CS started because someone messaged a load of university students so he could stay on their dorm room floor. I discovered it with a dumpster-diving friend in UCSB in 2009.
It stays legal by involving no money. (Airbnb's subletting issues do not affect CS). Hosts let people stay in their house: whether a couch, sleeping bag, or spare room. Guests message hosts in advance, asking whether they can stay. Reply rates vary. It stays safe by a reference system. My girlfriend, parents, and everybody on the Internet knows exactly where I was sleeping each night.
CS built a large community through word-of-mouth, and was non-profit until 2011. Then the admins decided to make it a B Corporation, and promised not to charge. BeWelcome was founded at that time.
I stayed, and I'm glad I did, because I joined weekly meetups in Amsterdam, Kaohsiung, Taipei, Tainan, and Auckland, and made many great friends that way.
If this were about COVID, a temporary fundraiser to help the admins get through this tough time is reasonable. A monthly fee is not. I can't do subscriptions. My visa will expire in 6 months, and then I'll need to leave - no more income, no more bank account, different SIM card. A friend who knows some people in HQ said that this had been planned for a while. Doing it now, while all the meetups are temporarily suspended, is cruel and foolish. Not consulting the membership is also unacceptable.
I wish that internal reform will be possible, and the admins will change their mind. However, I worry that it may not happen, and that's why I think we should start exporting our data and creating new profiles on BeWelcome.
BeWelcome was founded well before CS went corporate. And BW was founded by people upset at the direction Hospitality Club (an earlier community) had taken. Sure, BW absorbed some CS refugees in 2011, but many BW members were anxious about CS trends having too much influence on their own site.
It stays legal by involving no money. (Airbnb's subletting issues do not affect CS). Hosts let people stay in their house: whether a couch, sleeping bag, or spare room. Guests message hosts in advance, asking whether they can stay. Reply rates vary. It stays safe by a reference system. My girlfriend, parents, and everybody on the Internet knows exactly where I was sleeping each night.
CS built a large community through word-of-mouth, and was non-profit until 2011. Then the admins decided to make it a B Corporation, and promised not to charge. BeWelcome was founded at that time.
I stayed, and I'm glad I did, because I joined weekly meetups in Amsterdam, Kaohsiung, Taipei, Tainan, and Auckland, and made many great friends that way.
If this were about COVID, a temporary fundraiser to help the admins get through this tough time is reasonable. A monthly fee is not. I can't do subscriptions. My visa will expire in 6 months, and then I'll need to leave - no more income, no more bank account, different SIM card. A friend who knows some people in HQ said that this had been planned for a while. Doing it now, while all the meetups are temporarily suspended, is cruel and foolish. Not consulting the membership is also unacceptable.
I wish that internal reform will be possible, and the admins will change their mind. However, I worry that it may not happen, and that's why I think we should start exporting our data and creating new profiles on BeWelcome.