HelpStay

What HelpStay does

HelpStay Limited, incorporated in Dublin, Ireland in February 2014, operates HelpStay.com — a curated, membership-based online marketplace that connects volunteer travellers ("helpers") with vetted hosts offering free or low-cost food and accommodation in exchange for a few hours of daily help. The platform lists 2,500+ stays across 100+ countries, ranging from private farms and family homes to hostels, NGOs, and schools; hosts are manually screened and approved by the team. Underlying technology is a standard web platform with cookie-based sessions, an integrated credit-card booking flow, profile and messaging functionality, category-based search, and a separate WordPress blog (helpstay.com/journal); the company also publishes a publicly viewable traffic dashboard via Simple Analytics and operates three sister domains (FreeVolunteering.net, HippoHelp.com, LiveAbroad.com) targeting adjacent sub-segments.

HelpStay monetizes through three streams: (1) annual helper membership subscriptions at €42.99 or €51.99 per year, auto-renewing via PayPal or bank transfer; (2) a 12.5% credit-card handling/booking deposit applied to fee-charging host stays, with the balance paid directly to the host on arrival; and (3) an invite-only €15 affiliate commission for travel bloggers/influencers plus affiliate referral codes for insurance partners SafetyWing and Genki. Distribution is entirely self-serve web — no mobile app, no public API, no third-party resellers — supplemented by content marketing through the HelpStay Journal, an active Facebook Volunteering Abroad Community group (~17,000+ members), a Reddit presence, a weekly newsletter, and SEO across the four-domain portfolio.

The company is self-funded by a four-person distributed team across Ireland, Poland, Chile, and Albania under founder Shay Gleeson, with only a single nominal external round of approximately $30,000 disclosed in 2017. Customer concentration is highly diffuse across individual helpers and SMB/micro hosts; AI/ML capabilities are absent; and growth has been steady but deliberately sub-scale, consistent with a bootstrapped lifestyle-business operating profile rather than a venture-backed marketplace.

Name

HelpStay

Legal name

HelpStay Limited

Website

https://helpstay.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

HelpStay is a curated, membership-based online marketplace founded in 2014 that connects volunteer travellers with vetted hosts offering free or low-cost food and accommodation in exchange for a few hours of daily help across 100+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Volunteer Travel Marketplace

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Help Supply Services (7363)

akta.pro primary industry

Service Desk & Help Desk Services (BPAEAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Helpdesk & End-User Support Services (BPAEABAB)

Keywords

• Volunteer abroad platform
• Help exchange marketplace
• Work exchange stays
• Free accommodation volunteering
• International volunteer matching

Headquarters

HQ city

Dublin

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Annual helper membership subscriptions: Recurring annual membership fee paid by volunteer helpers (€42.99 or €51.99 per year). Membership auto-renews annually; cancellation by email at least 15 days before renewal date, with a 5-day refund window. No statutory cooling-off period; product is exempt from refunds due to immediate nature.
2. Booking/transaction handling fee: A 12.5% handling fee (booking deposit) of the overall project fee is collected by HelpStay when booking a host project that charges fees. Paid by credit card; the balance is paid by the helper directly to the host on arrival.
3. Affiliate referral commissions: Invite-only €15 commission paid to travel bloggers/influencers for referrals that convert to paying HelpStay membership within 60 days.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

HelpStay is a curated, membership-based online marketplace that connects volunteer travelers ("helpers") with hosts in 100+ countries who offer free food and accommodation in exchange for a few hours of daily help. Helpers pay an annual subscription (€42.99 or €51.99) and a 12.5% booking-handling deposit on fee-charging host projects; hosts list and accept helpers free of charge after a manual screening and approval workflow. The platform also operates sister properties (FreeVolunteering.net, HippoHelp.com, LiveAbroad.com) and a content Journal targeting the same help-exchange audience.

Product overview

HelpStay is a single unified help-exchange marketplace product (helpstay.com) augmented by a portfolio of named sub-products and add-on modules owned by HelpStay Limited, an Irish-registered company. The core product — HelpStay — is a curated, membership-based platform where travellers ("helpers") connect with hosts offering free food and accommodation in 100+ countries in exchange for a few hours of daily help. Around this core sit several satellite products: editorial and content modules including the HelpStay Journal (a "Volunteering Abroad Blog"), the free HelpStay eBook "Volunteering Abroad?", and the HelpStay Reviews & Feedback System; monetization modules including paid HelpStay Membership Plans (€42.99 or €51.99 per year) and the HelpStay Booking System with 12.5% handling deposits for fee-charging hosts; and a network of sister properties operated by HelpStay Limited — FreeVolunteering.net, HippoHelp.com, and LiveAbroad.com — that extend the platform's reach into adjacent verticals (free volunteering, work exchange, and living abroad). The Invite-only HelpStay Affiliate Programme extends reach via travel bloggers and influencers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HelpStay.com: Primary help-exchange platform owned and operated by HelpStay Limited, connecting hosts with travelers offering help in exchange for free food and accommodation.
• FreeVolunteering.net
• HippoHelp.com
• LiveAbroad.com

Products and services

• HelpStay core platform (helpstay.com) Curated, membership-based online marketplace that connects volunteer travellers ("helpers") with hosts worldwide who offer free food and accommodation in exchange for a few hours of help per day. Lists 2,500+ stays across 100+ countries; hosts are manually screened and approved; helpers pay annual membership and a 12.5% booking handling deposit on fee-charging projects.
• FreeVolunteering.net Sister digital property owned and operated by HelpStay Limited, focused on surfacing free volunteering opportunities abroad and extending the HelpStay ecosystem.
• HippoHelp.com Sister digital property owned and operated by HelpStay Limited, focused on work-exchange travel and living with locals.
• LiveAbroad.com Sister digital property owned and operated by HelpStay Limited, promoting opportunities to live abroad for free.
• HelpStay annual membership subscription Paid annual membership (€42.99 or €51.99 per year, payable via PayPal or bank transfer in euros) granting helpers unlimited access to message hosts, browse opportunities and apply for stays; auto-renews annually with a 15-day cancellation notice and a 5-day refund window.
• HelpStay booking and 12.5% handling fee Booking flow for fee-charging hosts where accepted helpers pay a 12.5% credit-card handling deposit (booking deposit) to HelpStay to reserve their place, with a PDF receipt to present on arrival; balance of host fees is paid directly to the host on arrival in cash.
• HelpStay invite-only affiliate programme Invite-only affiliate programme for travel bloggers/influencers offering a €15 commission on all payments for referrals to HelpStay that convert within 60 days.
• HelpStay Travel Insurance partner widget (SafetyWing & Genki) Embedded partner widgets for Genki (euros) and SafetyWing (US dollars) travel/medical insurance surfaced on host stay pages and the Travel Insurance page via HelpStay referral IDs, enabling helpers to obtain insurance quotes during booking.

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 2,500 volunteer-stay projects listed across 100+ countries
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability1 record

Feature4 records

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Workaway: Workaway is the largest and most-established help-exchange platform, connecting travellers with hosts in 170+ countries for work in exchange for accommodation. Directly competes with HelpStay on the same two-sided marketplace mechanic and member-paid model, with a much larger listing inventory and active mobile apps.
• Worldpackers: Worldpackers is a volunteer/work-exchange platform focused on hostels, NGOs and sustainable projects worldwide. Closely comparable business model (host listings, volunteer subscriptions, verified profiles) but with stronger positioning in Latin America and a heavier mobile-first product experience.
• WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms): WWOOF is a global network of national organisations linking volunteers with organic farms. Comparable to HelpStay's Farming & Homesteads category and helps understand the same volunteer-stay mechanic, though WWOOF is federation-based and primarily focused on organic agriculture.
• HelpX: HelpX is a help-exchange network listing host families, farms, hostels and sailing boats worldwide. Competes directly with HelpStay on the same volunteer-in-exchange-for-stay mechanic with a subscription-based membership model.
• Staydu: Staydu is a volunteer/work-exchange marketplace connecting travellers with hosts globally. Operates an essentially identical two-sided marketplace model and is a head-to-head competitor in the same niche as HelpStay.
• Volunteering Solutions: Volunteering Solutions is a paid volunteer-abroad placement agency operating in 25+ countries. Comparable in destination and volunteer-programme type, though it operates the placement-agency model that HelpStay explicitly positions against on price.

Emerging players

• Go Overseas: Go Overseas is a reviews-and-listings platform for volunteer, teach and work-abroad programmes. Adjacent competitor — covers the same user intent but aggregates paid programmes rather than operating a true work-exchange marketplace.
• Idealist: Idealist is a nonprofit job and volunteer-opportunity listing platform with millions of users. Comparable audience (purpose-driven travellers and volunteers) but distinct mechanic — nonprofit postings rather than stay-for-help exchanges.

Regional players

• Workaway Brasil / Worldpackers Brazil: Regional variants of major help-exchange platforms. Comparable mechanics but explicitly targeted at South American hosts and travellers — a geography HelpStay serves but does not specialise in.
• BookSurfHost: Smaller help-exchange-style platform with a comparable volunteer-in-exchange-for-accommodation model but a more limited geographic footprint and inventory scale than HelpStay.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HelpStay
• Facebookfacebook.com/helpstay
• Instagraminstagram.com/alexandriaronzio
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/helpstay

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HelpStay