We offer 2 specific benefits to the members of our hospitality club. These are:

1. affordable accommodation while travelling, and,
2. the opportunity to meet like-minded people, both at home and away. (Our database is sorted by the interests of our members.)

Affordable Accommodation
All travellers know that accommodation is one of the biggest expenses when travelling. A simple room with an uncomfortable bed and an all-night party in the next room can easily cost a day's wages. That is not the type of accommodation that anybody likes. We offer our members the opportunity to spend just $10 (that's right, ten dollars) per person per night while travelling through North America, and comparable amounts when travelling through the rest of the world.

We are a private hospitality club, and as such offer our hospitality to other club members. The ten dollars per person per night is an honorarium; a way of saying "thanks", and ensuring that your host is not out-of-pocket for providing a bed, and breakfast the next morning. It is much the same as sharing the cost of fuel when you carpool.

Meeting People
Our sincere hope is that our members will not view our hospitality network as cheap hotels. One of the guiding principles of this network is that we strive to provide the opportunity for lasting friendships to arise.

Anybody who has ever lived the contrast between visiting a place where the only people you speak with are people in the tourist industry, versus meeting the locals, and getting the "inside scoop" on an area, will know that having a local person to tell you what to see and do is a vastly more fulfilling travel experience. The Welcome Traveller hospitality club guarantees that you will meet the locals, no matter where you are travelling.

As well as meeting people in their homes, you will have the opportunity to meet people at your own home by hosting travellers. So, even if you are not able, for whatever reason, to travel yourself, you can still meet people from around your own country and the rest of the world!

Our unique database sorts members according to their preferences. When you register, you will be given a choice as to which of these specialised branches you wish to be part of. You will also be given the choice to belong to a non-exclusive, general branch. The reason that our database is divided like this is so that we can put people with similar interests and backgrounds in touch with each other. The cost is the same, regardless of how many, or for which, branches you sign-up, so your registration can reflect the interests of both you and your spouse.

Please note: If you join one interest branch, you will only be eligible to visit and host people from that branch. If you join an interest branch and the General Branch, you can host and visit people from that interest branch, as well as the General Branch.

If, for example, you are a teacher and a crafter, you can join any or all of the Educators Branch, the Crafters and Quilters Branch and the General Branch. Your choice will determine both the groups of people you are able to visit, and the groups of people you are willing to host.

Please note: Join only the sections in which you have a genuine interest. If you join, for example, the Crafters and Quilters branch, others in that group will assume that you (or your spouse) are genuinely interested in crafting and/or quilting. People who misrepresent themselves or their interests will be asked to amend their registration.

GENERAL BRANCH

This branch is for anyone who is open to visiting and hosting people, regardless of their interests. We encourage everybody to consider joining this group, as it has the largest number of potential members -- thus allowing the greatest number of travel and hosting opportunities.

INTEREST BRANCHES

Educators

This branch is for anyone who is or was involved in education. This includes: current and former school teachers, school administrators, school support staff, University and college professors and instructors, teaching assistants, travelling ESL teachers, and anyone else who is or was previously in some way involved with education.

Crafters and Quilters

This branch is for anyone who has an interest in home-made crafts and/or quilts. You do not need to be a professional crafter/quilter or shop owner to fit in here. This branch is for people who would rather make or buy handmade items, and who have an appreciation for the fact that it is the heart, and not the money, that you put into things that make them special.

Runners

This branch is for anyone who is a dedicated runner. If, even when travelling, running is an important part of your day, this is a group for you. Getting advice from local runners will ensure that you will be able to run in safe surroundings, and, more than likely, you will not have to run by yourself.

Women

For women who are travelling on their own. Married couples may join this group to HOST, but if the husband wishes to accompany his wife while travelling they must belong to and seek hosts through another of our groups.

50 Plus

For singles and couples who are on the better side of fifty years.

RESOURCES

• Announcing Welcome Traveller - Press Release
• Welcome Traveller Poster (PDF format)
• More information - Contact us at info@WelcomeTraveller.org