Hosting in Back entries: 2013 - 2015

So I’ve been “hosting” people recently - basically, there are websites out there who allow for travellers/backpackers (“surfers”) to stay at people’s homes as opposed to hostels. The general idea is more of a cultural exchange, as opposed to “oh look, free bed and board”. I’ve had a profile on a particular website for about three years now, and just “hosted” - i.e. provided somewhere for people to stay.

Now, I’ve probably looked after near on forty people since 2012. Not a lot of people I know, and I do have regular breaks from hosting as I want to be able to chill out and do my own thing. One of these days I should post an entry detailing some of my more memorable “surfers”. Not everyone’s posted a reference for me, and there’s been times when I’ve not left a reference myself. For whatever reason.

Every time someone requests to stay at my place, the first thing I do is check their profile. A quick check to see how long they’ve had their profile online, then on to the references left by other people. Then on to whether their profile’s been filled out, and what they’ve said about themselves.

I will knock people back if they have blank profiles or too many negative/no references, especially if said profile’s been up for years. I look at whether the requestee has any negative references and what’s been said - one bloke stayed with me, had travelled for seven years and had over 210 references. He had one or two negative references, but both appeared to be over personality conflicts as opposed to theft/violence/anything serious. He was great - not much of a cook, but hey neither am I.

I have three or four surfers coming to stay with me over the next nineteen days (not all at once), and then I’m having around ten days to a fortnight off before I start hosting again. Due to work commitments, I need to have that time off as I’ll be too busy with work.

Last updated December 21, 2015