How to Save on Travel Accommodations with Help Exchange

How The Site Works

You can browse the Help Exchange site and the various host profiles around the world for free. The Premier membership, at a very reasonable 20 Euros for a two year membership, allows you to contact hosts, read and write host reviews, refine your search criteria, and keep a list of favorite host profiles.

Below is a screenshot of the Premier members’ search tool for hosts in Europe:

The search will pull up a list of host profiles so you can see where they’re located, what seasons they’re taking helpers, how many helpers they can host at a time, a description of what they’re about and what the helper’s role would be, photos or videos, contact information, and reviews by past helpers.

Here is one example:

Our First Help Exchange

We decided to try a two week Help Exchange as a way to extend our trip in France for no added cost.

We wanted to spend some peaceful time in the countryside, and we had also been hoping to find a way to learn more about sustainable farming or the hospitality business. Since we’re interested in running a small farm and/or Bed and Breakfast one day, we thought it would be a good idea to test the waters.

Finding A Host

I started searching the Help Exchange host profiles for rural placements, with a hospitality component, that would take couples.

There are hundreds of farm/garden hosts in the French countryside, and quite a few of them run part-time B&B’s or vacation rentals. I sent out messages to a few of the hosts that looked interesting and had positive reviews.

We ended up connecting with a host who lives in a 15th Century chateau in the Loire Valley. They do ongoing repairs and restoration to the castle, maintain 9 acres of land, host events, and run a part-time Bed and Breakfast.

In exchange for six hours of work, five days per week, they are putting us up in an apartment on the property and providing all our meals.

 The Work

Each host has different expectations and requirements.

At the chateau, we worked from 9am to noon, stopped for lunch, and completed another three hours in the afternoon. Every morning, we watered plants and flowers all around the castle. Then we took on tasks like picking vegetables, weeding, cleaning, even putting together shelves from Ikea.

On the weekend the village celebrated a Heritage Day, where the chateau is open to the public and hosts a big dinner. During the event, I made use of my French to help give tours of the underground tunnels and caves.

It was certainly an interesting experience to see the inner-workings of this unique, historic place. Though the manual labor can be taxing, we were treated at the end of each day to some really great dinners.

Our host was also very generous in helping us try to track down our missing luggage, which wasn’t delivered to us until 10 days after arriving in France! Unfortunately, I think the host was also going through some personal things, and without going into details, we chose to end our stay a couple days early.

Other Examples of HelpX Work from Lianne

Special thanks to our guest writer, Lianne Bronzo, for adding her contributions to this post.

The following are some examples of some work Lianne and her partner, Adam, have done in the past.

Floral Arrangement in the Daintree Rainforest, Queensland, Australia

Wynne runs a small floral business out of her open air home at the foot of the oldest rainforest in the world.

The Work:

• Mulching flower beds
• Helping prepare chili sauce (with peppers right from garden)
• Floral prepping: Fetched flowers and leaves from garden, nearby farms, and flower wholesaler, removed rose thorns, cleaned and cut stems
• Floral arrangement: created fig leaf chandeliers, garlands, bouquets, etc.
• Event setup: Delivered bouquets & buttonholes, arranged flowers in vases and displayed at reception tables, attached roses to garlands
• Vacation home decorating: Rode along with Wynne to decorate fancy vacation homes with native flowers

Accommodation: To reach Wynne and Bruce’s place, one must drive a few kilometers down dirt roads, far past most signs of civilization. Their home is a simple open air tin home, so we lived amongst all of the elements: spiders, frogs, snakes, native birds, and other creatures. We slept well each night in the comfy bed, sometimes to the sounds of comforting rain and other times to crickets and frogs.

Free Time:

Explore the property: They own a large chunk of land, so we took lots of walks admiring their garden and private creek

Dinner parties: Wynne and Bruce brought us to a few of their neighbors’ homes for dinner parties including make-your-own pizza, a surplus of wine, and decadent cakes. Even though their homes seems isolated, they are anything but lonely because the neighbors must rely on each other.

Explore the Daintree Region: We drove through the lush forest and stopped a few times to do walking trails through the dense forest, picnic at Cow Bay, and have ice cream made from local fruits. Luck was on our side when we spotted a gigantic and rare bird, the cassowary.

The general area is unique in Australia and we are grateful to have such knowledgeable hosts who showed us around and taught us about the region.

See Lianne’s original blog post on their Australia exchange here

Organic Farming in Northern Thailand

We lived with a Thai family in the mountains, three hours from Chiang Mai. They are on the brink of self-sufficiency from growing nearly all of their food. The family consists of Pinaan Jim – a former Buddhist monk, his partner Pinaan Tea, and their 9-year-old son, Pinaan Tung. Pinaan means “human” and they address others this way.

The Work:

• Farm Work: Clearing fields for planting potatoes, chopping wood for cooking, fetching grass for cows, feeding chickens
• Gathering food: Picked fresh fruits, navigated a plethora of leaves to identify and pick morning glory, caught fish in nearby pond, searched for free range eggs without luck
• Cooking: I helped Pinaan Tea prepare most meals, which were always varied, abundant, and phenomenal. I got to learn some Thai cooking skills such as preparing chili paste and banana flower.
• Peeling coffee beans: The family grows their own coffee beans. After they have been soaked and dried, each individual bean needs to be ridded of their shell before roasting.
• Cleaning up: We helped with general upkeep such was washing dishes and sweeping.
• Website building: Pinaan Jim took us to the nearest “town” via motorbike to use the WiFi as Adam built their website, Happy Healing Home.

Accommodation: Previous helpers built a handful of basic bamboo huts with a mattress and mosquito net. Showers consisted of cold bucket showers and toilets were of the typical Asian squat variety, but no lights in the night!

Free Time:

Living the slow life: Since we were off the grid and barely had electricity, off time consisted of meditating, stretching, enjoying the scenery, reading in a hammock, and fishing with Tung. It was the first time I enjoyed such a slow pace of life and as a result, I gained patience, mindfulness, and gratitude.

Trekking: The family also took us on an excursion to a mountain. There was no set track, but we trusted our hosts because they have an intimate relationship with the land. The hike was rewarded with eating freshly caught fish at the river below, drinking tea (grabbed right from the bushes) out of bamboo cups (cut and made right there). We learned a host of survival skills in addition to general life philosophy during our time at Happy Healing Home.

See Lianne’s original blog post on their Thailand exchange here

Home Renovations in Sydney

Margot is a spunky and strong 70-years-young woman with a head full of knowledge in chemistry, film-making, history, design, and building. She regularly hosts on HelpX as she always has a list of ongoing projects around the house that she’s transformed over the years.

The Work:

• Renovating an outdoor bathroom: This was the main task for the week. Adam’s building skills shined while I learned a bit along the way. A few tasks include taking measurements, cutting fiber cement walls, fitting them into the bathroom, filling gaps in brick with cement
• Organizing toolshed
• General household upkeep: Margot didn’t expect us to do much work that she couldn’t do herself, but we pitched in with general cleaning.
• Accommodation: Margot resided in an alternative and hip neighborhood close to public transportation, nightlife, cafes, and parks. We had a private bedroom in her 19th century home.

Free Time: We had already been in Sydney for three months by then and weren’t up for going out to explore, so we spent a good amount of time in discussion with Margot and her housemate, Annie, learning about Australian history, politics, and the women’s labor movement. Since Margot was not much of a cook, I took the duties to prepare meals which we often shared together.

See Lianne’s original blog post on their Sydney exchange here

Backpacker Hostel in Koh Lanta Island, Thailand

For about a week, we worked at a hostel right near the beach. Although it neighbored other noisy party hostels, Clazy House is supposed to be more about relaxing, community, and art.

However, this one is probably the lowest on the list of HelpX experiences, but I wouldn’t say it was a bad experience. The host was disorganized, there were too many helpers and not enough work, and we lacked guidance. But we did enjoy meeting other volunteers and having a different kind of experience.

The Work:

• Art: I created art on bunk beds and decorated signs to advertise hostel events.
• Reception: Check-in and check-out, room reservations
• Cleaning: Preparing rooms for new guests

Accommodation: The hostel consists of basic huts, each adorned with gigantic pieces of art. We stayed in perhaps the coolest room, “The Penthouse,” which was on the third floor of a sketchy bamboo hut that we navigated with ladders. Inside was a mattress, mosquito net, and fan.

Free Time: We were just a few steps away from the Long Beach, so we often went with fellow volunteers to catch the sunset, take a yoga class, and do some hula hooping and poi! On our day off, we rented a motorbike to explore Koh Lanta island.

Lianne’s Tips for Applying to Help Exchanges

After thoroughly reading the host’s profile and reviews, send them a message offering your assistance. Be sure to:

• Make it personal. Do not copy/paste generic requests as it is obvious. Why should the host choose you over other helpers?
• Briefly introduce yourself. Don’t go on and write a book, but a little about you – where you’re from, why you’re traveling through so and so, why you want to help them, etc.
• Offer what you can do to help them. Again, read the profile thoroughly and list skills that may be of use to them. If they don’t have children, don’t bother offering childcare services!
• Provide dates. Hosts appreciate knowing the dates of your intended stay. It would be good to remain flexible with their schedule as well.

What’s next?

Play the waiting game! I would recommend applying to a few jobs that you find interesting because a majority will not respond and only a few will say they cannot host. If you get a host that says yes, respond immediately, thank them, and work out further details.

I recommend getting their personal e-mail address/phone number so you can communicate there instead of the HelpX interface, which is clunky and inconvenient to use on a mobile device. Stay in close contact and maintain good communication throughout the time leading up to the agreed date so that you’re on the same page.

Unfortunately, cancellations and people backing out do happen on both sides, so do have somewhat of a backup plan if it falls through.

While you’re on the assignment, enjoy it! It is a good idea to agree upon the expectations in advance. Is food included? Am I expected to cook for myself or for everyone? Do we eat together? What time do I start work? When can I have a day off?

Enjoy your time together with your host, learn as much as you can, and make lasting memories!

Alternatives to Help Exchange

If you want to see the world without spending a ton of money, and if you have the time and ability to work a bit, then this kind of arrangement is probably a great option for you.

There are actually a number of similar networks and online postings for working abroad in exchange for room and/or board.

We’ve been happy with what’s available on HelpX, but here’s a bit more about a few other options, for comparison sake:

• WWOOF: “World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms” links people who want to volunteer on organic farms or smallholdings with people who are looking for volunteer help. This is one of the most well known organizations of its kind, and we know a number of people who have done it- especially in Australia and New Zealand. The main differences from Help Exchange are that a) it only lists organic farm stays and b) you have to purchase a membership for each country you want access to. For example, the WWOOF USA membership is $40. If you want to then go to Canada, that’s another membership purchase.
• Work Away is much more like Help Exchange and we know a few people who have enjoyed participating in it as well. The membership fee is higher – $42 per year, or $54 for a pair. Their site is more attractive and user-friendly, though the host opportunities are comparable to Help Exchange.
• World Packers also offers exchange opportunities like Help Exchange and Work Away with an emphasis on hostel accommodations. Its annual membership fee of $49 includes a higher level of customer support. All hosts are vetted by the organization before they’re published on the site.
  >> Click here for $20 off your World Packers membership (referral link)
• Global Help Swap helps people find free volunteering opportunities all over the world, and you can include housing and food in your search criteria when looking for placements. There are fewer listings with this site but the registration fee is a donation amount of your choice.

A neighbor setting up a pig roast for Heritage Day in the French countryside

Have you ever participated in a work exchange like this? If so, we’d love to hear about your experience. Please share your thoughts and questions in the comments below.