Background
Here’s a brief history of how it all came about…
My name is Peter and in March 2008 I decided that I needed a change of scenery. My work had ended as a DVD Product Manager (maternity cover) and I knew I wanted to break free from the shackles of office life. In fact what I really wanted was to:
- be able to work for myself – as and when it was needed; not as the office stipulated.
- to be free to work anywhere in the world – for this, the internet was an obvious choice, followed by hair dressing or tax collecting!?
- not to have to do too much work…
- to have more time to do good things with my life.
I was looking for a career that would enable me the freedom to travel and the flexibility to work as required rather than as the office hours dictated. I’d be happy to compromise but it’s a good start to aim for the stars!
However, with a history of inventions explored and business ideas examined I was not ready to rush into yet another time wasting exercise. But that all changed thanks to my friend Pun (pixelpimp.co.uk) who was hugely positive about the idea and gave me the push I needed to get the ball rolling. But first – how did the idea come about?
The Catalyst
Given the amount of travel that I’ve done I’m still surprisingly bad at it. I think though, to be fair, I love the journey so much that the destination can almost be forgotten. Modern life is a constant stream of rules and regulations and I’m not a fan. Travel suspends this reality offering random glimpses of worlds unknown as you rush towards your destination. The journey is a great place to be – alive and receptive to the world!
Anyway, at the start of ‘08 I found myself in Lyon airport. I’d been there before, with others and we’d hired a car to get to Les Arc in the French Alps. I’d also taken the train directly from Paris and London. This time though I hadn’t even thought beyond the airport! I imagined there’d be a train directly to Bourge Saint Mauritz but I was wrong. I needed to catch a bus for 40 minutes into Lyon and from there I could catch the train. Sadly though, the last train pulled out as I pulled in!
I asked an assistant about trains and he suggested there might be one from Geneva. I headed to the platform and this French girl who’d over heard my conversation came rushing along the platform to inform my that I was out of luck – 8pm was too late for trains from Geneva. What was I going to do she asked…Well, “I’ll probably get a hotel for the night and catch the 7am train. No problem.’ I answered.
To my surprise she said – “if you wait 10 minutes my sister is arriving on the train from Geneva and you can possibly stay with us. I’ll have to check with my flatmate but does that sound ok?”…ok – brilliant – yes!
As we took the tram through Lyon, Rebbecca told me that her flat mate was really freaked out that she and her sister were bringing home a stranger. In her defence she said I was ok because – “he’s carrying skis!”. Great – I love the logic!
Anyway, we ate well and chatted about our very different backgrounds and we all had a great time. I left in the morning with a really good memory of Lyon and a nice experience of French life.
Lyon - a surprising place!A few months later I thought about going to Barcelona but the cost of a hotel made the whole thing prohibitively expensive. I thought about the girls who’d helped me out in France and the idea struck me that a ‘friends of friends’ accommodation network could be really helpful and an attractive proposition to many, so the idea was born.
The end of my work loomed as did a knee operation – both afforded me the time to invest in this project and now many months down the line it’s almost ready for all to enjoy. I hope you do and if you don’t then please let me know what can be done to improve the service.
Remember the main site: www.MyFriendsHotel.com, the Forum, Weblinks and this Blog will all benefit from your considered input….so don’t be a stranger.
Best wishes to all and happy travelling!
Peter
