I love hearing about new hostels who are excited to provide new homes for travellers on the road. So when Dan from The Safehouse Hostel asked to meet me last year at WTM of course I said yes!
Filled with enthusiasm Dan told me all about the upcoming plans for his (now-open!) hostel in Cardiff. And then, all of a sudden, he stopped talking about his hostel and began raving excitedly about Travelstarter.
Earn travel rewards and support local tourism
As a travel crowdfunding platform, the essentials of TravelStarter are this: as a traveller you would search for an activity or accommodation in a destination in much the same way as you would on an online booking platform.
However, each and every project listed on TravelStarter is in the process of development, which means that not only do you get a great experience or bed for the night, but you also get to support local businesses.
The Dunaway Bed & Breakfast: Supporting local hostels with TravelStarter
As you can probably guess, the most exciting part of TravelStarter for me is seeing hostels and budget accommodation develop with the input of us, the travellers!
Today the travel crowdfunding platform is launching a new project with Dunaway Bed & Breakfast in Pacific Beach, San Diego – so I caught up with Michelle to find out more about the project and how travellers will benefit from helping its development.
The Hostel Girl: Would you say hostel life is an important part of travel?
Michelle: Hostel life is so much more than a cheap bed. A good hostel allows travellers to experience the city as a local, with staff that are personable and excited to share their local knowledge. It is a place where you can come alone and be welcomed into a “family”.
Common spaces and activities allow guests to meet and interact and knowledge is shared, both of the town and country they are in, but also of their own countries and cultures. Hostel life opens the mind to all that is possible.
The Hostel Girl: Tell us a bit about your project with TravelStarter and why you’ve chosen their platform to fund it.
Michelle: We are so excited to be opening the Dunaway Bed & Breakfast in the heart of Pacific Beach, the most popular beach area for the 20’s – 30’s crowd in the middle of all the nightlife, restaurants and shops that Pacific Beach has to offer.
Our bed & breakfast takes up the second floor of the Dunaway building, the only historic building in Pacific Beach. A beautiful space with lots of natural light, a wide open hallway, gorgeous hardwood flooring, beautiful rooms with high ceilings, the bed and breakfast will have three dorm rooms and four private rooms.
We will be offering a gourmet breakfast every morning and each evening we will have a “happy hour” with local craft beer and wine and house roasted nuts so that the guests will have a chance to meet each other and we can help guests plan their evening or following days activities.
We were about a week away from opening when we ran into trouble with the city who have told us that we do not have all the required permits. So now as we go through this expensive, lengthy permit process we have run out of money. I heard about TravelStarter just as our troubles began and so we decided to give them a go.
The Hostel Girl: How will travellers benefit from supporting Lucky D via TravelStarter?
Michelle: We are offering a variety of rewards at discounted rates, so travellers deciding to support us will be able to go on a Whale Watching tour (available immediately) for just $20, or stay with us when we open for as little as $25. We’re excited for the project to go live on TravelStarter today so please visit our project page to see all we are offering in return.
Are you planning to visit San Diego any time soon? Take a look at the Dunaway Bed & Breakfast crowdfunding campaign to be a part of their journey. I know I’d be going whale watching if I could get there!
This project is just one of many that are available at TravelStarter, so if you’re on the road why not see what other opportunities there are in your destinations to support creative individuals and local businesses – as well as benefit from a great experience!
“Being able to browse projects by location, knowing you’ll receive a travel related perk, is way more enjoyable than sifting through all sorts of projects on other crowdfunding platforms. Even now I am planning a short holiday for myself next week visiting one of the other projects listed on TravelStarter.” – Dan, Safehouse Hostel
And if you’re a hostel in need of a helping hand… why not follow in the footsteps of The Safehouse Hostel and the Dunaway Bed & Breakfast?
Lots of love,
