A New Kind of System for Bed and Breakfast Rooms

It was a lazy Sunday morning in the summer, and there was something about my pad that made it more personable than any standard hotel room I've been in. The cool Parisian morning drifted in through the open French windows and I could hear signs of life in the caf้ right outside. There was a little breakfast with a quarter bottle of Bordeaux set out for me on a dainty little table setting, and there was something different about that too. Everything was well done in my private apartment, but it was obvious what was absent - impersonal"hospitality touches" that you'll find all around at any hotel chain. Bed and breakfast rooms in Europe can be a wonderful way to get to know the city; the landlord had stocked my fridge with everything (with no killer markup), and I had a number to call if I needed directions to get around the city or ideas on what shows to catch. The thing is, since this was such an intimate place, I never hesitated to call as I might have done at a chain hotel.

Experiences like this go for no more than perhaps $75 a night - for a whole apartment. And the best part was, it was in the museum district. All of this is part of a new system of bed-and-breakfast rooms across the world known as friendly B&B's. You'll find these on websites like iStopOver.com and AirBnB. These are places that don't cut back on any of the hotel amenities that you're used to, and on top of that, you pay no more than you would at a youth hostel perhaps. These are actually short-term serviced apartments and these are just. Every state in America has a shockingly good network of these, and so does Europe and many other countries across the world.

If this sounds somewhat like the Couchsurfing movement that started 10 years ago, a comparison who would be somewhat apt. It was all about being social, and dispensing with overly formal business arrangements. The Couchsurfing movement was that anyone with a spare couch in the living room could advertise it on the website, and take in a boarder for free. The couch movement is still very alive, and you can actually get a free couch for the night at hundreds of countries across the world. If the idea of staying with people and not a hotel or even formal bed-and-breakfast rooms appeals to you as a way to get under the skin of a new culture, these are a great way.

The thing with regular and bed-and-breakfast rooms is usually that the arrangements are sparse; a community bathroom would not be unexpected, and the place after all is a regular business. These social B&Bs on the other hand are not regular businesses. For as little as $100, you could even expect to get a luxury apartment. It depends on who happens to put their property on the market out of generosity.

So how do you actually get about making your arrangements? Get on one of these websites, and scan the listings to see what you can get. Usually, for next to nothing, you can get something really cute that serves up with dollops of local flavor. You can check the user reviews for better guidance. You send over your payment to have them hold your place, and there you go. Since your hosts are often as new to this as you are yourself, the experience can be really personal; and you can get to know local. Guaranteed.