Agency lets you share hotel room with a stranger to save money

A new booking agency called The Winston Club is offering travellers the opportunity to book hotel rooms at just 50 per cent of their cost, Fox News reports. But, there’s a catch – they have to be willing to share the room with complete strangers.

“We started Winston Club because we felt there should be an easy way for people to connect when they’d like a low-cost way to access the comfort and convenience of a hotel,” said founder Byron Shannon. “We wanted a safe, reliable, economical solution that provided a better experience than hostels or CouchSurfing alternatives.”

Byron said that he came up with the idea after he listed his own property on Airbnb when he was out of town for two days. “(My guest) needed to stay there for three nights, and I was only going to be out of town for two,” he said. “I assumed it couldn’t be too difficult to find another host downtown for me to spend one night at.”

“I set out looking for a low cost option. I messaged a few clean, close Airbnb spots I could find, and had no success. I certainly didn’t want to dish out $150 or $200 on a hotel room,” he added. “Frustrated, I wondered why there wasn’t a way for me to split the cost of a room with someone else at one of the nice hotels nearby. There were plenty of open rooms available, and surely a good portion of them had two beds.”

Later, Byron met with a friend who worked at a hotel, talked about his vision, and came up with the idea of getting random strangers together to share the cost of expensive hotel rooms. He eventually worked out the details, and is all set to launch the service in select cities along America’s West Coast – Seattle, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Portland.

Safety is naturally a top concern, but Byron assures everyone that his screening procedure is quite stringent. “Safety is a top priority and it goes right along with ensuring we have a well-vetted community of members,” he explained.