How ChristianStays works

Nothing. Listing your space is free, browsing is free, and contacting a host is free. We don't take a commission on stays and we never handle your money.

Running the site costs very little at the moment, and we're far more interested in building a community of Christian travelers who need somewhere safe to stay. As it grows we may need funding to keep it going well — but not at this point.

To be clear about today: we don't ask for payment details at all.There's nothing to enter when you list a space, and nothing held on file. If a fee arrives later, you'll hear about it well in advance and choose for yourself whether to continue.

Directly with the host — cash, Zelle, Venmo, a check, whatever the two of you agree. Each listing shows which methods that host accepts, so you know before you arrive.

ChristianStays never handles payments and will never ask you for money. If anyone claiming to be from ChristianStays asks you to pay them, it isn't us.

Be careful about sending money before you've seen a place. Payments made by Zelle, Cash App or bank transfer generally can't be recovered, and that is exactly how rental scams work. A host who pressures you for a deposit up front is worth a second thought.

Nobody sits in the middle. There's no booking engine, no service fee, no algorithm deciding what you see. You find a place, you message the host, and the two of you sort it out like adults.

Every listing here belongs to a real person or family, not a management company running forty units. And everyone on both sides has affirmed the same faith, which doesn't replace good judgement but does mean you start with something in common.

Anyone who affirms the Christian faith and is willing to show their face and use their real name. That applies to hosts and guests alike — nobody arranges a stay here with an anonymous account.

No. When you list a space, we shift its location by a random distance of up to a mile before saving it, and guests see a wide shaded area rather than a pin on your house. Your exact address is never stored.

You share the real address yourself, with the person you've chosen, when you're ready.

Their photo, their name, whether they've affirmed the statement of faith, whatever they've written about themselves, and their message. You reply if you want to. Nothing is booked over your head, and no calendar fills up without your say-so.

Anything, but it suits longer and less ordinary journeys best — missionaries home on furlough, mission teams, families visiting a student at a Christian college, adoption or medical travel, conferences and retreats. The stays that don't fit neatly into a hotel booking.

Written reviews only — no star ratings. Numbers stop meaning anything once everyone sits between 4.6 and 5.0, and one bad score can unfairly sink a small host. Sentences are harder to game and more useful to read.

Reviews are about the space rather than the people, and only guests who have actually contacted that host through the site can write one. Hosts can reply to a review, but cannot delete it.

Because stays are arranged directly between two people, ChristianStays isn't a party to the arrangement and can't refund or enforce anything. What we can do is remove listings and accounts that abuse the community. If someone is behaving dishonestly, tell us — that's how this stays worth belonging to.