这一切就是旅行网站Winston Club的奇思妙想。不仅为酒店解决了房间空置问题,半价也吸引了不少游客拼房入住。网站创始人Bryon Shannon在自己外出旅行时,曾在Airbnb上出租自己位于西雅图的家,当时他脑海中就有了这个想法。他可不想支付高昂的房费,但也不想随便找一间招待所或者在Airbnb找一间屋子将就一晚。他相信很多人都有这样的困扰。
况且,也不是所有人都介意和陌生人拼房这事儿。Shannon发现,反而很多人都乐于见到这样的服务。当然,别想歪了,这可不是秘密约会,也不是线上约炮哦。Shannon表示,不少旅游爱好者、学生和自由职业者都对拼酒店表示出了浓厚的兴趣。和陌生人同住对于独自出行的孤寡老人和退休人士而言,也是一个不错的选择。
在Shannon看来,Winston Club的定位是“旅行代理”。网站分别与酒店及游客取得联系,并从房费中获取一小部分的手续费。但游客浏览网站、查询酒店的过程中无需支付任何费用。网站也会核实游客身份,防止身份盗用的情况发生,确保游客能安全拼房,快乐旅行。
注册用户需要与网站进行第三方视频认证,并提供五种身份证明,包括社交网络概况、手机号码、信用卡账号、邮箱地址及带有个人照片的身份证。Shannon认为这是“最有效的个人身份认证方式”。
用户注册成功后就可更新个人的年龄、性别、职业、兴趣及同住偏好等个人资料,并以此为参考,自行筛选拼房用户。
3月起,Winston Club网站的拼酒店服务将对公众开放,5座城市(西雅图、旧金山、洛杉矶、波特兰、拉斯维加斯)中共有12家四星级以上的酒店与网站建立了合作关系。Winston Club网站上这样写道:“根据用户的喜好,会有更多新城市加入到我们的行列。”
如果你还是不放心,Shannon也有话说:“所有背景资料均经过配对,一切如顶级酒店一般安全可靠…事实上,这是最安全的拼房形式。”
会员5864:好评
The hotel is situated in a really old shanty pocket of Shanghai, but conveniently close to Sichuan North Road commercial area (shopping) and the former art district (culture including Luxun Museum etc.) and lines 4 (SH railway station convenient) and 10(?); through the latter one may reach line 2 with ease. The hotel is suitably clean for a local establishment though many of the appliances and cupboards are functionally sub-par. I stayed 2 nights and the cleaning service never came even when I asked for it which was amazing as I think I was the only guest at the hotel that time. The front desk staff are constantly asleep or look annoyed when you ask them for things (ie. cleaning service or whatever). The TV had horrible static though the internet was pretty fast. Overall, this is a hotel with a lot of potential (old building with a lot of original structures), but suffers from bad housekeeping and unprofessional general management and staff training.
会员1924:好评
服务一般,酒店设施尚可,可以住住。
会员8055:好评
很不错,很有老上海的感觉