Well, we don't have very many rules, but there are a few.

1. The member information on this site is to be used only for members to contact each other about hospitality , and not for any other purpose. People have graciously given their information for the purpose of arranging hospitality.
2. The WSL is for hospitality for private individuals (or couples or very small groups) touring on bicycles. Please don't use it for other types of hospitality - for your large group of teenagers doing a cross-country ride, or for your large-group fund-raising event (even though it's for AIDS or cancer or some other fine cause).
3. Please keep your information up-to-date, and please be responsive . Every cyclist deserves to expect at least a response from each host contacted. If your information is out of date or you are not responsive, it can be very frustrating for a cyclist.
4. Please log into the site at least once every year and check your information We request that you log into the site at least once every year to check your information and update it. Accounts that get out of date will be deleted (we'll send you an email first).
5. When seeking hospitality you should contact prospective hosts in advance. And if your plans change please let your host know as soon as possible.
6. Hosts are not allowed to require any payment, and no businesses (hotels, B&B's, etc.) are accepted into membership. Guests, of course, may help out as needed and of course you can fix a meal, bring some beer, etc.
7. No commercial use at all, please, You may not use the site to promote your business.
8. Feel free to say no to any hosting request if you're uncomfortable or for any other reasons. For example, if you request notice, and someone calls you on the spur of the moment, just say "sorry, I have to have some notice, as it says on my account".
9. Minors are not allowed to use the site. Sorry, for legal and liability reasons, minors (people not of legal age) are not allowed to use the site.

We have a video How to find hosts on Warmshowers.org that summarizes the process.

In brief hospitality is typically requested by

• Finding prospective warmshowers hosts in the location you desire.
• Reading the prospective host's account to see if it fits your needs.
• Contacting the host to request hospitality -- which is usually done by email but can be done by phone.

The warmshowers website has three tools that can be used to locate members:

• An interactive map with icons representing the location of warmshowers members
• A list of warmshowers members residing in a specified country, state or province
• A search function which allows you to search for a specific town or host name.

To use these tools you will need to be logged into the warmshowers website.

To use the map:

• Click the "Map" link found in the menu on the upper left-hand side of most website pages (or go to http://www.warmshowers.org/map)
• The view that appears in the Google map will probably not show the location that you are interested in. One way to get to your desired location is to use the "country" pull-down menu and the "city/state/suburb" box on the map page. First select the country that you want and then type the first couple of letters of a city/town/suburb in your area of interest. For example to bring up Las Vegas, Nevada on the map choose "United States" from the "country" menu. Then simply typing the letters "la" will bring up a new menu in which Las Vegas appears as one of the choices.
• Two icons are used to indicate the location of warmshowers members. The red icons mean a single member resides in this location. A blue icon indicates that there are two or more members living here. If you zoom into a location with a blue icon far enough it should disintegrate into multiple red icons.
• Also on the map page you will find listed to the right (outside of the map itself) some of the names and addresses of the warmshowers members who reside in the area shown on the map. If you move your cursor over their highlighted names the map will move to center their location icon. Also a balloon pop-up appears above this icon which lists this member's name (highlighted), their address, and the phrase "Click to email".
• Clicking on the highlighted member's name will take you to their warmshowers account. Here you can read about them and the hospitality that they offer.
• Clicking on the "Click to email" link will take you to a simple email tool that you can use to send a message to this prospective host. After filling in the Subject and Message fields and then clicking "Send e-mail" the message will be sent.

To generate a list of warmshowers members in a specified region:

• Click the "List members on one page" link found in the menu on the upper left-hand side of most website pages (or go to http://www.warmshowers.org/member_list)
• On the webpage which appears select the country and then the province/state; after clicking the "Submit" button the desired list will soon appear
• This tool will allow you to go to a prospective host's warmshowers account so that you can read what they have written there. To do so simply click on the member's highlighted username which is given in the second column of the listing
• And you can also send an email to a prospective host using the same simple tool described in the map option above. This is done by clicking on the highlighted "email link" in the third column of the listing

As a prospective host it is important to respond to email from other members requesting hospitality promptly. If you are unsure whether you can host it is much better to send them a response telling them so (rather than wait until you know whether you can host or not).

When contacted by a member who requests hospitality you should read their account. If the sender used the website's email tool the message you receive will have a link to their warmshowers account. You should learn a bit about them (depending upon what they chosen to write). Some cyclists have an online website or blog listed in their account. Oftentimes a description of their tour will be given there. You can also scroll to the bottom of their account to see if they have been recommended by other members.

You can reward guests whose company you enjoyed by writing them a recommendation. A positive recommendation can make it easier for a touring cyclist to obtain hospitality from other members in the future. In the unlikely case you think others should be warned about a member, you can post a "negative recommendation". Make sure you contact us if you have serious problems, though.

Before contacting a prospective host read their warmshowers account carefully. Be aware of the hospitality that they offer as well as any restrictions that they may have. Their account may also contain other useful information posted by previous guests such as a recommendation and/or the host's responsiveness to previous requests for hospitality.

You can thank a host publicly by writing a good recommendation about them. A recommendation has the additional benefit of informing other members of the positive nature of your encounter.

The timeliness of a prospective host's response to your email requesting hospitality can be shared with other members. Please click the link on a member's page to mark them as responsive or unresponsive.