Booking accommodation in a destination you’ve never visited can prompt an online investigation into maps, travel blogs and, predominately, guesswork. Then, once you’ve chosen your hotel, finding places to eat, drink, wander and relax – away from the overpriced tourist traps – is often your next challenge.

People Like Us is the brainchild of Drew Seitam, who decided to swap home with a group of friends, to see another corner of the world a little more closely. From there, he launched an online community of house-swappers, which he had little idea would become a global network in less than a year.

The difference with his house-swapping site, Drew explains is the like-minded nature of those hoping to temporarily skip town and open their homes to others.

“We have found that there’s a certain spirit amongst our community of
home-swappers,” says Drew. “I have been overwhelmed at the kindness, trust and warmth we’ve seen all over the world. I feel like it’s a big global family”.

The People Like Us site is centred on the idea of connecting those with common values, rather than simply by where they want to go. This way, food lovers can share insights into their locality, and adventurers can exchange hiking tracks, for instance. You can choose to be immersed in the foreign culture for a few months, or just escape to the wilderness for a weekend.

Now, hundreds of home, in more than 40 countries have joined the People Like Us community on Facebook and via the website. And, unlike booking a stay in someone’s home, in this system the trust is a mutual exchange.

Drew says, “it’s more than just a holiday, as you get to really understand foreign cultures and experience how the locals live. You also expand your friendship group. I have friends now all over the world in places I hardly knew existed and they are all people like me!”