Resources for Traveling Freelancers #1: A Place to Call Home Base

Photo credit: Foxtongue@Flickr

I did my first trip as a traveling freelancer in June and July, spending 35 days traveling around Spain and Portugal.  The traveling part was great but the freelancing part was much, much harder than I thought.  I had read plenty of articles about freelancing while traveling but being on the road is a whole different thing.  And so I’ve put together some resources for the traveling freelancer.  This first article is about finding places to live that feel like home, mostly spending less than one would at hotels.

Hostels have been the traditional option for long-haul travelers because of their low price and sociable atmosphere but they’re not known as the most secure places for gear and usually don’t offer the most peaceful of spots for sleeping and working.  They also don’t feel much like home . When the traveler’s on the move for a long time, he starts getting homesick.  There are some options worth looking into where you can find real, welcoming homes as well as potentially friendly hosts who will give you tips and share insider knowledge of their cities.

Renting other people’s rooms and homes

AirBnB is one of several sites where hosts post short-term and vacation rentals, from couches in their living rooms to full mansions – prices vary from a few dollars to more than $1,000 per night.

When you rent someone else’s place you can negotiate the price and check out time.  You can also cook if you like to without having to use the often gross pots and utensils of a hostel.  If you’re renting a room in someone’s place it can take a bit of time to get used to the idea but you can get some great advice about the city you’re visiting that you might never get otherwise.

But there are downsides to renting from an individual as opposed to a company. Often, you have no idea who the owner is and whether they’re trustworthy for your needs.  In addition, you never have the same guarantees a hotel might give you–though in some countries hotels aren’t any more reliable than a lady with a spare room.  In my experience, a person with a spare room isn’t any less reliable than a four star hotel in Portugal in guaranteeing that you’ll have wi-fi in your room.

Other room and home rental sites

Crashpadder. Easy to navigate, includes a map of listings with your results.  Listings are mostly for anglophone countries.

Roomorama. Lots of listings for full apartments.  Limited number of cities.

Homelidays. Full home rentals around the world.

iStopOver. A portal of rentals for vacationers, travelers over 50 and special events such as the World Cup.  A bit impersonal.  Also lists B&B’s.

Pros of Home Rental

• Guests get to meet some local folks
• Guests potentially have a room of their own for less than a hotel room’s price
• Price is negotiable
• The site keeps the guest’s credit card or Paypal information and payment isn’t processed till 24 hours after the guest’s arrival time. If the guest arrives at his host’s home and the place is not as described (i.e. the “private bedroom” is actually a hammock in the garage) the guest has 24 hours to report this to AirBnB and cancel the reservation so that his credit card won’t be charged.

Cons of Home Rental

• You always need a plan B in case you arrive at a place that’s not what you expected.
• Many times, bed & breakfast businesses are also using the site to post their rooms, which defeats the purpose of such listings.
• On many sites, anyone can leave a review for a host, even if the reviewer was never a guest but is a friend or relative.
• Reviews often aren’t available.
• AirBnB charges as much as a 6% fee on top of the rental asking price.

Tips

• Never book a listing that doesn’t have photos.  Look for listings that have at least 3 or 4 photos, including that of your presumed sleeping space.
• Speak with the host on the phone, preferably through video call, before booking.
• Don’t ever do transactions outside of the site!  If a host wants to finish a transaction via email or phone don’t even book with that person. Though the site doesn’t take much responsibility for what happens to its users and it charges a percentage off transactions, going outside the site raises safety issues for both host and guest.
• Never, ever give your credit card information or pay a host in cash under ANY circumstances!  You’ll already have given your credit card number to the site, there’s no need for a host to ask for it again.
• Don’t leave your valuables lying around.
• Under all circumstances, trust your instincts.  If something’s telling you something’s not right then it probably isn’t.

In the continuation of this list of resources I’ll go into a little more adventurous experiences with Couchsurfing and WWOOFing.

If you’ve used any site of this sort please let us know about your experiences and share some tips in the comments.  Your tips can help the next traveler embarking on his or her journey!

Photo credit: Foxtongue on flickr.