Safety
A stranger in my home or staying with strangers – how can that be safe?
As BeWelcome members we open our homes to people we have never met or stay in their homes while we are travelling ourselves. This requires a lot of trust which is often well deserved and the basis for many wonderful hospitality experiences.
However, hospitality networks also attract people who want to take advantage of the trust and hospitality of others. We cannot rule out that some members might have bad intentions and sometimes opportunity makes thieves. Additionally, a cultural exchange as it takes place through BeWelcome can, from time to time, lead to misunderstandings or personal boundaries being overstepped.
Therefore, we would like to introduce you to the tools you have on BeWelcome to make informed decisions about who you would like to host, meet or stay with.
Please always remember that your safety depends on your own judgment and decisions. BeWelcome is dedicated to helping you make informed decisions about hosting/staying/meeting with other members and to supporting you in case of problems. While we do what we can to help you, we cannot take any responsibility for your personal decisions and actions and ultimately the responsibility for your safety is yours. If you are nervous about hosting or meeting someone, don’t do it. Always use common sense to protect yourself and your property.
How can I assess if a member is trustworthy?
Some people say that trust is a matter of instinct or “gut feeling”. “Go with your guts” works very well for some people but not for others and we recommend that you take all available information into account when deciding who to host, stay with, or meet.
Read about comments and safety features
What to do in an uncomfortable situation?
Sometimes a hospitality experience can become uncomfortable: You feel uneasy or something does not seem right? Maybe your host or guest communicates or acts in a way which irritates you?
What to do in an emergency situation?
If you find yourself in an emergency situation during a hospitality experience (e.g. you feel threatened or harassed or a crime has been committed), please do everything possible to get out of the situation as fast as possible and contact the local police or a hospital, depending on the circumstances. Once you are safely out of that situation, please make sure to warn other members by writing a negative comment and contact us to report what happened.
Contact the Safety Team
You need help in a critical situation? You want to report the misconduct of another member? Or you just have a question for the Safety Team? Please contact us by using the contact form or send an e-mail to safety [at] bewelcome [dot] org. All reports are confidential.
Discover the Safety TeamHelp us to keep BeWelcome safe!
Each member contributes to keeping our community as safe as possible by reporting safety issues and abuse quickly in order to prevent them from spreading. If you become aware of a member abusing the services or displaying misconduct, please inform BeWelcome through the contact form or by e-mail to safety [at] bewelcome [dot] org and write a comment to warn others who interact with that person. Report spam messages by clicking on “report as abuse” above the message received.