Founder Story
At GlobeSisters, we empower women-identifying folks to travel.
The creation of GlobeSisters was inspired by founder Pauline André’s past experience as a homestay platform user for over 10 years.
As a host, she found great joy in connecting with people from all over the world. “It’s a good way to open your mind, learn about new cultures, practice a new language, try new meals, and meet an amazing new person.”
As a traveler, Pauline primarily used homestay services when traveling abroad. She found homestays to be a uniquely powerful travel experience, as it allowed her to become fully immersed in the local culture without breaking the bank.
Last year, Pauline set a new challenge for herself: to bicycle across Bolivia and Chile for 6 months and meet local entrepreneurs. In order to better understand the local culture and share social interactions, she did homestays on a daily basis.
One night, a male host made uncomfortable advances toward her. He got drunk and started to become violent, insisting that she sleeps in his bed with him. He locked her in his apartment, but she managed to escape through the window and save her life.
After that traumatic experience, Pauline stopped doing homestays completely. When she realized that a lot of women had similar experiences or never even considered homestays because of safety issues, she realized that she had an important mission… to build a safe homestay community for women!
Hear more about Pauline's story.
