In early 2001, Ramon Stoppelenburg came up with an idea that thousands of travelers wish they’d thought of first. He created a Web site on which he asked a simple question: Can I stay at your place for a night or two? The response has been overwhelming. Thousands of strangers from more than 65 countries have invited Stoppelenburg into their automobiles, apartments, pubs and homes. Travel companies have flown him around the world for free. Television shows clamor to have him as a guest. Sponsors give him gadgets. He’s the Internet’s first travel celebrity.

Stoppelenburg left his home in the Netherlands on May 1, 2001 and has since traveled extensively through 15 countries. In that time he’s spent only $35 of his own money, and that was for his domain name, LetMeStayForADay.com. I caught up with him via e-mail in Australia, where, besides chronicling his daily adventures on his Web site, he’s weighing a visit to that country’s Big Brother house. 

World Hum: Your project has struck a nerve, inspiring people around the world to open their homes to a stranger. Why do you think people have responded so enthusiastically?

I don’t know. It’s the same as asking “Why do people watch Big Brother and why do people want to join that game?” My project is about hospitality and proof that there is still goodwill inside people. It tells the story you don’t read about in the media, as you only hear bad stories about hitchhikers getting killed or other things. People don’t always realize there is a real world out there that is also nice and easy going.

Is this something that you began to realize when you began traveling or is it something you’ve always believed?

For me it is a common sense thing. People are good. Am I impressed by all this goodness? No, absolutely not! If this human goodwill would impress me something is very wrong with the world we live in. It should be very normal! Sometimes I am more impressed with the fact that others are so amazed by it. It opens eyes and I am very happy with that. One of the things I have realized during my travels is how people are so much attached to whatever they see on TV or read in the newspapers. Some people believe anything. I believe that more people should know just a little bit more about the world we live in and the people who inhabit it. We are all the same. We all live life, work and go shopping—only sometimes you have different cultures. Some are very advanced and have the shopping mall around the corner, others make their food themselves, but it doesn’t make anybody any different.

What inspired you to begin the project?

I always wanted to travel but I always thought I’d need a lot of money. And if you need money you need to work, and that’s just something I don’t really support. I just found another way to make a living. I don’t live on others, I live this life thanks to others. We share things.

What kinds of things do you share?

Every person I stay with teaches me about his or her background. What they’ve done, what their dreams are. And, of course, every host wants to know something about me and where I come from and how the situation is in my country. You share the information that you normally don’t get to by simply watching TV or reading the newspaper.

What are the secrets to being a good guest? What are the responsibilities of a guest?

Be yourself. Have manners. Be honest. Be polite. I guess my parents did a great job with me.

How do most people you meet on the road react to you? Are they happy to see you? Are they jealous? Scared?

They are commonly jealous, but I think when they have really seen the Web site in total they admire the situation more. I don’t think anyone can just do the thing I do every day. It’s hard. I have to be a guest every day. There’s no time for headaches. You can’t have a bad mood day, because the hosts will be terribly disappointed. On the other hand I have to be some kind of an example for people who want to travel and stay with people they don’t know. It’s a way of telling people: It’s okay, I am not an ax murderer.

What do you do to cope when you’re feeling overwhelmed?

I can’t control it so I just let it come over me. It’s like swimming in a river. The water keeps coming. If I don’t want to swim, I should get out of that river, shouldn’t I? I also write my updates for the Web site every day away from everybody, and maybe that is my remedy.

You write on your Web site that you plan to write a book about your travels. What’s going to be in it?

I hope to share as much as possible in the book, but I can hardly have all daily reports published in it. It will become a choice of the most intriguing stories, funny ones and mysterious ones. You can learn so incredibly much during simple traveling. I just want to write as much of that down and try to share it as much as possible with others.

What kind of books have you been reading on the road?

I love travel stories, basically because I am in the middle of writing one everyday. It’s sometimes inspiring and funny to read along the way. I don’t have much time, but when I can I love to sit and just read a book. On the site I recommend some that I have read and are just a pleasure to read.

How do you decide where you’re going?

Simple. Every invite in a country becomes a dot on my map and where there are enough dots, I might be able to make a route around. There is absolutely no standard system whatsoever. I often don’t know where I’ll be in two weeks.

Do you organize everything or do you have help?

I do everything myself. I have a backup team at home who help me out with technical Web site stuff—if something doesn’t work—and some advisers. But I maintain the Web site myself and decide where I go.

How long do you plan to travel?

At the moment I have over 3,200 invites from 67 countries. If I visit 25 percent of the places, just calculate a bit…

Oh, I’m not so good at math, but it sounds like a lot. You’d better get going. Enjoy Australia and thanks for the interview.

You’re welcome, mate!

Michael Yessis is the co-editor of World Hum. All photos copyright Ramon Stoppelenburg.