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HelpStay.com

HelpStay.com is a work exchange platform connecting hosts with travellers who are happy to help in exchange for food and accommodation.

Travel · Founded 2014 · Ireland

Travel
Marketplace

Visit helpstay.com ↗Founder interest ↓

Can you vibecode this?

Yes

Customers pay for membership access to a vetted global network of work-exchange stays, making this a software marketplace.

Build This with Leapd →

The business

Total revenue

$400K+

Verified recently

Monthly revenue

$2K+/mo

↓ Declining · 60-day average

Peak month

~$5K

Best single month

Growth

+45%

Early months vs recent

For owners

Own HelpStay.com? List it for sale.

Founders read this page looking for a business to build like your $2K+/mo one — some would rather buy one that already works. They skip the line, you get a clean exit. $25 one-time, no commission.

Why it works

Value proposition
Connects travelers to vetted hosts offering stays in exchange for help.
Problem
Affordable international travel is hard without local connections or money.
Audience
Budget travelers and volunteers seeking work-exchange stays abroad.
Business model
Membership fees charged to helpers and hosts for platform access, billed through Stripe.

Good to knowSingle accountsGroup accountsFree ebook100+ countries

Can you vibecode this?

Yes

The whole product, with AI coding tools and public APIs.

Moat

Marketplace liquidity
Brand & trust

Why people pay HelpStay.com

HelpStay has 2,500+ screened host listings across 100+ countries built since 2014, and a vetted, reviewed community that took years to accumulate. A fresh copy starts with zero hosts and zero trust on either side.

Product complexity
Low
A two-sided marketplace with host listings, helper profiles and messaging is standard web app work.
Data
Low
All listing content is user-generated; no proprietary or licensed data sources are needed.
Integrations & infrastructure
Low
No named third-party service integrations are required beyond payments.
Human operations
Moderate
Every host is manually screened and approved by the team before going live.
Regulation / hardware
Low
A contact and membership platform carries no sector-specific licensing requirements.

Build this business

Use the build specification below with any AI coding tool, or build it directly with Leapd.

Build This with Leapd →

Leapd builds

Two-sided marketplace with host listings, helper profiles and in-platform messaging
Membership subscriptions for hosts and helpers with Stripe
Travel insurance connections
A landing page

Leapd runs

Meta ads
LinkedIn and X posts
SEO and AI-search visibility
A daily report of what shipped

Opportunity check

Passes: Proven market: $2K+/mo already paid for it
Passes: Proven model: Membership subscription for hosts and helpers
Passes: Proven need: Travelers need free stays through volunteering
Passes: Buildable: Leapd builds it end to end

build-spec.txt

Build a two-sided membership marketplace where travelers find volunteer work-exchange stays with vetted hosts worldwide, sold as recurring subscriptions.

Product:
- Helper accounts to create profiles, browse listings and contact hosts
- Host accounts to list stays with work categories, accommodation type and meal details
- Stay listings organized by category such as farming, teaching, animal rescue and hospitality
- Host application and admin approval flow before any listing goes live
- In-platform messaging between approved hosts and helpers
- Single and group account options for helpers
- Dashboard for hosts to manage listings and incoming helper requests
- Dashboard for helpers to track applications and saved stays

Billing:
- Recurring membership subscriptions for helpers and hosts, billed with Stripe.

Data:
- Stay listings and helper profiles are fully user-generated; no external data sources required.