This is a lesson from the “travel hacking section” of the Paid to Travel Masterclass. Read on for details, or click here for the full masterclass (use coupon code “#paidtotravel9900” for all the secrets) 😊
When it comes to finding the right kind of accommodations that meet your needs and budget in foreign cities that you’re completely unfamiliar with, it can seem like a confusing puzzle at best. And at worst it can be a major headache. And I speak from plenty of experience with this.
The world is a very very very very very big place.
After 14 years of long-term travel experience, I can easily write a small book just about this topic. So in the “Paid to Travel” masterclass I decided to divide this topic into subtopics and made a separate lesson for each of them. And I provide a whole bag of tricks that you can have at your disposal.
The question I really wanted to answer is, how can you travel for 6 months, or 1 year, or 5 years without going bankrupt in the process?
That’s really the problem that I tried to answer in the “travel hacking” section of the “Paid to Travel” course.
The right strategy of course varies depending on which continent you find yourself in, but I’m suggesting this strategy assuming you are in a completely new place… maybe even a new country where you are lost and asking for directions and maybe you don’t even understand the local language.
Different countries and continents all have their different nuances. But in general I think these accommodation travel hacks will be a lot more useful in more developed and expensive countries where it’s more difficult to find good value rooms and deals.
For example, here in Europe, they don’t build skyscrapers like in Asia and so there’s a lot more competition for the rooms that are available, and the rates are much much higher as a result due to less inventory and more competition. It’s a landlord’s market, in much the same sense as New York and San Francisco are with their limited available land.
So let me start and lead off with what I think is the best strategy.
And it’s actually rather simple in that it can be summarized in five words: “Ask and ye shall receive.”
Whether it comes to couchsurfing, or housesitting, or work exchanges, doors will open to you if you simply ask.
I really think that the best place to start and find good deals using the strategy that I teach in the course is to make use of the connections that you make at local co-working spaces.
That’s how I was able to get a free apartment in Athens for three weeks; I told them that I was looking for a place and willing to exchange marketing help and consulting in return and they took me up on the offer.
Just as a hotel concierge is well-informed and able to give you recommendations on restaurants and directions, the people who own and manage these coworking spaces are uniquely equipped to help you find accommodations if you are willing to ask them. They can very easily get you hooked up with a nice room whether weekly or monthly if you wish to stay in their city a while.
And the nice thing is that you can bypass all of the platforms out there like Booking.com and Airbnb, and avoid extra fees like security deposits and agency fees like they are charging out here in Europe. These rental agencies make a Facebook post and then charge you a whole month of rent as their fee.
Alright, so here’s how we can put the “Ask and Ye Shall Receive” strategy into practice.
Share your needs with people in an indirect way and give them the opportunity to help you.
When I took a road trip across the Western United States and Canada, I stayed with friends where I was basically couchsurfing with acquaintances everywhere I went. I didn’t even use the Couchsurfing website because I reached out to people l was connected to through Facebook and social media.
With that said: I never asked anyone if I could stay with them. I just shared what my plans and needs were and asked if they knew anyone who could host me.
I contacted people in each of these cities and I said, “do you happen to know anyone who has a couch or a spare room that I could crash for a few nights?”
And so all you’re really doing is reaching out to relevant people and saying a little bit of information about what your needs are and giving them the opportunity to provide an answer.
All of those people that I asked this question of course offered to let me stay with them but I didn’t want to make them feel pressured to do so.
And if you don’t know some good contacts who you can ask you can always post in groups on Facebook in the city and people will often be willing to help.
To give you an example a few years ago I was staying in Hong Kong and Chinese New Year was right around the corner and I was absolutely shocked by the prices for the two-week holiday.
And I even thought of leaving Hong Kong and going to Shenzhen for 2 weeks to try to find more reasonable accommodations
And in the end, I posted in an expats Hong Kong group about what I was looking for and I was able to sublet someone’s apartment while they were away had a very very very good rate and they were happy that they could get a little bit of extra cash and their apartment wasn’t vacant.
Similarly I was in Brazil about 10 years ago and the room that I was staying suddenly increased about five times in price when the Carnival was starting which is the big celebration in Brazil.
And so I just asked someone who I had become acquainted with in the town where I was staying if he had any good ideas and he said we have a tent and you can borrow and during the holiday we ended up camping on the beach.
And so that’s really how this strategy works, you just have to be proactive and feel comfortable asking, doing so indirectly so you’re not intruding or feeling entitled to something and giving people the opportunity to give you a solution.
Just last week here in Greece, I wanted to visit the Peloponnese which is a rural area of Greece but I was having trouble finding good value accommodations and so I asked a new friend that I met a few weeks ago how he found good deals on rooms where he went when he went there and he told me that he has surprisingly an Airbnb on the beach in Pylos that I can stay in for free.
That’s really how effective and magical this strategy can be guys.
And before I wrap up this video, I want to share with you a lesson that I learned from a billionaire that I met in Hong Kong. We were sharing the train to the airport and he was sitting behind me with one of his employees and we got to talking for quite a while and I asked him what his best life advice was.
And it was interesting what he told me…
He said to go “Where you are invited. If you have to fight or force your way in, then just turn around and go home.”
And so remember that guys, go where you are invited. But give people the opportunity to invite you and to let good things come your way.
I want to tell you about these and so much more. But I can’t do this only in the form of one blog post.
That’s why I’ve published my “Be Paid to Travel Masterclass” teaching everything I’ve learned over the last 15 years of long-term travel☺
The course teaches how I use traveling as a core component to building businesses, and a particular strategy I use to get customers and clients while traveling, as well as all of my juiciest travel hacks to save money on flights, accommodations and more. 🙂
The course includes around 30+ detailed, in-depth videos teaching everything I’ve learned over many years for a wonderful price… and also four free bonuses. And you can use the discount code #paidtotravel9900 to get 25% off. 😎
You can use these same strategies and tactics to market your own business while mixing in your own unique brand of secret sauce.
I’m not going to tell you the same things that a million other online blogs will tell you. Go check it out and if you don’t like it, just drop me a note and I’ll repay you.
If you feel like this is the year for you to claim your lifestyle freedom and get your online business “handled” — and also very profitable — then this may be the biggest step you can take forward.
I really, really want to help you succeed… and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen. This will be a fun journey, let’s soar to new heights together!
Sincere wishes for a great life,
Danny
