- Time of past OR future Camino
- Frances 15,16,18
VdlP 23, Invierno 23, Fisterra 23
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Here is the thread on the German forum http://pilgerforum.de/forum/index.php/topic,13508.0.html So far it covers countries like Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Switzerland and, borderline Alsace/France ;-) Obviously the numbers are not huge but the system works well AND the responsibility is between host and hosted, and lies NOT by the forum owner. Buen Camino, SY
PS I had a similar idea some years back for a pilgrimswelcome website, but realised quickly that the admin responsibility / work would be huge and retired it into the 'perhaps later' drawer...
This sounds interesting.... as long as I am not to blame for any unpleasant experiences... sounds good to me
I also was thinking that this could be done in a forum where it was only possible to create new threads... but not reply to any of them.. why? Since it might be good for people to announce that "I am going to London/Paris/Sydney/...", and if anyone in this city reads this, they con contact them and offer lodging by PM/e-mail. I guess only the initial announcement should be "public", the rest should be "private", no? (PM or e-mail)
Thoughts?
Yes, but perhaps with the addition that the thread starter can add/edit to his/her own thread with, f.e., 'still looking' or 'have a bed'. Also perhaps a sub-subforum for those of us, me included, that live on a Camino and at the same time in an attractive city ;-) Can post our general willingness to offer hospitality. Something like this in our case:
Town/Camino: Prague, Czech Republic, crossing/starting point of several Czech Caminos
Room: Separate Guest Bed Room with one double and one single bed and own balcony where smoking is allowed. Sorry, no smoking inside the flat. Food, drink, washing machine and wifi.
Cost: None for pilgrims that are currently walking/biking etc.! Just giving back. If we get too many touristy visitors there might appear a donation box on the window sill in the far and distant future - or not.
Notes: @Ricky Yates is an Anglican priest (CoE) so pilgrims blessing/Eucharist etc. available if he is around.
We do have a friendly cat so not suitable for people with cat allergy.
Preferred Contact Method: Via PM on this forum, ideally a couple of days before arrival.
Buen Camino, SY
OK, here's a thought...
Might be a crazy idea (probably is) and it sure has a few holes in it, but it might create an interesting discussion.
Recently I had a very nice PM from a forum member offering accommodation on a planned trip to the USA. I happened to mention recently in a post that a trip to the USA would preclude a Camino next year. Hence the offer. It would actually be a lot of fun staying with another Forum member I think. Swapping stories etc.
It got me thinking....
It might be cool to have Forum members come and stay with us here in Sydney too. Either people we met whilst walking or forum members we have come to know 'virtually'. Just another way to 'connect' with fellow Camino addicts....
Perhaps this Forum could facilitate in some way, the connection of willing hosts with 'visitors'? In theory it sounds like a nice idea, but it does have a few 'holes'. It would need to be a very simple process of making the 'introductions' so as not to create extra work for Ivar.
Here are a few 'holes' I thought of:
- We wouldn't want people joining the Forum just to take advantage of the hospitality.
- Hosts should certainly not be pressured or approached directly for accommodation. "Hey Robo, we're coming to Sydney, got a spare room"?
- So perhaps visitors let their plans be known, and hosts could choose to 'offer' accommodation if they want to.
- Free or paid? I think it's best left up to the host. Some might be free, others Donativo, others a fixed fee. (perhaps not everyone could 'afford' to be a host even though they might want to be. Additional food costs etc)
- Length of stay? Couple of days, or a month? I guess the host would 'offer' what they want to.
- Security. Some members are well known (at least virtually), others might be very new. Probably some form of simple ID Check could be requested. What do Air BnB do? Again this would be between the parties, so as not to create work or 'responsibilty' for Ivar.
Discuss............... Crazy?
What other problems would you see?
I understand your concerns but Sybill lives in Prague (very touristy) and I believe that could be a"problem". But in my case where I come from I can offer two separate beds 20kms from capitol of Slovenia (Ljubljana) with good connections and I can also drive you to spots of interest. You won't be on the official Camino route (just few kms short) but you're still the pilgrim (we know eachother from the forum) whatever the nature of your visit to my country is. One night (two, threee...), dinner, some wine, first hand info - I mean what's there to think aboutThis is a great idea. But I suppose there is a risk that you will get flooded with visitors, many of whom merely joined the Forum to get free accommodation (once the word gets out)?
At least with the visitor being the one to post, and the hosts to an extent being anonymous at this stage, it allows the host to 'check them out' on the forum a bit first if they are concerned in anyway. i.e. The OP has been a Forum member for a few months, has posted lots of stuff , seems genuine etc, as opposed to... they joined yesterday and this is their first post ....
@ivar might want to create a strict rule that no recommendations, comments, reviews or even thank you's about the arrangements are allowed on the forum. In addition to the obvious reasons, I am thinking that the person providing the accommodation might want to be very selective, and not want everyone to know that they have done so.
OK, here's a thought...
Might be a crazy idea (probably is) and it sure has a few holes in it, but it might create an interesting discussion.
Recently I had a very nice PM from a forum member offering accommodation on a planned trip to the USA. I happened to mention recently in a post that a trip to the USA would preclude a Camino next year. Hence the offer. It would actually be a lot of fun staying with another Forum member I think. Swapping stories etc.
It got me thinking....
It might be cool to have Forum members come and stay with us here in Sydney too. Either people we met whilst walking or forum members we have come to know 'virtually'. Just another way to 'connect' with fellow Camino addicts....
Perhaps this Forum could facilitate in some way, the connection of willing hosts with 'visitors'? In theory it sounds like a nice idea, but it does have a few 'holes'. It would need to be a very simple process of making the 'introductions' so as not to create extra work for Ivar.
Here are a few 'holes' I thought of:
- We wouldn't want people joining the Forum just to take advantage of the hospitality.
- Hosts should certainly not be pressured or approached directly for accommodation. "Hey Robo, we're coming to Sydney, got a spare room"?
- So perhaps visitors let their plans be known, and hosts could choose to 'offer' accommodation if they want to.
- Free or paid? I think it's best left up to the host. Some might be free, others Donativo, others a fixed fee. (perhaps not everyone could 'afford' to be a host even though they might want to be. Additional food costs etc)
- Length of stay? Couple of days, or a month? I guess the host would 'offer' what they want to.
- Security. Some members are well known (at least virtually), others might be very new. Probably some form of simple ID Check could be requested. What do Air BnB do? Again this would be between the parties, so as not to create work or 'responsibilty' for Ivar.
Discuss............... Crazy?
What other problems would you see?
Trade or pay-it-forward - it all works for meI love your idea. I think if there was a doubt about if someone was a pilgrim you could ask them some specific questions they couldn't just look up on line. I think one thing that would work would be a trade. I live in Las Vegas. I would love to do trade someday. A free trade means you are both risking a stranger in your house. When I lived in Mexico there was a website for foreigners who lived there but in diff. cities to do trades. This could really take off. maybe people could send you a photo of them on the trail???
This sounds interesting.... as long as I am not to blame for any unpleasant experiences... sounds good to me
I also was thinking that this could be done in a forum where it was only possible to create new threads... but not reply to any of them.. why? Since it might be good for people to announce that "I am going to London/Paris/Sydney/...", and if anyone in this city reads this, they con contact them and offer lodging by PM/e-mail. I guess only the initial announcement should be "public", the rest should be "private", no? (PM or e-mail)
Thoughts?
Well Laurie, I would love for you to come and visit us in Costa Rica.....we would need much more than one hour to chat and compare Camino experiences!As a latecomer to this discussion, I nevertheless have my two cents to offer! First of all, great idea, Robo.
As far as the technical aspects -- Maybe there could both be an option of offering lodging and looking for lodging (maybe one colored tab/prefix in the sub-forum for offering and one for looking). I think it is important to have both possibilities (rather than limiting the posting to people with lodging to offer) because there may be people who are happy to offer lodging in response to a specific request based on what they know about the forum member, timing, etc, but who don't want to be "out there" with a general lodging offer.
(And it also eliminates the need for little white lies)
Just an update on this... I tried to configure the forum for this to work the other day, and it did not work as I intended... and I did not have more time, so I left it. I will look into this over the next few days and see if I can get it configured as I want.
My idea is:
My idea is that the people that have lodging to offer would post this... and that anyone interested would reply privately (PM or e-mail). When the person offering lodging does no longer do so, he/she can go in and delete the original thread..
- Create a forum for this that can only be seen by logged in users of the forum with more than 30 posts. All other members, and users that have not signed up will not even see that this forum exist.
- Users can only create a thread (they can also edit and delete their won thread). No one can reply to it (except mods).
What about something like this to start? Then we can see how it goes...
oaawaee... no, not yet... I am running on fumes here in Santiago.. full speed and I see my to-do-list is just getting longer..Any news on this @ivar? SY
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