Social Networking Your Way Across the World

It's been a hectic week and while a lot has happened in the news over the past few days (Steve Jobs Iphone 4 conference, the plug in the BP oil spill) i've decided not to write about them.  Instead, I want to write about the new wave of travel sites and the hospitality industry's evolution over the past year or so.

This morning, while munching on a raspberry scone and drinking my ice coffee, I perused the travel section of the New York Times and stumbled on a very interesting article, "Europe Without Hotels."  The article describes the new wave of traveling for many--social networking and using sites, such as http://www.airbnb.com/ and http://www.crashpadder.com/ (newly referred to as 'Social B & B's).  These sites enable travelers to stay at locals' apartments with the comforts of "home" and a much smaller price tag.  As the article mentions, "these sites rely on social networking and everyone is encourage to have a 'back story and a face."

Personally, I find the idea of "Social B & B's" brilliant.  Who wouldn't want to stay at a nice apartment right near the Louvre for cheap?  From experience, I remember that when I was traveling across Europe it would have been nice to stay a place a little bit more "homey" instead of moving from hostel to hotel to hostel.  I hope more industries follow lead and take to social networking to revolutionize their business models.

My question to you all is: would you stay at a Social B & B?  I know I would.