Newsletter
BeWelcome – November 2022 Newsletter
BeWelcome – The Largest Free Hospitality Community
Contents:
- Members of the New Board of Directors!
- A BeWelcome Weekend in Sète, France
- Tips and Hints for Hosting and Staying with a Host Through BeWelcome
- Neta98 Shares His BeWelcome Experiences
- Want to Get More Active on BeWelcome?
Welcome New Members and Hello BeWelcome Family!
Travel is back and returning to levels even higher than before the pandemic. At BeWelcome.org, we have seen a big growth in members, requests for stays and use of the new Trips tool. While many of our members are getting back to what we love, our heart goes out to those impacted by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Despite these crises, there seems to be a renewed need for travel. Encounters by hanging out and staying with a “stranger” through hospitality communities brings intrigue and excitement, but also intercultural and interpersonal understanding.
BeWelcome has seen a lot of growth recently, because individuals like yourself value hospitality exchange for everyone – free to use, without paywalls, facilitated by a volunteer driven non-profit association. We are proud to say we are now The Largest Free Hospitality Community with almost 220.000 members worldwide.
Whether you’re new to the concept of hospitality exchange or just to BeWelcome, check out the FAQs and follow us on our Facebook, Instagram or Twitter to stay connected. A number of useful improvements have recently been made to the site by our volunteer developers and testers. For instance your personal search options are now remembered in the “Find Members” tool, and more comments are now displayed on profiles and comments from hosting experiences are marked with a house icon. You can find the complete list of improvements and give your feedback in the this Community News article.
We do hope you enjoy our newsletter wherever you are in the world,
The BeWelcome Communications Team
New Board of Directors Elected!
Looking Forward to the Year Ahead
The General Assembly of BeVolunteer – the non-profit association behind BeWelcome – elected a new Board of Directors. The vote was taken by volunteers following two days of fruitful discussion at the beginning of November 2022 in Wieliczka/Poland. Eight BeVolunteer members participated in person, while seven more attended online. The elections of the new Board of Directors for the year 2022/2023 took place online after the GA meeting:
Gbenouville is confirmed as President
Corazondeviaje is the new Secretary
Thorgal67 is confirmed as Treasurer
Many thanks to peterburk for being secretary during the last year and doing a terrific job!
Also wind has been elected and will continue to serve as the ombudsperson.
All members of the Board of Directors met in real life: corazondeviaje (left), thorgal67 (center) and gbenouville (right) met for a drink in Krakow before the GA.
Friends come First – A Fun and Fruitful BeWelcome Weekend in Sète / Southern France
Eight BeWelcome travelers found their ways to Sète, a town at the Mediterranean Sea in the South of France. There were seven from France and one from Israel. Sète is located between land and sea, so water was the main topic of this BeWelcome weekend – and it was surprisingly more wet than expected: A strong storm with heavy rains flooded the campsite the night before the gathering began. Swimming tents convinced all participants to spontaneously rent a luxury mobile home – the last one available at the campsite. This became the meeting point for all the participants who enjoyed the many moments in the jacuzzi. Also some “BeerWelcome” moments happened :)
Everyone enjoyed water activities such as swimming and kayaking. Take a look at the photo: Lio was the only dog in the event and showed everybody around his ability to navigate on a canoe.
Many more activities followed one another over three consecutives days... and in the end all participants left happy. There is obviously nothing better than spending the last “holidays” of the summer with BeWelcome friends and enjoying the summer sun.
Tips for Hosting and Staying with a Host Through BeWelcome
- Complete Your Profile: It’s unlikely you will get hosted without a complete profile. This includes adding a picture, a short description of yourself in the “about me” section, and completing as many other parts of your profile as possible. Likewise, as a host you should fully complete your profile so that travelers feel comfortable staying with you!
- Do Some Research on Your Potential Hosts: Do you have common interests which would make your stay enjoyable for you and for your host? What part of the town/city do they live in? Is public transport available? Understand what they are offering such as sleeping arrangements, availability to socialize or explore and what their expectations are.
- Write a Custom Hosting Request: The host will then know what effort you put into communicating. Don’t just send a copy and paste message to various hosts at your destination. Use the dedicated “Request stay” feature instead of sending a simple message, to make things clear for your host: This feature enables you to indicate request dates and the number of guests.
- Determine How Many Nights: Many hosts state in their profiles how many nights they normally host, with many preferring 2 to 4 nights. Some don’t like to host one night only, as they feel you are using their home as if it was a hotel. However long you can make your stay, it’s nice to allow some time to get to share each other’s life, over some tea or a beer. It’s unlikely your one month stay request will be accepted by any host as that takes a lot of time and energy.
- Know the Arrangements in Advance: While it’s unlikely that you will get your own set of keys and be able to come and go as you want, some hosts do facilitate that. Some hosts expect you to only come and go at the same time as them, while others may be more flexible. Don’t put your host in an uncomfortable place by suddenly asking for extra days, space for additional people, or spare keys to stay out late clubbing.
- Communicate your plans in advance: It’s nice to do this, if you have particular needs while you travel. Do you need to use their WiFi? Do you plan to sleep in, or do you need to wash clothes in their washing machine? You can share your needs in advance to accommodate your travel. This might include a sleeping bag, travel adapters, and chargers.
- Requesting a Stay Last Minute is Usually Bad for Both Sides: It can be stressful for the host. Usually 1-2 weeks in advance is optimal. If you request months ahead, host plans can change. Your request to stay, even if accepted, is not a confirmed hotel booking. However, some hosts state different preferences on their profile and there are Last Minute groups for urgent requests on BeWelcome.org.
- If Travelling, Add a Public Trip on BeWelcome.org in Advance: Add a description about your plans, trip motivations, interests and even goals. Your trip might be about fun and clubbing, or gaining new skills. If the public trip is well described, you may get offers to stay or to meet up that match your interests and goals.
- Bring a Story, a Gift or Cook a Meal Together: If you both have the same interests, then share it. For example, if you are into movies, watch a movie together or if you both practice yoga, maybe practice together. It can only strengthen what could very well be a lifelong relationship.
- Value the Interaction: Request stays with people who might look different on the surface. Ask them questions about places to see, what to eat, and things to do and invite them along even. In a way, you can be the host, so that they can be the “traveler” in their town or city.
- Think About Visiting Other Less Traveled Cities: Hosts in popular cities like Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin get many requests. As a result it may be more difficult to confirm a stay. Less traveled destinations don’t see as many travelers from BeWelcome, so they may be more apt to host. There are often public transport options to get to any one place. Think about visiting smaller towns and villages that have good connections to a city; don’t limit yourself to a popular town or city centre.
- BeWelcome.org is Not a Dating site: So don't use it as one. Understand and respect the limits and boundaries set by your host or guest.
If you're on Facebook, add your own tips and hints to this Facebook post.
BeWelcome is Lethal for Prejudice!
Neta98 is living his dream right now. He started a ‘Round the World’ (RTW) Trip in the Summer of 2022 and is planning to travel until March 2023, before starting a new job.
He shared his BeWelcome story with duesseldorf who is now passing it onto you :)
“It all began with my love for hiking. In March 2022, I hiked the Israel Trail which crosses my country from South to North for about 1,000 km. There are trail angels – people whom you can call and who help you on the way. I stayed in several places with them overnight.
When planning my big trip around the world it was clear to me that I was looking for similar experiences: To stay with locals and to get the closest contact possible with their communities or countries by living with them – if only for a few nights. So, I was searching on the internet and found Couchsurfing. Getting a membership there seemed like a lot of hassle. I then discovered the BeWelcome community and set up my profile.
At the end of July, I started my trip in Greece. I found no host in Athens but did receive positive feedback that I would have been hosted had they not all been traveling themselves. This encouraged me – and I found my first host in Northern Greece: Zitsa, a baker and his lovely family in a little village. My next host was in Napoli, Italy.
With these two wonderful experiences I totally warmed up for BeWelcome. It needs a bit more preparation than booking a hostel, but the encounters are absolutely worth it. I found hosts in Firenze and Genova before I continued my trip to Southern France and was hosted in Nice.
My host from Montpellier told me about the BeWelcome weekend event in Sète and took me along. There I met more BeWelcome members and we had a great time together. One of the participants invited me to stay with him in Toulouse. The dinner with his mother impressed me – because she only speaks French and I don’t, but that certainly didn’t stop us from having a very interesting conversation. I speak Hebrew and English and on this trip I want to improve my basic Spanish.
My next BeWelcome host was in Portugal, in Porto – a student originally from Quebec who had just arrived to the city that same week and so we explored the city together. From Portugal, I continued to Sevilla and was hosted by a Sevillan born and raised host who showed me all around the city, offered me his insights from all the years of traveling and hosting and cooked me some wonderful Spanish breakfast and dinner.
As of October, I’m in Morocco, where I hope to find a host as well. I will continue traveling until the end of February and by then I intend to also visit Mexico and Eastern Asia.
My hosts have opened their lives for me and offered much more than just accommodation. We have talked a lot and I gained insights into their culture, their everyday lives, joys and also sorrows.
There are still lots of experiences waiting for me out there. That’s why I cannot describe the final impact of BeWelcome on my life – yet. But, one thing I have noticed with myself: BeWelcome is bad for prejudice. For instance, before traveling I had this stereotype in my head that the French were a bit anti-social and reserved towards foreigners. My experiences were quite the opposite: I spent much more time in France than originally planned and with BeWelcome I found friends there.
I am looking forward to many more experiences through BeWelcome!”
This photo is Neta98's memory of his stay with Zitsa and family and their bakery in Greece.
Neta98 having fun during the BeWelcome event “Les copains d’abord” in Sète / Southern France.
Get active and update your profile
- Complete and update your profile: Would you like to meet other BeWelcome members? If so, you should provide them with a first impression by adding a profile picture and filling your profile.
- Social Media: You can like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram.
- Personalize your BeWelcome experience: From notifications to filters, update your preferences.
Thanks for reading! Care to share a story? Direct message us on Social Media or Email us.
