Surprisingly enough, there are a lot of different ways in which you can score yourself a free room while travelling, and if you are imaginative when it comes to saving the pennies on accommodation, then you’re over half way there – all it takes is some organisation, confidence and gusto to get your foot in the door to anything from 5 star digs to a humble hostel! If you’re on the road already, planning your trip or living the location independent life then can start using these tactics right now (if you aren’t already of course!) – Here are 4 Ways To Find Free Accommodation Anywhere In The World.
Housesit
Housesitting has taken off in recent years, which is obvious by the number of housesitting websites and portals now on the web. Depending on where you are off to you can browse for available houses all over the world and get in touch with the owners, or alternatively, you can set up a profile and wait to be contacted by people wanting their house to be looked after for anywhere from a weekend right through to a year!
Most of the good websites are paid, but the fee is minimal, and it really is worth it as there’s some great houses available – just make sure you have some references handy just in case they are required! Check out these Mind My House, Trusted Housesitters and Housecarers for the best house-sitting gigs going.
Couchsurf
Similar to house sitting, but with the added bonus of making new friends and being shown around cities all around the world by locals, couch surfing has become almost of cult status in the last century – and we have broke backpackers and the curiosity for being the fly on the wall of someone elses living room to thank for that!
This is a fab way to meet new people if you’re travelling on your own, or simply to experiment with the phenomenon that is couch surfing and saving a buck or two. If you’re interested, check out the Couchsurfing.org, Global Freeloaders and Stay 4 Free websites.
Trade Publicity
If you have a blog or huge Twitter and Facebook following, then why not try to leverage this by contacting hotels and trying to strike a deal for free publicity for them in exchange for a free room for you? I’ve done this many times and trust me, it works! Hotel companies are always looking for good PR, and providing you with a free room is something easy that companies can do to get this. Make sure when you approach them you talk about what you can provide to them rather than just asking for a free stay – if you get the angle right you could be soon enjoying a 5 star stay somewhere!
Find A Live In Job
Whether it be hostel, pub or nanny job, this is a great way to live for free when travelling, and if you’re working you’ll probably be earning some cash too, which is always good for keeping the bank balance topped up! You’d be surprised at the different kinds of jobs that come with accommodation, with others such as adventure instructor jobs and kids camp coordinators. You can even try to land yourself a ski resort job!
For jobs like those in hostels or pubs you can just walk in off the street and see whats going, or get in touch with them before you leave home if you want some more certainty.
Otherwise, just go with the flow – theres always work to be done, and hostel and pub owners are always keen to provide a room for someone who will help out pulling beers or cleaning rooms in exchange. If you want to search for live in jobs around the world check out the websites Cool Works, Workabout UK and Caretaker Jobs USA.
Photo Credit – Thanks to wnorrix (Attribution License)
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Great tips! We are big fans of housesitting and had amazing free accommodation in Canada, Italy, Germany and the U.S. through housesitting. Highly recommend it!
Thanks – Im hoping to spend some time abroad doing some long term house-sitting stints next year, cant wait! : )
You have published an awesome resource.
Why thank you!
I think it’s worth pointing out that although the accommodation is free in all of these options, there is some degree of work involved. You’ve got to ask yourself as a traveller whether the amount of work required (from minding dogs to spending time with your couchsurfing host) is enough to justify the free bed.
It’s nice not having to part with the cash though!