”A solo traveler’s dream: a fully private Paris apartment for the price of a hostel sofa, with seamless booking, local insider tips, and a host who turns a trip into an unforgettable adventure.”
Viridiana Alvarez describes herself as an ambitious dreamer — someone for whom it matters deeply that what she does in life matches the life she actually wants to live. That search for balance shows up in everything she does. Including how she travels.
At work, she's the person with the checklist. Organized, structured, reliable — what she calls her "Virgo side." But when she travels, she becomes a different person. Checklists are swapped for spontaneity, curiosity, and a hunger for whatever's around the next corner. She's the traveler who sees an interesting side street and goes in to explore. Who went to Madrid to understand Mexican history. Who returned to Paris for a third time to ask herself: Could I actually live here?
She's both people. And StayingBee was built for both of them.
For the organized one: the booking was seamless
When she first discovered StayingBee through mutual LinkedIn connections, her initial reaction was intrigue. It looked serious and structured. Nothing like Couchsurfing, which she'd always avoided — safety is her non-negotiable when traveling alone.
Her first booking was in Paris, a city she’d visited before. She did have one hesitation this time around: her host’s building was so tall it didn't show up on Google Street View. But everything from that point on was reassuring.
Stephanie, her host, was thorough in a way that Viridiana's organized side deeply appreciated. She sent detailed instructions by email in advance, left the keys at a nearby restaurant, and made clear that the apartment would be entirely Viridiana's for the stay. Every question had been answered before she even thought to ask it. She felt relieved.
For the curious one: the experience went far beyond a place to sleep
Stephanie had prepared a personalized recommendation booklet — reminiscent of the new starter packs Viridiana used to put together during her AIESEC days — that gave her an insider's look into the real Paris. Local restaurants, quiet parks, neighborhoods that aren’t filled with tourists. It was exactly the kind of knowledge Viridiana travels to find, put together by someone who actually lived there.
She spent the trip eating where locals eat. Experiencing a city she thought she already knew, all over again.
And then there was the connection. Stephanie had been an AIESEC member since 2004. Viridiana joined over a decade later. Yet it turned out they had both worked and attended conferences in Ecuador — an unexpected thread of shared history. Two people from different eras of the same community, meeting in Paris, feeling immediately at ease with each other.
It wasn't transactional. It felt human.
For the value-conscious one: the price was surprising (in a good way)
For the entire apartment in central Paris (all to herself), she paid roughly the same as a sofa bed in a nearby hostel. Using StayingBee for this solo-trip was a no-brainer.
Who is StayingBee actually for?
That's the thing Viridiana's story makes clear. It isn't just for one type of traveler.
It's for the planner who wants to know exactly what they're walking into. It's for the explorer who wants to go deeper than the tourist trail. It's for the solo traveler who wants their own space but doesn't want to feel alone in a new city. It's for anyone who believes that where you stay shapes the entire trip — and that the person who hands you the keys can make all the difference.
For solo trips, she'd choose StayingBee every time. Hotels are for work. Airbnb is for convenience. But when she wants to actually experience a place?
She wants a host who understands why she's there and who can make the trip more memorable than she planned.
Take the BeeAvatar quiz to find your travel personality, and the host that matches it.
Viridiana Alvarez is an independent consultant originally from Mexico, who has lived in Panama and Madrid. A former StayingBee BeeKeeper, she helped lead the platform's expansion into Latin America.
