Instead of staying in a hotel, rent a room from a local. Travel cheap. Discover more. Try the 
“temporary bed and breakfast” peer-to-peer sites, AirBed & Breakfast or Roomorama where a night’s stay can range from $45 to $100 or so. Anyone with a bed, airbed or couch can rent it out for the night. Reserve your night online, paying with a credit card or via PayPal. AB & B charges guests a 5 to 12 percent service fee and Roomorama charges 8. Live in a hotly-contested state for the upcoming presidential election? Then AirBed & Breakfast suggests you host at your home a visiting, get-out-the vote volunteer.
Want to sidestep the service fee oh brave one? See house swaps or vacation rentals at the venerable Craigslist. Braver still? Get a free room through couchsurfing. While you’re laughing at this 
approach know that it has nearly 470,000 users.
Going upscale a bit, reserve a private room in a hostel. Marin Headlands, near me, has priceless views. Want a more posh and private place to stay where you 
can still benefit from a local’s recommendations? Then join Home Exchange. Enjoy encampment in a villa or a vacation home. There’s always that reliable place where Tom Bodett promises, “We’ll leave the light on for you.”
Thanks for including home exchange in your ways we can help each other through the current bad economic situation. No doubt many people do arrange successful home swaps through Craigslist but for those new to the idea particularly, it can really be reassuring to join a long established specialist home exchange agency that has many experienced home exchangers in its membership. Such members can offer valuable guidance to first timers. Home Base Holidays members are encouraged to share both any concerns or feedback from their own exchange experiences via the regular Home Swappers Newsletter and the blog, Travel the Home Exchange Way. As our agency is based in London (est. 1985), we have a great choice of exchange offers in London, the UK generally and throughout Europe.
We’re all facing the liklihood of a worldwide recession. What better way to face it than by helping each other and opening our homes to guests from around the world. And the pound has recently dropped in value substantially against the US dollar – a great time to visit London!
Cheers
Lois
Hey Kare, thanks for including us in your post on frugal, smarter traveling. Cool blog, like the angle.