The Rise of ‘Sharecations’

Robert Hero, 22, biked across Europe with two friends this summer, crashing on strangers’ couches as they went. They had met these people not in train stations or coffee shops but on a website that connects travelers with hosts who have spare mattresses.

Tight economic times and a growing openness to strangers thanks to the Internet have given rise to the “sharing economy.” People are logging on to sites and apps to rent out their cars, houses and even their clothes directly to one another. And it’s big business: the peer-to-peer rental market is worth $26 billion, according to Rachel Botsman, author of What’s Mine Is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption.

Arguably the biggest sector of the sharing economy is travel. People are renting their beds to out-of-towners (Airbnb and Couchsurfer), leading them on guided tours (Vayable and CanaryHop) and hosting meals (Voulez Vouz Dîner and EatWith), sometimes for free but on most sites for a price–though one far below those found at local hotels. Trust, based mainly on online reviews, is fueling a global sharecation network.

Airbnb has grown immensely since it launched in 2008. It now boasts listings in over 35,000 cities and has 4 million registered guests, 3 million of whom joined in 2012 alone. That same year, 10.4 million couches were surfed via Couchsurfing.org

Part of the appeal for travelers is the chance to live like locals. “In certain small towns, Googling what to see would not have helped,” says Hero. “But in Compiègne [in France], our host took us to this castle where Napoleon partied.” Hero and his friends crashed on 35 couches during their trek. “Originally, we did it to save money. But now I would be upset if I had to travel any other way.”

Some people might dread strangers’ using their kitchen or showering in their bathroom. But hosts on sharing sites relish the idea. Ian Barrere, 26, who hosted while living as an American expat in Serbia, said some couch-crashing experiences blossomed into long-term friendships that spanned borders. Others were less fruitful: “I hosted a lot of hippie musicians in torn and dirty clothes.”

Trust between strangers has grown so much that people may be willing to share hotel rooms, not just houses. Easynest.com which launched this summer, pairs strangers together to split the cost of a hotel room–hopefully with separate beds. On these sites, users pick hosts or fellow travelers mainly on the basis of user reviews, so online reputation becomes paramount.

But there are risks to any system based on peer reviews. Ashley Reynolds, 31, ran into trouble while traveling through Europe. A male host in Barcelona got drunk at a party and told her, “You’re getting raped tonight.” He claimed it was a joke, Reynolds says, “but he kept saying it to the point that I was so uncomfortable that there was no way I was staying with him.” She ended up crashing on a hostel sofa and posted a negative review, but the host is still on the site. She now usually stays with female hosts while traveling.

Though such horror stories are not the norm, safety concerns have led some sites to take external measures. Airbnb recently introduced a system whereby you can verify your online identity by sending the site a copy of an off-line ID, like a driver’s license.

And while most sharing sites do not vet hosts, more are turning to social networks like Facebook as a platform for building trust. The new Friends of Friends Travel connects travelers already indirectly linked through social media. “Even if the person you’re crashing with is technically a stranger, someone you know knows them and can vouch for them,” says D.J. Singh, a co-founder.

Yet even on stranger-to-stranger sites like Airbnb, rebooking rates are over 80%. And most of those who stay with strangers or rent out their homes swear that the experience has reinforced their faith in the system. Botsman believes this is the beginning of a new economy based on one’s good name. “Reputations on- and off-line will merge to create a marketplace where trust is the currency.”

Or at least trust tempered by experience. “The good times outnumbered the bad,” Reynolds says of her experience. “I trust my gut now. I know when to say no.”