Learning how to find the best Workaway hosts can open a world of wonderful work exchange volunteering opportunities for you.
Workaway is more than just a platform for finding free accommodation.
Finding the best Workaway host for your first time is vital because that experience could set the tone for every other one thereafter.
Workaway hosts can make or break your volunteering experience so it is essential to find the best fit for who you are and what you want from Workaway.
Here are eight tips for finding the best Workaway hosts.
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#1 Figuring out what you want
First thing’s first. You need to think about who you are and what you want to do.
The Workaway experience can vary depending on what you choose.
Volunteering on organic farms will be different to language practice work.
Thinking about what you want will help you decide what hosts to message!
Here are some great questions that will get you thinking about the finer details of finding the best Workaway hosts.
What are your hobbies and skills? Do you know different languages? How long are you wanting to volunteer?
Are there any activities that you have always wanted to do but could not afford them?
Are there any places you have always wanted to go but could not afford it?
Is there a culture or country you have always wanted to visit but have never gotten to it? Do you want to meet locals or travelers or both?
Do you want to meet others that share the same lifestyle or eating preferences as you?
Would you want to try a different lifestyle or eating preferences?
One of the best travel tips I could suggest while doing volunteer work is this amazing online platform.
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#2 Search On Workaway
Based on what you have thought about, find a few of these things that resonate with you to search for.
The two main ways to find hosts is through a location or by looking up a particular word or phrase.
With location, you can be as broad as a whole continent or go a little more specific with a particular country.
Within the country, you can search for a particular region to get even more direct.
If you decide to use a particular word or phrase to search, you can choose to search the whole world for the word or phrase.
If this is too broad, you can set it to any of the location settings I previously mentioned.
Example: If you follow a vegetarian lifestyle, you can find any hosts that follow this lifestyle or mention it in their profile, all you have to do is search ‘vegetarian’ while the location is set on ‘anywhere’.
This is a popular food preference so I’m sure many hosts mention it.
Therefore if you search in the largest location possible, you will see a lot of results.
If you are feeling stuck or overwhelmed because your search is giving many results you can further narrow it down through the ‘More Search Options’ area found below ‘Show Results’.
If you have specific requests or requirements, you can input those off so they are not shown in your results e.g. dates you are planning to travel, preference to not want to be around smokers, specific work you cannot do, etc…
#3 Check The Profile Summary First
When going on a host’s profile for the first, the summary section at the beginning is what you should look at first.
It will give you an indication of whether you should keep reading. You will find the ‘Host Rating’, ‘Feedback’, ‘Last Activity’, ‘Reply rate’, ‘Average Reply Time’, and ‘Badges’.
These profile markers are self-explanatory for the most part.
Use your common sense to decide whether it is worth reading the whole profile (they can be very long).
- If it shows that the host is rated badly
- There is not any feedback
- They have not been active for a while
- Their reply rate is terrible
- The reply time is over a week
- They do not have any badges
Well those signs show me the host isn’t very active, so normally I wouldn’t keep reading. Your time is valuable.
#4 Availability & Minimum Stay
Next, check out the availability and minimum stay requirement.
If it is green then they are open to having volunteer(s) for that month, yellow means they might have space or and red is not available.
Most hosts will request a certain length of stay to allow some sort of connection to the volunteer. Generally, this will be 2 weeks to 1 month.
Both of these will let you know right away if you should keep reading!
Sometimes, you could find hosts that might not fit what you need in terms of availability at the current moment but would be worth checking another time.
Have you heard about slow travel? It is all about having local, meaningful, and authentic travel experiences by slowing down.
Check out these books to learn more, Slow Travel: A Movement & Slow Travel: Escape the Grind and Explore the World.
#5 Read All The Details
The ‘details’ sections is where you will learn all of what you need to know about this host and the activities you would be doing through Workaway.
The best Workaway hosts should be clear and honest about what they expect of volunteers.
They should be giving a detailed ‘Description’, ‘Types of help and learning opportunities’, ‘Cultural exchange and learning opportunities’, ‘Help’, ‘Languages spoken’, ‘Accommodation’, and ‘What else’ sections.
These parts of a host’s profile will contain a lot of information so it is important to read it carefully so you can see if you would be a good fit.
After those parts, there are a few smaller parts called, ‘A little more information’, ‘How many Workawayers can stay?’, ‘Hours expected’ and then a photo section.
#6 Feedback / Reviews
Though the host’s description can give a good insight into what to expect, checking the reviews is equally as important.
Reading feedback will give you a different perspective on what the host expects through the eyes of other volunteers that have actually been there.
As an example, a host says they need help around the house.
If the phrase “cleaned the toilet area” or “toilet cleaning” is being mentioned multiple times throughout the reviews, chances are that is one of the main things you will end up doing.
Reviews add an extra level to a person’s profile. They help you get to see more of who the host is and what others say about them.
Carefully going over the reviews should help you a lot – I would be cautious of hosts with not many reviews.
Usually, the best Workaway hosts will have lots of feedback provided for others and in turn will also give reviews for the volunteers that stayed with them.
I am sure some amazing hosts do not have many reviews or they have just joined Workaway.
Personally, I prefer to look at hosts with lots of reviews so I really know what I am getting into.
Always make sure to cover yourself, especially when you are volunteering. Travel medical insurance is great for things like emergency healthcare, co-pay fees, emergency dental, travel delay, lost checked luggage, natural disasters, personal liability, etc.
Now, if you are one of the people that claim it is not a necessity, think again!
It is by far one of the most important purchases for your trip.
If it is a matter of cost, well… if you can not afford it, you probably should not be traveling.
I always use SafetyWing because they have wide coverage and are the most affordable.
#7 My Host List
Both a curse and a blessing is the overwhelming list of amazing Workaway experiences that could be possible for you!
Make sure to save any hosts that you are interested in to ‘My host list’.
Like I mentioned before, reading the details section of a Workaway host’s profile can be long and informative.
When you go to save the host, there is a handy feature that lets you add a note too.
This is great to remind yourself in the future what you specifically like about this Workaway host.
#8 Send A Genuine Message
If you are to take away anything from this article it would be this.
Being genuine when you message a potential host is so important!
Workaway hosts get so many generic messages.
The whole point of Workaway is to have a cultural exchange so volunteering for the right reasons is really important.
The host will appreciate it if you have fully read their profile and then state why you would be a good fit.
You can talk about what you want to get out of volunteering with Workaway and what skills you can bring. Be authentic!
Interested in discovering other alternative accommodations besides Workaway?
Homestay is great for finding local families to stay with at an affordable price.
You get to feel right at home when you arrive and it’s perfect for short or long term stays. Get €20/$21 off your first Homestay trip!
TrustedHousesitters helps you stay in wonderful places for free by house sitting and caring for cute pets.
You can find unique & amazing accommodation that would normally be hundreds per night!
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