An alternative way to spend a night in other cities

Have you ever wondered if there is another way to spend a night while traveling besideds hotels? Maybe not even spending a lot of money on a room and have someone who would show some surroundings? Yes, there are and they are called "Airbnb" and "Couchsurfing"

AIRBNB

Short definition for "Airbnb" would be that people are renting a room, flat or a house taht they're not using at the moment for a couple of nights or even for a longer period of time. Renters are getting money, but not exactly from you, but from the "Airbnb" system where you have already transfered the amount of money for the period you are staying in that place. Furthermore, renters are getting money after your staying if everything was fine with your staying, so it is safe and comfortable.

Advantages of using "Airbnb"

• The price. You can save a lot of money by choosing "Airbnb" rather than, for example, booking.com, especially in more expencive cities like New York, Israel, Bern and so on. Sometimes you can save even twice of the price of renting a room in a hotel.
• There are a lot more choices of types of rent. You can rent a room, you can rent a yacht, loft or a house with a garden and a swimming pool.
• If you are staying with the renters - there is a possibility to get to know more about the other culture, they can give you some tips where are the best places to visit and can also tell you more about the history of the city.

Disadvantages of using "Airbnb"

• If you do want to get breakfast included staying - maybe it'snot the best option, because most of the renters do not offer this choice. Of course, there is an option to check the "breakfast included" option, but there will be less options of rentings to choose from.
• Furthermore, in some cases there are no towels, shower stuff, hairdryer and etc., so you have to ask before about the hygene material.

COUCHSURFING

"Couchsurfing" is a service that connects members to a global community of travelers. Basically, people just share their home "couches" with you for free. 

Advantages of using "Couchsurfing"

• The one fascinating aspect about "couchsurfing" is meeting new and interesting people. You get to meet new cultures all around the world and they will broaden you horizons and your social circle by meeting their friends.
• One more exciting aspect about "Couchsurfing" is local hangouts. People you're staying at will hongout with you and will show you "the hidden" places where all locals are going to, which are mostly more interesting than those touristic places.

Disadvantages of using "Couchsurfing"

• As you're staying under someone's "roof" you have to accept their rules and you have to follow them. Sometimes you can stay at the host that will let you do everything, but sometimes there can be some regulations, for example, to get "home" at a certain time of the night.
• Sometimes the hosts will ask you to help them with the chores at the house as you're also using the house, even if you're only a guest.
• The difficult part is to trust your host as you don't know the person you're staying at and you're leaving at their home most of your stuff while you're out in the city.
• As you want to be safe while traveling you have to pay attention to the reviews of hosts and don't get into weird hosts as there is a possibility to get into one.