So we’ll be speaking at a panel at SXSWi next month called “The Broke Diaries: Using Blogs and Twitter to Live Cheaply” but have been seriously lollygagging on booking a room. As a result, all the hotels within walking distance of the conference were sold out, and way too expensive anyway. The plan: something between couch-surfing and a house rental, but the ask-everyone-on-Facebook route didn’t work. But yesterday, our pals over at LearnVest ran a post about a site called Airbnb (sorry but who thought of that impossible-to-remember name?) where you can book a room in someone’s house for less than a hotel. There was a cute room in an artist’s home for $33 a night available during the conference, but we wound up splurging on a $55-a-night room in the home of a wholesome-looking couple named Courtney and Joep. It has a private bathroom, plus a deck overlooking an organic garden, plus wifi, plus coffee, plus personal-training sessions with Courtney if we want them (that’ll be extra), plus a new travel tip for our SXSW panel. We have to drive to the conference, but… score! Not everything on this site is budget-oriented though. They have housboats in India, igloos in Switzerland, castles in England. Check it, Brokesters.
[via LearnVest]