I don’t think you ever used CS before and don’t understand it regardless of the current situation (which will resolve eventually)
COVID surely affected all hospitality, but money isn’t relevant to CS anyway.
COVID surely affected all hospitality, but money isn’t relevant to CS anyway.
It doesn’t seem that far disconnected from reality to posit that COVID has had some affect on this?
Plus, hitchhikers and cycle-tourers are used to thinking about statistics, because their travel habits involve some measure of risk, and so, as horrific as some anecdotal accounts of COVID are, they are unlikely to fear the virus so much.
It stays legal by involving no money. (Airbnb's subletting issues do not affect CS). Hosts let people stay in their house: whether a couch, sleeping bag, or spare room. Guests message hosts in advance, asking whether they can stay. Reply rates vary. It stays safe by a reference system. My girlfriend, parents, and everybody on the Internet knows exactly where I was sleeping each night.
CS built a large community through word-of-mouth, and was non-profit until 2011. Then the admins decided to make it a B Corporation, and promised not to charge. BeWelcome was founded at that time.
I stayed, and I'm glad I did, because I joined weekly meetups in Amsterdam, Kaohsiung, Taipei, Tainan, and Auckland, and made many great friends that way.
If this were about COVID, a temporary fundraiser to help the admins get through this tough time is reasonable. A monthly fee is not. I can't do subscriptions. My visa will expire in 6 months, and then I'll need to leave - no more income, no more bank account, different SIM card. A friend who knows some people in HQ said that this had been planned for a while. Doing it now, while all the meetups are temporarily suspended, is cruel and foolish. Not consulting the membership is also unacceptable.
I wish that internal reform will be possible, and the admins will change their mind. However, I worry that it may not happen, and that's why I think we should start exporting our data and creating new profiles on BeWelcome.