There's no such thing as a free lunch ...

To me, the network of 'Vrienden op de Fiets' is a better alternative. You stay with private people, you share their bathroom and you pay something to cover the breakfast and the fresh sheets. And at least, you stay in a real bed. Quite important if you're not anylonger a twentysomething and need to be fresh for the next day. Every year, all the hosts in the booklet are contacted by the organisation by phone, to hear how everything goes, and if there are complaints from guests, hosts are removed.

By the way, if you'd like to host cyclists this way, fill in the form 'Aanmelden overnachtingsadres' on their website. If you do so before the 1st of september, you will get mentioned in the 2010 booklet. Except for the Netherlands, Belgium, the number of hosts is still rather limited.

http://www.vriendenopdefiets.nl