 2020 to explain why he joined BeWelcome and how he became an active volunteer for this community of travelers and hosts.​​​​​​​ If you are not into video making, pictures are also wonderful. Take a BeWelcome related picture and message us on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, so that we can put it on social media.

Volunteering

BeWelcome is run by the non-profit association BeVolunteer, and its sole purpose, by statute, is “to develop, maintain and promote the practice of hospitality and cultural exchange”. There are no shareholders or investors. There are also no paid employees. Everything is done by volunteers, including site support and development.

So, we know that we are far from perfect, but we are trying. :-) And we need everyone’s help to improve. Please get involved in the local groups, or set up new groups where these don’t exist. (Please check using the group search.) While Volunteers with IT support and development skills are particularly needed, there is also work for non-technical volunteers. Check out the ‘Volunteering’ page and get in contact.

Read a one-to-one interview with new member and volunteer peterburk.

More information

The 2020 General Assembly (GA) of BeVolunteer starts on November 28th, this year exclusively online.

Would you like to meet other BeWelcome members? A well-filled profile will help you find hosts (as they can see your picture, interests, etc), and the search algorithm also favours hosts with a more complete profile. Complete and update your profile!

Interested in BeWelcome merchandise, like a T-shirt or mug? Visit the BeWelcome shop on Spreadshirt.

BeVolunteer/BeWelcome runs on a very small budget and keeps detailed financial accounts. Find more information on all past accounts and the current budget in the wiki library. The new donations campaign for the coming year (2020-2021) will start soon.

Stay healthy!

Your BeWelcome volunteers.

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