Enjoying a foreign idea

Reading the travel section of the New York Times yesterday was very enlightening.  After sleeping in, I instinctively grabbed the Sunday paper and walked outside to soak up the sun.  The Travel section's headline ran something about staying in Europe without hotels.. Hmmm, interesting idea, but realistic?  This didn't sound all too unfamiliar as I just had been discussing a similar subject with our Kiwi guests, who are in Santa Barbara for the first time.

The article promoted the novel idea of booking a room with a local resident of the city you're traveling to, instead of staying in a hotel/hostel.  Apparently, there are huge networks of people that rent out rooms in their flats/houses for tourists to enjoy.  Usually, the cost to rent out a room is substantially less than a hotel room.  It is akin to staying in a B&B, with a private room & bathroom, but at a less expensive rate.  Sounds like a brilliant idea to me.

I got the chance to check out one of the companies that organizes these bookings, called AirBnB.com.  It is commonly referred to as "Ebay for space."  Essentially, it is an online marketplace that enables people to rent out private rooms domestically and abroad.  The site also lists vacation rentals, entire apartments, B&Bs, boutique hotels, castles, and treehouses!  Be forewarned however; you may spend hours checking out all the listings.  Its awesome.

I think that this is the start to a new and exciting way to travel, especially for younger people on a budget.  It's traveling with an element of surprise...