Make your home available for couchsurfers

http://www.couchsurfing.org/ is just one of many sites devoted to connecting would-be couchsurfers and would-be hosts. It's a great way to save money on both ends, as travelers are spared the expense of hotel rooms, while hosts benefit from the chores, gifts and/or company of the guests. There are also benefits in terms of cross-cultural exchange. These websites are committed to safety through user reviews/references and varying degrees of vetting. Of course, common sense principles also apply; e.g. a woman living alone may not feel comfortable having a horde of college-age men descending on her home. Or she may. People are into all sorts of things.


Effort involved: signing up to the site, making a spare bed or couch available to a traveler, and providing feedback once it's over. And of course you can flip the, er, couches by becoming a free-room-stayer yourself.


 


Image from: http://www.wanginnovations.com