Liz here. I often arrange our accomodations through various seemingly little-known travel clubs and I often explain these choices to others. By blogging about them I will now not repeat this so often. Mike just bought 200 business cards so we can quickly refer folks to our blog.
Read this if you want to know how to stay places affordably.
Note: Check the US State Dept. website to determine where it is safe to travel. Register overseas travel with the State Dept. too.
1) Evergreen Bed and Breakfast Club www.evergreenclub.com/
Members ask for a gratuity of $15 for a couple and $10 for a single for an overnight stay.
Evergreen is restricted to those over age 50. Membership is $75 per year.
We will stay with an Evergreen couple when our ship docks in Sydney. We are bringing them maple syrup from Michigan as a gift.
Evergreeners from Guelph, Ontario stayed with us in Rochester Hills, Michigan during the 2011 Woodward Dream Cruise. we rode in thei 1957 Chevy Bellair convertible. My mom is now an Evergreen member after a very satisfying Evergreen visit last July to Ghent, Ky. She looks forward to hosting visitors (if anyone would like a nice place to stay between Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, in Yancyville, North Carolina, she will happily put you up as long as she is not away on a trip.
The Evergreen member in Sydney recommended th Affordable Travel Club.
2) Affordable Travel Club or ATC www.affordabletravelclub.net/ is excellent for us since ATC has many members in Australia and New Zealand.
ATC's gratuity is $20: If you are from overseas add $10 for total $30 Per night.
Membership in ATC is also $75 per year. It is for those over age 40. W plan to stay with ATC members near Melbourne and Adelaide.
3) Couch Surfing www.couchsurfing.org/ is to travel clubs as Craig's List is to the classified. It appeals mostly to the younger set. So many people belong to Couch Surfing that cities like Metro Detroit Couch Surfers hold a monthly pot luck and other social events. We found a hopefully lovely couch surfer in Cairnes who said that she'll put us up Dec 23 -27. Meanwhile we have a hostel reservation too, just in case she needs to back out. I paid couch surfing the suggested $25 to vet my address. Otherwise it is a free service.
Chris Corby, a friend age 25 or so told me about couch surfing years ago; he and I vouched for one another. Chris is teaching English in Seoul these days so it certainly expanded his confidence and horizons. A few years ago Mark Girowski, a GM designer said that he wanted to start a business providing essentially what sounded like couch surfing. I told him that his idea was already in place. He and his girl friend took a trip through the South Pacific and couch surfed. He heartily thanked me for the news on Couch Surfing.
These 3 clubs are nonprofits.
Airbnb www.airbnb.com is for-profit. I found Airbnb when I was stumped for a place to stay on Oahu (where hotels are expensive). Airbnb takes commission for a booking. If you list your home because I referred you, they will give me a kick back. Airbnb and needs more people to list their homes. For someone with a spare bedroom in Hawaii, airbnb is a money maker. We paid $75 per night for a private bedroom and bathroom in a georgeous apartment with a drop dead view.
Tomorrow we visit Maui and will see our next airbnb situation. We booked with airbnb throughout Hawaii because Hawaii has few Evergreen or ATC members. Understandably so since Hawaii is a tourist destination and served by for-profit hotels.
We also joined Hostel International (HI) www.hiusa.org/. So far we have not found HI practical for a married couple. A hostel is far more affordable and fun for 1 person. We reserved with HI for Alice Springs and Cairnes since we did not find other non-retail lodging. Our Australian train fare is a backpacker fare based upon our showing our HI membership card to conductor.
My son, Ben still wants us to stay with a hostel called The Banana Bungalow www.bananabungalow.com/.
They offer excellent free tours that he says we would like.
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