Budget Travel - Craigslist/accommodations?

Has anyone ever used Craigslist for getting accommodations?

I was just looking through there for curiosity for my stay in Rome in a couple of months. Some places look quite the deal.

How safe do you think it would be? I wouldn't want to get there and the place did not exist!

It's not the fact that it's on Craigslist that causes concern. That's just a website. The problem is that you don't have a way to verify information given through that website. Don't blame the messenger.

What sort of accommodations are you looking for? I have a friend that loves craigslist because she finds houses half way across the world to "house sit" but that isn't my cup of tea.

Have you tried couchsurfing.com?

What sort of accommodations are you looking for?

I normally stay at hotels or bread & breakfast. I am looking for a nice place to stay that isn't going to be a fortune.


Have you tried couchsurfing.com?

Interesting website. Not sure I would feel comfortable doing that. Have you tried it?

Craigslist can work, but it's all variable because you're dealing with individuals. If you're not fronting a large amount of cash as a reservation deposit, then you have little to lose. Try to find someone who seems reputable and agree to pay in person when you get there (be careful agreeing to meet a stranger somewhere with a pocket full of cash, however). If something goes wrong, then you find a cheap hotel for a few days while you investigate other options on Craigslist in person.

Interesting website. Not sure I would feel comfortable doing that. Have you tried it?

I haven't done it yet but I have started the process of getting my profile verified. I'm hoping to try it out, or at least the meet for coffee feature on my next trip overseas. The verification cost is only $25 which is fairly cost effective if it nets you a decent place vs. the cost of a budget hotel.

Has anyone ever used Craigslist for getting accommodations?

People there host all the time. Ask pynchonesque.

I believe that those who are looking at Craig's List would be better served on the FT Budget Forum.
Please continue to follow this thread there...
Thanks...
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator

I have tried to use craig's list however i never followed through on the deal. I wanted to pay with paypal they only wanted a wiretransfer.

Have you tried couchsurfing.com?

I've had excellent experiences with Couchsurfing.com and have met extremely generous hosts on all of my stays. I do however, always bring a nice little gift from where I am at or have just came from for my hosts. So far, Canadian Maple Syrup, Dr Pepper (don't ask), and Dark Rum.

However, I do HIGHLY recommend making arrangements far far in advance.

My wife and I got a place in NYC one Christmas through Craiglist. It belonged to a prof at NYU who was going to Spain. She wanted occupants, we wanted to occupy. We exchanged photos, emails and phone calls, and the money changed hands when we showed up.

It was a "cozy" studio on Grove Street between Bleecker and Bedford, if you are familiar with the area. $1000 for two weeks. Sweet.

My wife also found accommodations for her and her sister in Manhattan via Craigslist. They never saw the person as he was heading out of town. They sent a cheque or money order I think. He sent her the keys. Worked out great.

We used Craigslist for a place on the Oregon Coast. We sent him a cheque and they sent us the code for the lockbox. Again, worked out great.

Last year, we almost booked a place in Amsterdam via a Craigslist ad. Great price and central. We ended booked a regular budget hotel instead. It wasn't the greatest and I wished we'd booked the place on Craigslist.

Personally, I think the vacation accommodation scams on Craigslist are rare but not unheard of. Of course, if you're the one that gets hit, that no consolation. Just try to research the place and if things start getting a little weird (weird payment demands) and alarm bells start going off, reconsider.

As an aside, for a trip a few years back (before we found out about Craigslist), we used Venere to find a place in Rome. We stayed in the spare bedroom of a couple's apartment. The couple was nice and it worked out. We typically are out and about for most of the day except for the odd pitstop. I can't remember the exact price but it was a lot cheaper than the hotels we checked out online.

We've used Craigslist to buy (our beloved Volvo) and sell a number of things over the years but I never considered using it for accomdations. Neat idea!

We travel for business about 85% of the time... but have "work from home" weeks sometimes too. We're getting ready to stretch the bounds of where "home" is... theoretically "home" could be anywhere with internet access & cell phone....and this could be an excellent economical alternative to Hotels. I'm thinking of starting a thread about this "home is ?" idea... but not really sure where it should go......

Not unless I can verify it's a legitimate place

Have you tried couchsurfing.com?

I've utilized it several times, and have had nothing but absolutely fantastic experiences. Yep, you've gotta' do your homework as far as setting up your profile and studying those of your potential hosts/guests. I like the paradigm of the website, that they encourage people to do this, that they encourage people NOT to accept a host or guest they're not comfortable with, etc. Several channels for doing this as well. (verification, vouching, references, friends, web-based communication, etc.)

We used Craigs List to find a rental house in San Miguel de Allende Mexico. It worked out great! The rental agent met us at the house, we took a look at it that was that. It was listed at a substantial discount off what the house normally rents for because it was the off season. As previous people have said you must do your homework but for us it worked out very well.