Breaking News

Latest Activities

Reviews

Roomorama - A Place to Stay for your Out-of-Country Races



Most of us runners, are so addicted to running that we even join races that are out of our hometown -- from neighboring cities, provinces, regions, Countries, or even in Countries on the other side of our planet.

I know one runner, a batch-mate from the TBR-DM 2010, who, after his first Marathon on the said event, have left us all - his Mistah - and have been joining not just races, but full 42.195Ks from almost every Country that he could visit. As of this writing, he has already completed 13 Marathons spanning across the world since May 22, 2010 (Geez, I even haven't done my 2nd Marathon yet!).

But joining races outside the Country, one must consider many things not just the choice of Country/City, Event, registration fees and the event perks, but also those that matters most to us when leaving our hometown such as:
  1. Passport (I guess this is just for me since it's been almost a year already and my passport has not arrived yet due to some circumstances)
  2. Registration Period - most of well-known races gets fully-booked within a few hours of it's opening. Some races also offers early bird's registration fees.
  3. Plane Ticket - the early we could book, the cheaper the rates of the flight that we can get.
  4. Accommodation - one of the most expensive thing that we have to consider since we can't just stay on the sidewalks.
Good thing if we have relatives or friends who will allow us to stay in their place for a few days for free or for a thrifty amount. But like me, there are many runners, I know even you, who doesn't want to give trouble to anyone (relative or not), and wants a type of accommodation where you could relax a day before the special event, and during the span of your vacation. At the same time, have a good privacy on a budget-friendly but comfortable place to stay.

So, where am I leading you? Do I have a place where I could recommend you?

Honestly, I don't have!

But luckily, we have ROOMORAMA - a website that provides short-term accommodation rentals. It was successfully established in North America and Europe and expanding into Asia and Australia, and now also reaching out here in the Philippines. Roomorama is an online marketplace that connects homeowners / property managers with travelers who are looking for a place to stay out of the tourist bubble, be it nightly, weekly or monthly. Thousands of discerning travelers, like us, use the site to get a more "feel" of the local travelling experience.

What's the difference with booking on a Hotel and Roomorama?

Basically, we all know that with the Hotel, we can book for any type of room according to our budget. We can also ask for rooms with more offerings such as a room with balcony, a small sala, or with nice view on a nearby park, etc. but that also comes with much higher price.

As for Roomorama, the concept is short-term rentals (or transients as we call it in my hometown in Baguio). The advantage is we also get to choose whether to rent just a room, or rent an apartment with its own sala, kitchen, and some with balcony or near a park where we could also get a chance to meet and greet some locals in the neighborhood. Isn't that a comfortably-nice-type of budget accommodation?

Ok, now you might be wondering if booking with Roomorama is easy, safe, and secure!

Aside from Roomorama's cool perks program (discounts and deals worldwide), if you visit Roomorama's website, you will see that navigation is very convenient, easy and user-friendly. As for the safetiness, credit card information also are not stored in their database to keep your online payment safer. Online booking with Roomorama is just like booking online for an airline flight, once you pay, you'll get a confirmation e-mail, but the payment is not released to the host until you check-in.

So, how is booking done? As easy as 1-2-3:

Step 1: Get A Room – by searching through the wide-range of available hosts that will suit your location and budget.
Step 2: Confirm - the availability, take note of the hosts' information, and book your accommodation.
Step 3: Pay - and you will get a 6-digit code that you will hand to your host upon check-in.

Roomorama Video

Now here's the most exciting part, I know that many of you have already registered at the upcoming Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon on December 4, 2011 (at na-iinggit ako!). You may have already booked your flight, but I know some of you are still having hard time to find accommodation that could accommodate your group of running colleagues.

Now I'm inviting you to get a bigger place to stay and pay much lower than the usual hotel rates with Roomorama. After booking, you will be asked with a DISCOUNT CODE, enter the code as "Runningatom" and you'll instantly get $10.00 off from your first Roomorama booking fee. Ain't it great?

What's there for me? Absolutely nothing, just tell me your stories about the race and your stay with a Roomorama host. Happy Running! :)

Here's a sample search screenshot for December 3-5, 2011, for Singapore area accommodation:


For more information, you may visit Roomorama's FAQ section.
For those worried about handing over cash to a stranger, there's Roomorama.com, which takes credit cards, offers automated booking and is more organized than Craiglist.' – The New York Times

'The model is intelligent and easy to use.' – The Globe and Mail

'Putting your own pad up for rent's a simple process, and there's no fee for doing so!' – Thrillist

'...Roomorama aim(s) to lower the risk (for short-term rentals)' - USA Today

'Roomorama is easy to use, and it does everything it can to keep the site scam-free.' – Budget Travel

'it's attracted a cult following among urban professionals, keen to get a great deal and top locations for their next city break' – Marie Claire

'Peer to Peer Rentals Beats Hotels in So Many Ways' – Treehugger

'...if eBay, Facebook and ApartmentFinder.com got together one night to make a cyber baby, they would no doubt issue forth a site like Roomorama.com' – The Chicago Tribune

6 comments:

  1. I'm so glad to see your post! Hope more people will try our roomorama. I got to know of them about 2 years ago and used them for the first time last year. it was a really cool experience. more terrifying than booking a hotel cos you dont know what to expect, but it's a really cool experience in the end! my host was v friendly and helpful too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. @Daves, hindi lang mukhang.. ok sya talaga. I believe a lot of backpackers knows about this too. :)

    @Anonymous thanks for reading my post. Yeah I was glad also that Roomorama's already here in the Phils. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. has anyone actually tried using roomorama? it sounds too good to be true! i checked out the villas in bali because my family is thinking of going there soon, and the places look super nice and they r so affordable!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Jenine,

    I haven't tried Roomorama myself yet but I "might" be able to get a homey vacation in one of their accommodation partners on December 3-5 2011 once I get my passport and book for the upcoming race in Singapore. I'll be posting a review after that.

    Meanwhile, just want to inform you also that Roomorama's principle is not new anymore in other Countries, and Roomorama even have more than 300+ worldwide partners. Many backpacker travellers actually prefer the services like that which Roomorama offers as it offers low-cost accommodation rental where you can choose from a simple/standard room, a villa, apartment, or a whole house. It's a Transient-type of rental actually.

    Should you have further questions about their services, you may drop an e-mail to Roomorama through this link: https://roomorama.assistly.com/customer/widget/emails/new

    ReplyDelete
  5. hey jenine,

    just like runningatom has assured you, i'm here to assure you that roomorama is genuine. it's a really cool concept i must say, who would have thought this type of stay is possible. it's a growing thing especially among teens and 20-somethings, and i really really like this idea. i first booked with rooomorama 2 years ago and this concept was pretty much unheard of, so i was afraid, but im one to take chances. it turned out great, i saved lots of money and used it on shopping instead.

    also, i heard that the owner of roomorama (i think her name is miss jia en teo) even has a place up for rent on the site when she's travelling. way cool, dont u think? i hope u and your family get to try our roomorama. it's the best thing ive discovered about travel in a while!

    ReplyDelete

Share a space of your lane...

Enter your e-mail to receive updates from RunningAtom

Subscribe to RunningAtom

Fitness

Health

The Other Side of my Cerebro

Poetry

Short Story

Technology

Contact Form

Name

Email *

Message *

Designed By Blogger Templates