As a 21 year-old student who is passionate about travelling, I am very often confronted with the same old problem of travelling on a budget: where to sleep cheaply and relatively comfortably?
I have stayed in a youth hostel in Madrid with three girlfriends and had a couple of memorable yet cringing experiences. I have gone camping in Burgundy in France with two other girlfriends where we suffered sun burn and what felt like a thousand mosquito bites.
When in June 2014, I was offered a three week internship in Montpellier, southern France, I almost rejected the idea because I had no idea where I was going to stay. A hotel was out of the question for three weeks, the friends my family knew in the region lived too far out from Montpellier and, as much as I love camping, three weeks on a blow-up mattress seemed unbearable.
Then I thought of Airbnb. The online hospitality website that enables ordinary people to rent out a room in their home or their entire property, was launched in 2008. Since then it has soared into a multi-million dollar company that claims around 25 million ‘travellers’ and over a million housing possibilities. Today it is as popular as ever but is also facing certain legal actions, mostly about taxes and safety issues.
I stumbled upon Alex and Alexis’s profile and instantly warmed to the young couple and their flat. It was ideally placed for me. I would have my own room but would share everything else with them. The only source of anxiety was that they were total strangers. And I had accepted to live with them for three weeks. After the first awkward days however, we all quickly relaxed and settled into our routines. They told me from the start “our home is yours.”
More than just sharing their flat, I got to know them more intimately and quickly than I had ever met anyone before. They were kind, fun, open and welcoming, always offering help. We didn’t only live as estranged ‘housemates’, we became friends and went to town for drinks or to the beach together. We never actually mentioned the money I had paid because it wasn’t an issue. My three weeks there went by in a flash and I have many happy memories.
As I was leaving Montpellier, standing on the quay in the train station, Alexis said to me: “Come and visit again. But this time, you’ll come as a friend. Our door is always open for you.” We met as strangers who were linked by a contract. We parted as friends that I shall surely see again.
Airbnb is all about connecting individuals around the world. It gets people out of their comfort zone and makes them live with strangers, or in their homes. But some are questioning the website’s honesty regarding tax-paying and requirements such as safety or hygiene. Time will tell how things evolve this year, after the various legal actions it is facing. Nevertheless, it remains an inspiring success story that started with a simple idea of two broke guys who couldn’t pay their rent.
Read, watch and listen to everything about Airbnb here.
