5 typical guests
1. the culture-lover
These guests are fascinated by all aspects of culture: language, history, social situations etc... They are travelling not to relax on a beach or see only the sights, but also to meet people, to learn the language, to discover local products and to participate in everyday life. This means they will be looking for a host that can make some time for them, or at least has a good knowledge of the area. Often guests will contact their potential host a long time in advance, and have specific questions.
Example : I once had a guest from the United States. He contacted me almost one year in advance, explaining his background and what he was interested int. And every 2 weeks or so he had another list of questions, ranging from how expensive a taxi was to what beers he should try. Because he contacted me well in advance, i managed to cancel some of my appointments and keep the 4 days he was staying in Belgium free for him. We had a great time, going to museums I had never been myself and the interaction was perfect.
2. the budget traveller
the budget traveller has a limited budget, and tries to travel around without spending 'unnecessary' money. This means saving money for hotel/hostel, buying food in a supermarket (and not going to restaurants) and drinking cans of beer instead of going to the pub. There might be a problem when the budget traveller stays at the 5 star hotel host, because they might feel uncomfortable and the guests will find it difficult to "repay" the luxury by taking the hosts out for dinner.
many guests fall in the "budget traveller" category. Hospitality Exchange offers free accommodation and that will always attract budget travellers, just like budget travellers will hitchhike more and will calculate more ("should I go to this pub, should i eat here or there...") . In general budget travellers are just like normal travellers, although they will be more careful how they spend their money. They might not bring a gift to their host, but will often help around the house, doing dishes for example
Example: I have had many budget travellers at my place, and they are very much like other travellers, just that they are calculating more than others on how to spend their travel money. One guest from Romania always walked or hitchhiked to Brussels, instead of taking the bus. But in the end this gave him as much fun, and the food he got from the supermarket was just as delicious as if we had gone to a restaurant. The great thing about budget travellers is that they can save money for more interesting things, like an expensive museum or a nice souvenir.
3. the party-animal
Among the younger guests there will always be party-animals. Guests who come to your home town because of great clubs. They will go out late at night and probably not come back before sunset. If the host has similar tastes, the interaction will be perfect, as both guest and host can dance all night. If not, it might be a challenge, as older hosts might not know much about the local night scene. Also, it takes a bit more logistic handling, as guest and host might need to agree on when to meet, how to get back etc...
Example: I've had some guests who came to party all night, for example a couple from Holland. We had a great time talking about common interests, then we drove to Brussels and had dinner. I showed them 2 or 3 nice clubs, and then i went home. By the time I woke up in the morning, they came back with the first bus, we had breakfast together and when i went to work they went to bad. Perfect, no?
4. the vegan hitchhiker
In the early years of Hospitality Exchange, travelling this way was considered "alternative". It was totally the opposite of what "tourists" were doing, and hospex communities were still seen as some kind of subculture. Therefore many members came from a subculture environment, like squatters, vegans, hitchhikers, nomads, etc...
Example: both as a host and as a guest I encountered many members from subcultures. One guest from Holland only travels by hitchhiking, he hates planes. Another guest only eats nuts. I also stayed in Holland in a former hospital with 20 squatters . Very interesting and exciting encounters, every single one of them.
5. the freeloader
Unfortunately, when offering free accommodation there will also be abuse. Often these are called "freeloaders", and there is even an hospitality exchange network called Global Freeloaders. Freeloading is generally seen as taking stuff from someone without giving anything back. And when Hospex Communites put the emphasis on "FREE", you will always have these freeloaders. They will come to your house (often contacting you at the last moment), do everything without involving you (like going to visit friends but not inviting the host to join them) and take food from the fridge without even offering to help with cooking. This is one of the biggest challenges towards an hospex community, and most members (both hosts and guests) would rather see them leave the community.
Example : i once had a guy at my place from Chili. He came, opened his computer, chatted to his friends all night, took food from the fridge without asking, didn't clean the bath after taking a shower, and generally was not interested in me, Brussels or other people. He just wanted to play on his computer all day. Remarkably, he was also the only member who ever wrote a negative comment about me (because I did not want to give my home key to him).
