An Experts Guide to Road Tripping for Free – so many questions right? After years of bouncing between boutique stays and Airbnbs, the next evolution of travel is all about being smart with what we already have. Enter the savvier traveler. We don’t just chase sunsets; we know how to leverage travel perks that go beyond miles. The secret? Turning your short-term rental into a travel tool. Whether it’s your home base or a guest casita, using it strategically can unlock free stays. This leads to more trips, and a whole new way to see the world. Keep reading to discover your ticket to road-tripping for free!
Let me introduce you to Hostshare. This is a membership-based network you can join if you have a property listed on Airbnb. When setting up your profile, Hostshare pulls from your existing Airbnb data. No joke, full setup took me less than 10 minutes. Once that’s done, you’ve officially joined an international group of hosts who share their unbooked nights with other members. Sounds too good to be true, right? I thought so too, until I used it to book stays in five different cities on my summer road trip.
My trip started in Portland, rolled through three unique stops across Washington, and ended lakeside in Sandpoint, Idaho. It felt like the ultimate travel hack, and I’m still giddy about it, 🤪. So, let’s dive into the basics of Hostshare.
1) How is Hostshare geared towards road tripping for free?
You might be wondering, how is Hostshare geared towards road-tripping free? Well, the platform showcases the next five days of availability across all properties connected on their network. Out of those, you can instantly book any open nights. When they first explained this to me, I thought it was genius, but also wondered if I would use it. Turns out, it’s perfect for whimsical road trips or more local staycations. The kind where you want to wander a region, less focused on a specific destination. Most of my trips are well planned, but traveling this way made me feel youthful!
Hostshare was built for travelers who crave flexibility over fixed itineraries. Instead of locking in every stop weeks ahead, you can let the platform’s real-time openings guide your route. You literally book as you go, following where availability leads you. It turns a loosely planned trip into a spontaneous journey. Bonus: Hostshare has great taste in properties and soon you’ll be able to book even further in advance!
2) So what do you pay?
I know you are asking, what do you pay? Here’s the beauty of Hostshare, it’s refreshingly simple. You don’t pay nightly rates or platform fees. Just one cleaning fee for your entire stay, no matter how many nights you book. Right now, 5 nights is the max you can book in a row. That means a two-night stop costs the same as a five-night stretch, which feels like a small travel miracle. The whole idea is we are all hosts and our house is already cleaned and ready for our next guests. So hosting through this platform only sets you back one clean that you will get reimbursed for. When you import your Airbnb listing, your cleaning fee syncs automatically, and you can tweak it if needed. No price games, no surprises, just straightforward travel math that actually makes sense.
Hostshare also partners with Superhog for damage protection up to $50,000, so hosts can rest easy if something goes sideways. From my experience, hosts make the best guests anyway. On top of that, there’s a $395 yearly membership fee, which you can offset by referring other hosts. Between the single cleaning fee, built-in protection, and transparent pricing, Hostshare keeps travel affordable and secure. Bonus: the hosts from my stays were true experts with keyless entry and digital guidebooks.
3) How many nights a year?
So how many nights a year does the sharing get us so we can keep road tripping for free? Each Hostshare membership unlocks 21 nights of free travel every year. No nightly rates, just your cleaning fees. The number of nights you need to share from your own property depends on its typical daily rate. Meaning higher-value listings often share fewer nights. It’s a simple give-and-take system that keeps things fair and flexible. So whether you host ten nights or thirty, those shared stays fuel your ability for free travel.
Most hosts end up sharing between 10 and 35 nights a year. It’s a fair trade; open your doors a few times annually, and in return, stay at unique Airbnbs in over 50 countries (and counting). Want more nights? Just add another property to your profile and each one unlocks 21 more nights of travel. Bonus: a tiny condo ‘costs’ you one night, and so does a five-bedroom cabin. No tiers, no hierarchy, just a community of travelers swapping stays and keeping the adventure rolling,🤘🏽.
4) How does instant booking work?
I mentioned earlier that your Hostshare profile is aggregated from your Airbnb listing. However, they’re two separate platforms. So how does the actual booking work? Once you request a stay, the host gets pinged just like they would on Airbnb. A text to their phone and a message in the app pops up saying they’ve got a booking. The calendars are synced, so the dates are blocked on both platforms. Since it’s an instant booking, it’s on the host to send check-in details directly through the app or an email. Hostshare doesn’t send automated messages like the ones you program on Airbnb.
At first, I was a little nervous about this part. What if a host didn’t respond? How long should I wait? Would the honor system really hold up? Turns out, all five of my lovely hosts completely exceeded my expectations. They replied within minutes and were genuinely excited to have us. Most of them had never hosted through Hostshare before, so we were all equally curious – and honestly, it worked flawlessly. Pro Tip: try Hostshare first, if you don’t hear back look at your other options. Nothing to lose!
5) Being an early adaptor is fun!
Take a chance and stay wild. I don’t remember how Hostshare fell into my lap. I think I was researching new ways to leverage my short-term rental and create equity beyond a dollar. When I applied, one of the founders called me personally, buzzing with excitement about what they’d newly built. The enthusiasm was contagious, so much so that I briefly wondered, is this a scam? They even offered me half off the the yearly membership fee since they were looking for more international properties. In the spirit of traveling more whimsically, I (obviously) said yes.
I’ve learned the things in my life that have expanded me the most, made me uncomfy at first. For example: Going to my inaugural Burning Man at 22, my mind wasn’t ready, but my soul needed expansion. ✅ Demanding remote work back in 2013 because I had to see the world while I was young and I was wired to be a self-starter. Best f***ing life move. ✅ Buying property in Mexico with Bekah in 2021. Total ‘WTF, is this smart?’ moment. Now it is supplying dividends beyond money. ✅ Diving into the school of life on the road and keeping my country count above my age; forever. The only way. ✅
Each bold move I make leads to the next and I continue to be inspired to live an unconventional life. I’m curious what are the biggest leaps or visions you have had for your life that have paid off the most? Send us the details!
All my love,
Rach
PS ~ for the perfect shoulder season trip with cooler temps, check out our Apulia guide!
PSS ~ to join the rad network of Hostshare you need a referral link, click here to learn more and sign up!
