However, if you are magically attracted by the Oktoberfest, then you really have got to try to find free lodging via the platform of belodged.com: there will be offered privat accommodation by locals – free of charge. Benefit: you get in contact with nice local people and – quite an useful side effect – instead of spending a fortune on hotels and guest houses you can better invest your saved money in beer (a “Mass”, one litre of beer (“liquid gold”), cost between 8,30 € and 8,60 €) and Schweinshaxn, prost!

By the way, the entry to the Oktoberfest and all of the tents is also for free. You don´t need any ticket to get in.

Our advice: If you visit the Oktoberfest, arrive as early as possible!!! During the week, arrive no later than 2:30pm. On the weekends, it’s best to go in the morning. Otherwise, you run the risk of not being able to enter the tents at all because they’re completely overcrowded.

One additional tip from us for the non-Bavarians among you: communication with the locals can sometimes be rather troublesome. The Oktoberfest dictionary solves this problem.

Enjoy the biggest party ever!

PS: Next year the Oktoberfest celebrates its 200th birthday! The ‘Wiesn’ will be held from September 18 to October 03, 2010. Do not forget to enter this date in your agenda!

See ya in 2010!

Nach Gurten und St. Gallen lockt das nächste Sommer-Highlight. Allerdings nicht in Form von Konzerten unter freiem Himmel. Am 8. und 9. August ist Party angesagt, und zwar Tag und Nacht: Für die diesjährige Streetparade werden in Zürich Besucherzahlen im sechsstelligen Bereich erwartet. Dabeisein ist alles. Leider sind Hotels, Pensionen, Jugendherbergen und Campingplätze seit Monaten ausgebucht.

Wer keine Übernachtungsmöglichkeit hat, braucht aber trotzdem nicht zu verzweifeln. belodged.com vermittelt kostenlose Unterkünfte. Das Zürcher Portal funktioniert nach dem Tauschprinzip: Wer selber Schlafgelegenheiten anzubieten hat, kann auch selbst danach suchen – und zwar weltweit.

Abgesehen davon ist Ferienzeit nicht nur Partyzeit. In Badis und Beizen gibt es Freiluftspektakel noch und noch. Wer selber ein Kino oder Konzert unter freiem Himmel oder einen anderen Event eintragen möchte, kann dies ebenfalls auf belodged.com tun. So haben auch kleinere und grössere Veranstalter die Möglichkeit, ihre Anlässe ort- und termingenau vorzustellen. Mehr dazu auf der Homepage unter «Party? Nicht ohne uns!»

Après les festivals de Gurten à Berne et de St-Galle, le prochain rendez-vous vous attend déjà. Cette fois-ci, cela ne sera passera pas en forme de festival. Du 8 au 9 août, la Street Parade bougera dans les rues de Zurich; et cela jour et nuit. Cette année, Zurich attends des centaines de milliers de visiteurs. Evidemment tous les hôtels, pensions, auberges de jeunesse et campings affichent complet.

Cependant, ceux qui n’ont pas de possibilités d’hébergements peuvent trouver leur bonheur sur belodged.com. Le site zurichois fonctionne par le principe d’un échange équitable: Si vous pouvez proposer une possibilité d’hébergement gratuite, alors, vous aussi, pouvez en chercher une – dans le monde entier.

C’est les temps des vacances et ainsi c’est les temps des festivals: Il y en a également à Badis et Beizen. Ceux qui proposent un festival (concert, théâtre, cinéma), peuvent gratuitement s’inscrire sur le site belodged.com, voir les pages « La fête? Jamais sans nous! ».

Si vous êtes organisateur d’un festival, vous avez donc la possibilité de le présenter sur belodged.com.

After the music festivals in Gurten and St. Gallen the next summer highlight is coming up in Switzerland. On 8 and 9 of August the party goes on, day and night: For the Street Parade this year there are thousands of crazy party people expected to arrive in Zurich. Taking part is everything. Unfortunately, there are hotels, guest houses, youth hostels and campsites fully booked for months.

However, there is no need to despair if you haven’t found no accommodation yet. belodged.com provides free lodging. It works based on the principle of “visiting mutual friends”. You join and become a member of the belodged.com community. As a host you offer other members accommodations for free. Since everyone else is doing the same, you may request accommodations with anyone else, worldwide.

Apart from this holiday season it is not just party time. Everywhere are open air events going on. If you own a cinema or a concert venue under the stars or some other event, you can publish this on belodged.com. Thus, smaller and larger event organizers have the possibility to place their happening with date and location on belodged.com. Find more information on the homepage at «Party? Not without us».

1. Alajuela, 2. Cartago, 3. Guanacaste, 4. Heredia, 5. Limón, 6. Puntarenas, 7. San José

Bermuda is divided into 9 parishes and 2 municipalities.
Parishes: Devonshire, Hamilton, Paget, Pembroke, St George’s, Sandys, Smith’s, Southampton, Warwick
The 2 incorporated municipalities are: Hamilton (city), St. George’s (town)
Bermuda’s 2 informal villages: Flatts Village, Somerset Village
Another informal village is Tucker’s Town

The Cayman Islands are located in the western Caribbean Sea (British overseas territory) and comprises the islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica.

Cape Verde is divided into 22 municipalities (called concelhos in Portuguese), and subdivided into 32 parishes (called freguesias in Portuguese).

* Santiago: Tarrafal (1), São Miguel (2), São Salvador do Mundo (3), Santa Cruz (4), São Domingos (5), Praia (6), Ribeira Grande (7), São Lourenço dos Órgãos (8), Santa Catarina (9)
* Brava (10)
* Fogo: São Filipe (11), Santa Catarina (12), Mosteiros (13)
* Maio (14)
* Boa Vista (15)
* Sal (16)
* São Nicolau: Ribeira Brava (17), Tarrafal de São Nicolau (18)
* São Vicente (19)
* Santo Antão: Porto Novo (20), Ribeira Grande (21), Paul (22)

Enjoy your holiday on one of these beautiful spots by using peer to peer lodging instead of over-priced hotels

Source: Wikipedia, June 2009

By the way: next time you wanna join Glastonbury or ‘Glasto’ (or any other big event in the world), do not miss to rather use free lodging instead of paying expensive for tipi rents!

For those throwing a major event like this: be welcome to introduce and promote your event on belodged.com! Our members are curious to find out about it, especially as free peer to peer accommodation comes along…

(Link to the website of Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts)

PS: Guess who goes after me on shot #12? Yep, Neil Young!… and on pix 31? Yep again, the Boss alias Bruce Springsteen!…and on #24? you got it, it is Tom Jones, the ever rocking tiger ).

However, we liked the graphic about the story of Twitter (see below) very much and are looking forward to – one day – realizing something similar with ‘free lodging worldwide’ as well (daydreaming must be allowed ).

Different story, but not less exciting than Twitter…

…bringing people together from different cultures and social classes
…building intercultural understanding and reduce prejudices and intolerance
…just another way of traveling outside conventional tourism and hotel business

Curious? Feel free to check in belodged.com. It is about free lodging among friends – saving money is the bonus!

Or follow the twitter of the belodged.com team & friends!

Source of image: Manolith

Dubai is one of the seven emirates and the most populous city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Located along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula, Dubai city lies directly within the Arabian Desert.

The desert, however, you must be really looking for. Much of Dubai’s real estate boom is concentrated to the west of the Dubai Creek, on the Jumeirah coastal belt. Port Rashid, Jebel Ali, Burj Al Arab, the Palm Jumeirah and theme based free zone clusters such as Internet City or Business Bay are all located in this section. Even so the eastern section of Dubai  forms the locality of Deira and is flanked by the emirate of Sharjah in the east. The Palm Deira is located north of Deira in the Persian Gulf and still under heavy construction (like elsewhere in UAE).

Lodging – lucky me – was provided very close to the Dubai Creek (local river). One of the exciting methods of getting across the Creek to Bur Dubai or Deira is through Abras, small traditional boats that ferry passengers.

Dubai, at that time, was hot and humid of over 40 °C (104 °F) and I tell you, you want no more than hanging around in air-conditioned hotel lobbies and drinking fruit juices
Of course, to live the belodged.com idea, I hooked up with 2  locals and we had some drinks (fruit juices, alcohol is not permitted in public)  together. The two guys, both very open-minded UAE nationals, had a lot to talk about the incredible expansion of the Emirates and – of course – its current challenge due to the economic crisis…

All in all it was more than a very interesting experience!

Dubai, let me keep an eye on you!

Hosting international people can be an enjoyable and exciting experience for all involved. We hope that the following questions and answers will be helpful to hosts (actually at belodged.com all members play two roles at once: both host and guest! There is no ‘being invited as a guest’ without ‘welcome and accommodate visitors’ ) who take part in this free lodging project. Beneath you can also see the guest guidelines to get another perspective on this experience.

The overall aim is to behave well and thus to enjoy and have fun together )

Orientation guideline for HOSTS:

1. Do I have to entertain the visitor or plan special activities?
   While arranging special activities can be fun for everyone, the host might prefer to relax and get some extra rest. Visitors often feel the same way. Traveling can be exhaustive and after being on the road for quite some time, guests could find the opportunity to relax in a pleasant atmosphere a welcome treat.
   
2. Am I expected to pay the costs of any activity to which I take a guest?
   You are not expected to pay for the entertainment of any guest. However, it is only fair to give the guest an idea of how much money he or she will need over the stay, especially if it is a somewhat substantial amount. For example, if you are planning a ski or city trip, the guest would certainly have to know that in advance and be made aware of the expenses. On the other hand, the overnight accommodation as well as the use of the shower room or drinking water the guest should obviously not pay for.
3. Will my guest be compatible with me and my circle of friends/social environment?
   Visiting members and prospective hosts should both exchange information and accommodation requests via the internal e-mail messaging service that is provided by belodged.com to facilitate the communication with each other. The e-mail service will not provide each other with information about common interests etc. This is self-imposed and up to everyone’s choice and way of communicating. Only the user’s profile contain information about pets, allergies, and/or any special circumstances…
   
4. Is it most favorable to host two guests at the same time, or always just one?
   The answer of this question depends on the individual guest and – of course – you. Some young people are able to make themselves comfortable wherever they might be and don’t need the recognition of having a friend along. Others might feel more comfortable when they are with another buddy/guest who speaks their native language. However, if your goal is to integrate the guest into your social environment and to share customs and language, then perhaps one guest is better for you.
5. What do I do if my guest simply wants to stay exclusively on its own?
   Again, this might be exactly what that guest possibly needs to do to chill out – staying in his or her room and read or sleep. Remember, being away from home and having little privacy can be exhausting. It is best to offer the guest the opportunity to participate in any activities and then leave the decision up to him or her.
6. What do I do if a guest falls ill or needs to go to the hospital?
   Should there be a need for hospitalization, the host is kindly requested to furnish the guest with the name and phone number of a close hospital. In the case of hospitalization, family and/or a friend of the guest should be notified. However, for less serious illness, it is expected that you will care for the guest in the same manner that you would care for your own friends and family.
7. Do I have to have a separate bedroom for the guest?
   No, it is fine for same-sex members to room together. Again, this topic is always to be resolved between the host and guest and as far as possible pre-decided.
8. Is it important for me to know anything in particular about the culture of my guests?
   Of course, it is always smart to understand a little bit about a person’s background, but it is not necessary. If you are interested in your guest’s culture, she/he will be more than willing to show and explain that to you.
   
9. May I treat my guest as a member of the family/flat-sharing community and expect him or her to do the same things I expect of my own house-mates?
   We recommend all guests to take the initiative to offer to help with everyday tasks such as clearing the table or making the bed etc.; however, if they do not, it is perfectly acceptable to ask them for assistance. The goal of this free lodging program is not to create more work for the hosts, but to provide a safe, comfortable and open-minded environment for any international visitors while they are away from home. In general, nothing makes a person feel more a part of a foreign culture than to be able to participate in daily life.
10. Are there any legal issues or obligations when housing a guest?
    Your legal responsibilities are no greater than any other time you might bring a friend home to stay for the night. However, it is expected that all hosts will ensure a “safe house” which is a promise not to seduce any guest to conspicuous tobacco, alcohol or drug consumption (the listing is obviously not complete!).
11. Will my guest be able to communicate with me in English if I am not familiar with his or her native language?
    Foreign-born guests have different language abilities. Some guests come to stay with a very good command of the English language, while others may be shy about using their English. Every guest should be, at the very least, fluent enough to go on a journey… If you are worried about hosting a guest with very limited ability to speak either English or your native language, it is best to say so on your information exchange during accommodation approach process. However, we believe that most hosts and guests find a way to communicate. A friendly smile and a caring gesture go a long way in making guests feel welcome and relaxed. Also, guests are encouraged to speak as much English as possible when in a host home.
    
12. Is there anything else I should know about hosting a guest with limited language ability?
    Yes, trying to speak in a language other than your native language can be exhausting, so be patient with your guest and don’t be offended if he or she does not try to keep up a constant conversation. Also, some guests are embarrassed by their limited ability, so letting them see that you are pleased with their efforts. Encourage your guest to use this time with you to improve her/his English.
13. To be continued by YOU…

Orientation guideline for GUESTS:

1. Do I have to participate in everything that my host does?
   If your host has special plans for your stay, you will be probably made aware of them before you accept her/his invitation. Some hosts enjoy staying home and resting, while others prefer to go on short trips or sight-seeing tours. You won’t be expected to stay with any host whose plans would create a financial misery for you. However, if you agree to stay with a host, you are expected to integrate yourself into host’s life to some extent. It is always expected that your visit should not create additional work for your host, so please be polite and make your bed, clean up your dishes, keep your room tidy. Just leave the place as you found it.
2. If I am a vegetarian, allergic to cats or afraid of dogs, will my host know?
   Yes, provided that you inform your host beforehand. Or would you visit a host’s home where your health or safety would be compromised? No, you would not!
3. What if I am not fluent in English yet? Am I expected to speak English during my visit?
   As you exchanged information before your host will be certainly aware of your language abilities and will not be expecting perfection. However, try to speak as much English as possible during your visit. This is a great opportunity to improve your skills. Above all your host is certainly more than willing to help you…
4. Do I get to choose my host?
   If you are invited by a friend to stay with a belodged.com host, we certainly would encourage you to do so. However, if you are in need of housing during traveling, but have not received an invitation by a belodged.com member, all you have to do is to log in the portal and do your best to look for a compatible host. The more complete and accurate your profile presentation is, the better your host will know you and your needs.
5. What if I don’t get along with my host?
   Again: try your best to find compatible matches between guest and host, but of course there is a possibility that personalities might clash. Since these visits/stays are of relatively short duration, it is expected that both the host and guest will try to make the best of any situation. Remember, however, that belodged.com hosts volunteer to take in visitors, so they will do their best to make you feel at home.
6. May I take my good fellow along with me on my stay?
   This decision lies in the hands of the host. Better to ask and inform your host before surprising upon arrival! Some hosts might prefer two visitors at a time, while others are comfortable only hosting one guest.
7. To be also continued by YOU!

Well, so “fair” so good!

Please remember that the belodged.com core team is always happy to get further input, suggestions and encouragement and is always willing to answer questions regarding this worldwide free accommodation service provided by belodged.com!

After all, be nice and caring to each other and behave yourselves properly!

And dear visiting guests: make a little effort and may bring a small gift to your hosts… You never know, it could be the beginning of a long-lasting friendship!

Related articles on this topic:

Safety – Checklist for hosts and guests
Hospitality portals: Safety for using accommodation
Security checklist – for HOSTS only!
Security checklist – for GUESTS only!

]]> http://myblog.belodged.com/2009/05/16/rules-of-practice-for-a-joint-hassle-free-hospitality-between-belodgedcom-members/feed/ 0 McAlm (CH) all_generations_80x80 belodged_in_Sand House_In_Sand_with_Palmtree appt_keys_on_france_map http://myblog.belodged.com/2009/05/09/aerial-virtual-tour-of-new-york-city/ http://myblog.belodged.com/2009/05/09/aerial-virtual-tour-of-new-york-city/#comments Sat, 09 May 2009 12:27:32 +0000 McAlm (CH) http://myblog.belodged.com/?p=216 ]]> How amazing! All I miss is google earth…
However, this is  a great view of New York !!!!! No need to go there any more?! Up to you !

Just gorgeous!