Crashpadder, the site that lets people rent out spare space in their homes as accommodation, has launched in Australia.
When I say “space”, I’m not kidding either.
On offer is anything from a double bed in a private room to a futon in the lounge, to a bean bag.
The online peer-to-peer accommodation website launched in the UK in November 2008 and offers renters and homeowners alike a way of helping with those mounting mortgage or rental costs.
Crashpads in Australia start from $20 with a typical room costing $40 per night. Below is a comparison table showing how Crashpadder compares to hotel accommodation in some of the main cities it operates in:
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Average cost of hotel rooms compared to average Crashpadder.com room costs:
| Location | Hotel | Crashpadder.com |
| Sydney | $145 | $40 |
| London | $180 | $62 |
| Vancouver | $100 | $35 |
| Cape Town | $145 | $42 |
| Dublin | $135 | $54 |
| *source Hotel.com Price Index 2009 & Crashpadder.com | ||
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“Crashpadder.com offers people the opportunity to cash in during the credit crunch,” said founder Stephen Rapoport.
“Whether it’s the hosts looking to make a bit of extra money, or the guest who is looking to make a saving, everyone can benefit from this unique service. We’ve had a fantastic response since we launched, with rooms added in 46 countries round the world.”
“We’re now seeing a number of requests for spaces in key tourist and business locations which could offer potential Crashpadders in those areas an opportunity to boost their bank balance.”
Listing your ‘Crashpad’ is easy and the site is designed so that hosts and guests can be paired according to what suits them. Potential guests can search for accommodation by location, date, comfort level or price.
Hosts can specify the sort of guests they prefer, available dates and extras they can offer such as wireless internet, breakfast or parking space to add value to their room.
Anyone offering accommodation can fully vet potential visitors by checking out guest profiles on Crashpadder.com, as well as popular social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn. Payments can be made by credit or debit card via the website, or a deposit paid online and the rest settled on arrival.
If the number of times I’ve read emails asking people if they know of somewhere they can crash for a night is anything to go by, Crashpadder might just do OK in Australia.
img src = Angela’s Running Page
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