Big Travel Dreams but Tight Budget Check Out Alternatives to Save Money Travel More

As time passes our travel dreams only seem to grow more. We crave to befriend giraffes in Africa, to swim with dolphins in Egypt, to take in the riot of colours in Vietnam, to enter fairy-tale castle towns in Europe and more! Somehow as our list of travel adventures we desire to take on increases, so does the cost of travelling. Properties seem to demand a whole lot of ka-ching which often puts the brakes on our plans. Well, not anymore.

Volunteering

Wondering how? Travellers have gotten savvy! All sorts of skills can now be extended in exchange for free lodging. You may have heard of volunteering. People often take the position of volunteers at properties. Their work can vary from handling social media, reception desk, engaging with guests, conducting events and all sorts of backend activities too. Volunteering has been a popular practice in India as well. Instagram feeds boast of folks moving from the lanes of Palolem in Goa to hilly terrains of Himachal Pradesh and beyond. A number of backpacker hostels carry extensive operations in this manner and volunteers can be fresh out of school to even those taking a step back from full blown corporate careers.

A globally renowned platform is Work Away through which you can get in touch with a wide variety of properties and organizations across the world. Build a house, teach a skill or help in hosting; Work Away lists varied roles through which you can opt for lodging at different places. My friend lived in Netherlands for three months by feeding farm animals!

Beyond volunteering

But guess what? This isn’t the only way to score free lodging in exotic destinations. If you’re an animal lover you could take care of someone’s pets, if you’re proficient in some language you could offer to teach, you could look after someone’s house in their absence and more. No, these are no longer far-fetched ideas but actual realities. Hospitality analytics firm AirDNA found in its research that from 2019 to now there has been a 37% more surge towards short-term rentals. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis even deduced that hotel spending drastically reduced by approximately 4.6% in comparison to December of 2022. Meanwhile, house-sitting apps such as Nomador has seen a 60% rise in new members!

House sitting: What, where and how?

After babies, people have decided their houses need sitting too! Yes, while individuals are out of town they seek out people who can maintain their homes in their absence. A freelance designer named Lillian Smith actually managed to explore France, South Morocco, Japan plus other locations while only paying for one night’s hotel stay. That’s roughly eight months of travel while saving a whooping estimated amount of USD 11,000! She made this a reality by house sitting.

This involved walking people’s dogs, watering their plants and other miscellaneous activities. So, house sitting is basically this. And, as a result you can have the treat of visiting various places that may have otherwise seemed inaccessible due to funds.