Monday, March 5, 2007

You stay in private homes of travelers like yourself, paying a small gratuity.  In the 'private home hospitality accommodation', the hosts are individuals who enjoy meeting other people, sharing their homes and communities, and perhaps even serving their favorite breakfast recipe.

With over 1600 host locations (2600 members in 47 states and 30 countries), there is a wide assortment of homes both in atmosphere and location: urban, suburban, rural and resort.  It is a 'home away from home' experience, only better, since you don't have to cook breakfast!

Although many of the hosts are retired, others have jobs outside the home during the day but enjoy taking guests when their schedules allow.  Amenities vary with each home.  Sometimes, for special consideration, your host will act as a guide in the area or go to dinner with you on a "Dutch Treat" basis.  Most important, your host knows the area and can give you information on tourist attractions and the best places to dine.

Goal of the Affordable Travel Club

What we have experienced in our travels and the goal we have for the Affordable Travel Club are best expressed by Arthur Frommer in his book New World of Travel:

My mature travel tastes are for places as yet uninundated by commercial tourism.  Ultimately, the experienced traveller concludes that people are the highlight of any vacation trip.  With maturity, with the personal humility that comes with years, I now want to know what other inhabitants of this planet are thinking, and I value the chance to meet them as a supreme travel goal, fully as important as the many minor museums and lifeless monuments to which the younger tourists are madly dashing.

Think back on it: your fondest travel memories are of the islands and towns where you arrived before the others did, where prices and amenities were gently human on scale, where residents smiled as you approached.  In the last analysis, mature travel consists of continuing to act as a travel pioneer, always seeking out the new, keeping juices and spirits flowing, pursuing the dream of discovery and challenge,retaining the very best form of youth, that of an ever-questing open mind.

AFFORDABLE TRAVEL CLUB
AHEAD OF ITS TIME! 

The Wall Street Journal recently published a front page article in its Weekend Journal declaring that the newest trend in traveler accommodations is also the oldest: Staying in someone else's house.  The Journal called it a "status symbol" to do so.  "The new destination of choice for many travelers isn't some crowded beach resort or an impersonal rental.  Rather, it's the downstairs den, former kids' bedroom--or in the most upscale cases, the fully appointed guest house--of a friend". 

You will love the Affordable Travel Club if you want to travel in a different and delightful way.  If you are missing the personal touch in your travels and want to feel like a visiting friend, rather than a patron in a hotel, then you'll love the Affordable Travel Club. 

  
Dear Traveler, 
 
"The Spirit of Travel is Warm Hospitality."  Since our inception in 1992, this has been the motto of the Affordable Travel Club.  The Club is compiled of like-minded people who sincerely enjoy meeting other people, who enjoy sharing their homes, area, and travel experiences, and who are interested in economical travel.  When we travel, we host each other in our homes paying only a small gratuity to cover the host's costs.  In this way, there is no obligation to that host for a reciprocal visit.  

The Club has over 2600 wonderful members in 47 states and 30 countries.  The range of members' homes is quite broad--everything from a condominium in Seattle with a "minuscule" guest bedroom to a beachfront home in Florida to a private guest apartment in Feldkirch, Austria.  

Host members are not expected to host more than three times a year.  The number of times per year a host member has guests, however, is entirely at the host's discretion and convenience.  

The Directory also has a chapter called "Other Affordable Lodging."  It has economical hotels, B&B rentals, and other affordable accommodations recommended by our members.  The rates are reasonable but higher than the Affordable Travel Club gratuity.  In 1996, we added house-sitting, house/pet-sitting, and home exchanges to our offerings.  The annual Directory is followed up by two Supplements (April and  August), listing new members and Newsletters with travel tips, membership information, recipes, and other helpful information.  We offer at least one tour or cruise for members each year.  
 
Join our growing family of travelers today.  We look forward to welcoming you into the Affordable Travel Club! 

 

Suzanne & John Miller  

Founders of the  

Affordable Travel Club  

6556 Snug Harbor Lane  

Gig Harbor, WA  98335

Phone or Fax: (253) 858-2172

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