Save Money Traveling Using the Sharing Economy

New York City - Once infamously known by tourists for its private bed and breakfasts, it was long considered by visitors as 'the only way' to experience the big apple.

If you had the pleasure of staying at an NYC B&B before the city cracked down of private rentals, you were part of what has come to be known as the early days of the sharing economy. And even though we understand why so many people recommended this as an authentic experience and inexpensive alternative to hotels, no one ever imagined what the sharing economy would evolve to become.

Thanks to the World-Wide-Web, the sharing economy is disrupting entire industries that are screaming bloody foul as they get undercut by services offered through peer-sharing websites that are not subject to the same regulatory, license, permitting and tax requirements.

Maybe this is a response to the short coming of big businesses – overly bureaucratic, slow to adapt, overly expensive and a sense of entitlement to charge inflated prices.

As regulators scramble to amend laws to account for peer sharing business models, you in the meantime, have access to an unprecedented array of travel options to:

• Immerse yourself in local culture.
• Connect with locals offering personalized services.
• Travel at a fraction of the going rate.

AirBNB and Uber are often first websites that come to mind when we discuss the sharing economy, but they are just two of countless peer-sharing websites that are sprouting up all over the internet. Here are some lesser known up-and-coming websites you can use to travel better AND pay less. 

CLICK HERE to see me discuss these options on Breakfast TV. Since this interview aired, bookalokal.com narrowed its offerijng to private in-home dinning experiences only.

Private Culinary Experiences
Food tourism is of the biggest trends in travel right now. I call it ‘the Anthony Bourdain effect’ where you look to food as a way of immersing yourself in the places you visit. At EatWith.com, you’ll find local chefs, cooks and locals offering private culinary experiences in their homes:

1. You may have go out of your way to get your equipment. If this is the case, ask if the owner to deliver and pick-up the equipment, or at least take it one-way where you can bring it the other.
2. Most listings are by people who are renting out their personal equipment. So when it comes to skis and snowboards, renters often only have one size available.

Tours Offered by Locals
If large group tours on buses are not for you, you might want to look at toursbylocals.com where you will find locals who enjoy meeting tourists and taking them on tours of their hometown and surrounding area:

• Photography lessons while you tour your favorite city.
• Boating excursions by kayak, yacht and everything in between.
• Tours of hiking trails, monuments, museums and attractions.

If you happen to enjoy showing your city to visitors, this is another way you can meet travelers while at home and make a few dollars in your spare time.

Stay in Vacant Second Homes and Cottages
If you have a second home, be it a cottage, cabin, or empty condo, my making it available to members of TheVacationExchange.com, you will earn credits you can later use to stay in the vacant second homes of other Vacation Exchange members: