Technical ideas for different ways for looking for accomodation/meetings

I start the section of whitepapers with the software design analysis written by me and refined by Kasper Souren, posted on may 2006 on
http://www.hospitalityguide.net/hg/wiki/index.php?title=Technical_ideas_for_different_ways_for_looking_for_accomodation/meetings&action=history

Based on writings from tommato CS HC, at CouchSurfing's Brainstorm group Guaka is trying to get the core ideas put here, and some copyediting.

In my opinion the system to write emails/messages to potential hosts was working well at the beginning but now is a little outdated. Of course all accomodation exchange communities started this way but I think that now this is a huge phenomena and we could re-analyze it and maybe setup some new system.

Let me summarize in few lines what is the main structure of these accomodation communities:

There is the database of members profiles, the search function (with different parameters and map option too), the forum, the message system. Most of the times these communities are used to ask for accomodation, meeting, spending time together. The first contact usually starts from the guest.

Some different generic cases

1. know before meet - The guest and the host are in touch before, they know the each other by email/chat/phone enough and then they meet it's chosen by people who need to trust more their hosts/guests and th
2. 'looking for hospitality and meeting friendly people while roaming - the guest is having a tour in different cities and needs accomodation in all these cities, the hosts are mostly evaluated as free hospitality but happen some unexpected good encounters and friendship as well
3. meetings - some special meetings with many members, like HC camps (about this who is CouchSurfing member as well can checkout the CS function "meet" that is almost perfect, I think)

The current system of message exchange, profiles with photo, MSN, ICQ, etc. is good for the first case. There is not so much to do about that, I think. Photos, comments, profile... (even if I found much more descriptive the CS profile, with many photos, more text, .... friends link...)

For such cases would be helpful to add one "virtual agreement or meeting/hosting", that, once selected by both members, would send an email to both of them with the reminder and the actual personal and ID data of themselves and it will be stored in the database. The host would be able to see the upcoming guest he confirmed to and the guest the hosts he confirmed to as well. Any change on dates should be confirmed by the other member. I think that this would help also people to keep track of the agenda of upcoming guests and hosts.

I mean, at the beginning the contact is just general, then one member send to the other one special request for meeting or hosting or guesting, not just a normal message, when the second accept it, automatically will be sent one email with the full personal data of both. This, IMHO would be a very good safety feature, so you can give your address, phone number, etc just to people you are supposed to meet and these data would be the official data stored in HC servers. No need to write name, suname, passport number on any message. Just store in HC database and give immediately to people you are supposed to meet, to host or to be hosted by, in the same moment when you receive their data as well. (Ebay has something similar)

This thing IMHO should be connected with comments as well. If you had such virtual agreement this can lead to 3 situations:

1. both members let it pending (meeting delayed, or future or in progress)
2. one member cancel that (canceled or missed meeting) and the other confirm it
3. one member write the comment and the other (before seeing the other's comment) write his comment as well. Just when both are written down, those comments will appear on member's profile.

This would prevent for example people who never met to write comments.

I would think about these status or each meeting/hosting:

1. offered
2. confirmed
3. in progress
4. done, pending comment
5. commented
6. canceled before meeting

Ah, of course IMHO the meeting/hosting should be seen just by the two involved members. (like HC "My list" and CS "Note" functions)

But let me talk a little also on the second and third cases.

I meet often people that are having a Europe trip just on HC/CS hosts. (It's so cool, HC changed the world!) Even one or two days in each place.

But maybe it wasn't exactly planned like this. Because this way makes a huge overloads of emails. And mails have to be checked (at least into HC). And sometimes this lead to mails being reveived when the guest already left the city (as to me happened in some cases in my last travel to Prague).

I usually see that after a while and expecially in travels with many cities the guest doesn't have so much time for choosing the host (expecially if he is in rush in a Internet point or at the previous host's place) and he doesn't know if they will answer or not so typically he just read quickly some profiles, copy&paste a presentation email, maybe do some little changes and delay the real choice of the host among the ones who will answer positivelly. Isn't often like this?

Because even if you find someone who is much more interesting for you (maybe some common interests) you don't know if he will be free for that period or not. So you have to wait the second contact. And to find the most interesting people usually it's so time consuming, expecially in cities with many members.

I mean, for these kind of guests, the perfect way would be to receive accomodation offers from all members of the city and then choose among them, I am not saying that any host is the same, but the first criteria for them is the availability to meet.

Also in some cities/areas people build some mailgroups to share guests among members of the same cities.

I dunno how works in HC "Want more guest" group and looking for profiles who state a planning travel to your city. I never tried, was always busy with so many emails and guests.

But the paradox is that sometimes you are free, you have lots of spare time, you could be eager to host people but no guest is writing you for that dates.

So... what I would do in this case is: Let guests apply for accomodation (or just meeting friendly members) to the whole city or area (province, region, multiple city, ...) (not to each single member) and have a list of upcoming guests for each city (province, region, area), with arrival and departure date and this let hosts offer their availability. When the guest found his host (of if he changed his plan) he should delete the generic accomodation request on the city and IMHO not to be shown whom he agreed to be hosted / to meet to. Then everything can go as case 1, but IMHO this pre-step would save a lot of time to guests to write tons of copy&paste emails, to hosts to answer to all of them and to volounteers to check it! Ah, of course a member can chose on his preferences to receive daily by email a "digest" of upcoming accomodation/meeting request in his city/province/region.

(I know that this it was planned in HC by Veit to be done on the city page on the upcoming guest but it is so simple system and I think it's not working because there is not the "digest" by email.)

The selection of the area of interest by the guest could be done very well with the geographical tool (map) or with the classical interface with continent/country/region/province/city.

Let me say an example. happened to me, when I was in Prague the last time. Even if I had accomodation at friend's place I liked to meet HC members. So I wrote some messages, mostly "copy & paste" style, except some special members whose profile intrigued me a little more, whom I wrote a special message. Some of those messages got there even after my visit was ended. Whatever.. At the end I ended up meeting just one member for a beer.

With my idea things would work this way, instead. I would spend less time, I would just write one "upcoming guest", from date X to date Y, I already have accomodation, I'd like to meet friendly member, I am this and that, I like this... etc. Those members in Prague who whould like to meet or host people whould have selected the "receive digest of upcoming members" so they would receive my "upcoming guest" as with all other ads. Some of them would be intrigued and they will take a look on my profile and my comments and my forum posts etc. If they are interested they will write me a message thru the site (and that message should arrive promptly, without checking for spam).

I think the same would apply to people looking for accomodation, except that they could delete the "upcoming guest" when they already found a host place to stay ot they can leave it there while looking for a better host. No? Isn't it much more better? Isn't it more effective for both guests and hosts?

Also meetings in my opinion are very very important. In CS there is this lovely function that I think it's so cool and effective. Mostly members can write down a meeting with a place, title, directions, photo, summary, description and details, dates and times, confirmation status etc etc.

Maybe I would improve a little the way how meetings are posted to members, maybe each member should set a km range of meetings he would like to maybe attend and I would let people set freely the current place where they are, this to allow to be involved in meetings that are going to happen in that place even if they are just travelling there.

To summarize all my idea in few words, I would base more the system on the places (upcoming guests/visitors, upcoming meetings, etc) and less to direct emails to each member.

IMHO would be so nice for each member to have a main list (like "my ebay page") with upcoming guests who are planned to come at his place, upcoming hosts that are waiting for him, upcoming meetings which he is supposed to attend to and an other list of possibilities, with the upcoming guests/visitors and meetings in his city/area.

And I think that with these improvements (nothing to change, just to add) all the system would be less guest-centred but equally comfortable for hosts and guests, and for people that just would like to meet.