I have actively used Hospitality Club and CouchSurfing in my travels. Not only is it free, but it works well with my travel philosophy, that is, to meet the people of the area I'm visiting, stay in their homes, eat their kinds of food, and have them as my guides. I have had hosts in Honolulu, Berkeley, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Montreal, Quebec, Rome, Easter Island, Chile, Bolivia, and New Zealand, and I've hosted folks from Texas, California, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and more. Of course, for me, it isn't free, as I chip in whereever I go. There are, for instance, a "Clarence apple tree" in Prague (that I paid for) and a "ku's fence" in Napier, New Zealand (that I helped my host there to replace). I even remember listening to Mongolian throat singing in my hosts' home in New Zealand. Meeting people face-to-face has been such an enriching actvity that I've completely enjoyed and prospered from.

Haven't used those two yet but I did use VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner) for a week long trip to Hawaii and it was a fantastic experience.

I'm an Air B&B host. It's been awesome! With the exception of the fact that I'm renting my master bedroom to guests and sleeping in my kitchen, that is.

I'm puzzled... what is "CouchSurfing, AirBnB"... I'm also two years removed for big city living, so I'm not as smart as I look (jajaja). I read the responses, but still don't quite grasp the concept. If convenient, please "splain it" to the city slicker.