The Roavi Blog
Stories from people who live there.
Travel tips, city guides, and local insights from the Roavi team.
1173 articles
Travel Tips
How to Hire Someone to Go to the Gym With: a Paid Workout Partner Versus a Personal Trainer (What Each Costs and Does), Where to Find One (RentAFriend, Roavi, Your Gym's Board), What to Agree Before the First Session, and Why Paying for Accountability Works (2026)
You do not need a trainer. You need someone waiting at the door at 6:30 so you actually show up. A paid workout partner is cheaper than a trainer, does a different job, and is one of the most common things people hire platonic company for. Here is what it costs against a trainer, where to find one, and what to agree before the first session.
Oscar Garcia··4 min read
Travel Tips
How to Hire a Dinner Companion on a Business Trip: What Paid Platonic Dinner Company Costs, Where to Find Someone in US Cities and Abroad (and Why It Works Better Abroad), How to Book It from a Hotel Room at 4pm, What to Expect at the Table, Expensing It, and the Boundaries (2026)
Third night in a city you do not know, the meetings are done, and the choice is room service again or a table for one. Hiring someone who lives there to have dinner with you is a normal, platonic, fifteen-year-old thing to do, and it is the one case where the person across the table is also the best guide to the city you have. Here is what it costs, where to find someone, how to book it the same afternoon, and the rules.
Oscar Garcia··4 min read
Travel Tips
How to Hire Someone to Hang Out With: Why It Is a Normal Thing to Do (New in Town, Working Remote, Just Lonely), What It Costs, Where to Find Someone (RentAFriend, Roavi, and the Free Routes), What to Actually Ask For So It Goes Well, and the Rules That Keep It Simple (2026)
You moved for a job, you work from home, your friends are in another city, and you would like to go to a museum or a game or just a bar with another person. Paying someone to hang out with you is a normal thing that tens of thousands of people in the United States do, and it is not sad. Here is what it costs, where to find someone, what to ask for so the afternoon actually works, and the rules.
Oscar Garcia··4 min read
Comparisons
How Much Does RentAFriend Cost in 2026? The Membership (About $24.95 a Month or $69.95 a Year), the Friend's Hourly Rate on Top, Who Pays for What on the Outing, Whether It Is Worth It, and How to Do the Same Thing Without the Membership
RentAFriend has two prices and most people only find out about the second one after paying the first. The membership, reported at about $24.95 a month or $69.95 a year, is what lets you message anyone. The friend's hourly rate, which they set themselves, is on top, paid in cash, plus whatever the outing costs. Here is the full bill for a typical evening, and how to skip the membership.
Oscar Garcia··4 min read
Comparisons
RentAFriend Review 2026: What It Is, How It Works for Hirers and for Friends, What It Costs, the Three Complaints That Come Up in Every Review, the Things It Does Well, Safety, and Who It Is Actually Right For
RentAFriend has run since 2009, lists hundreds of thousands of friends, and invented the category. That is the good news. The rest of the review is the same three complaints in every forum: a membership before you can send a message, thin replies outside the biggest cities, and a site that feels dated and, to some, dating-adjacent. Here is the fair version, from a competitor who says so up front.
Oscar Garcia··5 min read
Comparisons
Is RentAFriend Legit and Safe in 2026? A Real Business Since 2009, Strictly Platonic by Its Rules, No Background Checks, Cash Payment: the Risks for Hirers and for Friends, the Red Flags, and How to Use It (or Any Paid-Company Platform) Safely
RentAFriend is legitimate: a real US business since 2009, with a real membership that really unlocks messaging. The safety question is different and the answer is 'it depends on you', because the site is a directory with no background checks and cash payment. Here is what is real, what is not, the risks for each side, the red flags, and the rules that keep paid company safe anywhere.
Oscar Garcia··5 min read
Become a Local Friend
Listed on RentAFriend and Not Getting Messages? Why It Happens (Only Paying Members Can Write to You, and They Concentrate in a Few Cities), 8 Fixes for Your Profile That Actually Move the Needle, How to Use Public Requests, and Where Else to List for Free Without a Paywall Between You and the People Booking
You listed on RentAFriend weeks ago, your profile is good, and nothing. It is the most common complaint from friends on the site and it is mostly not about you: only paying members can message, and they concentrate in a handful of cities. Here is what you can fix in your profile, how to use public requests instead of waiting, and where else to list for free so you are not depending on one site.
Oscar Garcia··4 min read
Travel Tips
Hire a Friend Near Me: What Paid Platonic Company Costs in US Cities, Where to Look (RentAFriend, Roavi, and the Rest), What a Paid Friend Does and Does Not Do, How to Write the First Message, and How to Meet Safely (2026)
You want someone to go to the gym with, a plus-one for a wedding, a dinner companion on a work trip, or a person who knows the city you just moved to. Paid platonic company is a real, legal, fifteen-year-old category in the United States. Here is what it costs city by city, where to look, what a paid friend will and will not do, how to write the first message, and how to meet safely.
Oscar Garcia··5 min read
Comparisons
Is There a Free Alternative to RentAFriend? What Is Actually Free on Each Platform (Browsing, Messaging, Listing), What You Still Pay (the Friend's Rate and the Outing), Where the Free Options Have Real Listings Today, and the Honest Trade-Offs (2026)
People search for a free alternative to RentAFriend for one reason: they do not want to pay a membership before finding out whether anyone will reply. The friend's own rate is not the problem; the paywall is. Here is what is actually free on each platform, what you still pay everywhere, and where the free options have enough listings to be worth your time today, including where they do not.
Oscar Garcia··3 min read
City Guides · Orlando
Things to Do in Orlando: the Theme Parks Done Well, Then the Springs, Manatees, Kennedy Space Center, Winter Park, Mills 50 and the Beach (2026)
Most people see Orlando through a theme park gate and fly home. The parks are worth it, if you plan them well. But the city around them has springs as clear as glass, manatees in winter, rockets on the coast and some of the best Vietnamese food in Florida.
Oscar Garcia··4 min read
Travel Tips · Puerto Plata
Where to Stay in Puerto Plata: Playa Dorada for the Resort, the Old Town for the City, Sosúa for the Bay, Cabarete for the Kites, Cofresí and Costambar for Quiet, by the Trip You Are Making, With 2026 Prices (2026)
Puerto Plata is a real city with a coast of small towns beside it, and where you sleep decides whether your week is a resort, a town, a bay or a beach with two hundred kites over it. Playa Dorada, the old town, Sosúa, Cabarete, Cofresí and Costambar, with what each one is for, the minutes between them, and 2026 prices.
Oscar Garcia··5 min read
Travel Tips · Puerto Plata
Puerto Plata Nightlife: the Malecón at Sunset, the Bars of the Old Town, Cabarete's Bars on the Sand, Sosúa Honestly, the Car-Wash Bars and the Colmadón Where Locals Go, Which Night, Prices and Getting Home (2026)
Puerto Plata's night is not one place: it is the Malecón at sunset, the bars of the old town, Cabarete's bars on the sand thirty-five minutes east, Sosúa's strip (which deserves an honest paragraph), and the colmadón and car-wash bars where people from here actually go. Here is each one, which night of the week, 2026 prices and how to get home.
Oscar Garcia··5 min read