Workaway FAQ

FAQ for: Workawayers | Hosts

How do I reset my password?

Just enter your email address in the "forgot your password" link in the login box and click on "Reset password." You will instantly receive an email containing a link to reset your password. Make sure you enter the email address that you used to register your profile on the site! ;)

Can I change my email address or name?

To change your email address, make sure you are signed in to your profile then go to "My settings" accessible via your circular profile picture. If you are signed in you can use this link: Change my email address

I can´t log in

Please check the following:

That you are logging-in with the correct box, either the green workawayer or blue host box.
That you are typing the correct username and password.
That you are not using an old username or password.

If you are still having problems contact us with your original email address and/or username and we will reissue you a password manually.

When is my negative feedback going to be published?

Feedback is an essential part of how Workaway works. We take negative feedback very seriously and it is a way we can oversee if the Workaway philosophy is being abused in any way.

All ratings and feedback are published on the site. Please note, however, if there are abusive or offensive comments, the text will either be redacted or kept confidential. We do this to stop an escalation of a situation where people often want to retaliate to the opinions left, which is often subjective and personal to each individual case.

If a host or Workawayer receives more than 2 independent bad feedbacks within a certain amount of time we remove them from the site. If either a host or Workawayer receives what we deem to be a serious allegation against them then we temporarily remove the listing whilst we establish what happened.

However we are not here to judge people's lifestyles or how they choose to either travel or live their lives.

If you choose to leave bad feedback please make sure that you do not use personal insults and also stop and think whether the problem was caused by either miscommunication (language or other) or by a general cultural misunderstanding.

Thanks for your understanding regarding this issue. Remember bad feedbacks are rare (less than 4% of all feedbacks) and we are constantly working hard to keep Workaway open and fair for all.

For more information on our policy regarding feedback see this page:
https://www.workaway.info/en/info/about-feedback

Why is my host profile offline?

If you find that you cannot log-in to your host profile, this might be for a number of reasons:

We may be waiting to verify your ID. You can do this by logging into your account and following the online instructions.
We have found that your listing could be breaking our terms and conditions.
We ask that hosts do not charge money to the volunteers that apply to them. If our filters detect that a fee has been requested, host profiles are put temporarily offline until we can establish the reason.
We consider it to be spam if the same text is sent to multiple membersin emails (copy and pasting) and if a member of Workaway.info is doing this their profile may be put offline until we have assurances that this will cease. We do this to make sure that communication on the site is kept useful.
Feedback on Workaway allows members to review each other. If any member receives more than two independent negative feedbacks within a certain time, the system will put that user offline.
Keep it friendly. If you've been rude or abusive to any of our staff this can lead to profiles being suspended and us ceasing communications.

What do the colours on the host's calendar indicate?

Green (shown with a 'tick' so that it's clear to the visually impaired) means that a host has availability and volunteers are needed for that month. Yellow indicates that there is partial availability for that month. Red means that the host does not need help for this month. Grey just indicates that this month has passed.

What is Workaway's policy for orphanages?

Orphanages on Workaway.

It is generally accepted that when a child has lost their parents the best form of care involves them living with a foster family or carer. Research has shown that when children are placed in institutions their social, physical, intellectual and emotional development all suffer negatively.

Attitudes towards orphanages have changed as more research has been done showing the negative impact on the children. In most countries residential care is considered to be the last option after all community care opportunities have been explored.

For these reasons Workaway generally does not list orphanages on the site. We prefer to explore ways of contributing to organisations providing support to foster families and community care.

How do I register as a host?

Go to the "Sign up to be a host" link here. Fill in all the fields and upload a photo of yourselves or your place. We will take a look and verify it usually within 72 hours.

Does it cost to register as a host?

No, to register as a host is totally free. Though we do encourage hosts to make a donation to charity.

What information should I include as a host?

When creating your profile, include plenty of info about the people involved, your place, the local area and the activities that Workawayers could do in their spare time. It's a great idea to include a description of how you will interact with your Workawayers, what you can teach them and what you hope to learn from hosting. The cultural exchange aspect is an important part of how we decide the suitability of a new host profile.

Make sure the help you need is clearly described and what the accommodation offered will be so that your visitors know what to expect. Adding photos to your profile really makes it stand out.

You can add up to 15 photos to your profile once online. It's best to show unique images (i.e images not online elsewhere). These can be of your place, family, project or area.

If you are looking for more than volunteer help you should ensure that you include info about how you are meeting the minimum wage requirements of your country.

Do Workawayers see my contact details or phone number?

No, we provide a way so that they can contact you via the website. Your messages will be delivered to your registered email address as well as appearing in your Workaway inbox. After you have established contact you can choose if you would like to reveal your email address.

Can I use Workaway to find paid employees?

As a listing site, we provide the opportunity for hosts who are businesses (or asking for some help with a business activity) to offer a wage to Workawayers and be listed as a paying host. This is to help hosts comply with any relevant laws in their own country regarding labour and workers.

When calculating payment, we ask hosts to ensure that at least the minimum wage is offered and that this is for every hour worked. Accommodation should be provided for free.

Although we still encourage shared meals as a way to enjoy a cultural exchange, if you pay a wage, you can ask helpers to be responsible for their own food expenses.

Can I ask for childcare or au pair type help in the UK?

Childcare help in the UK.

Families in the UK, looking for help with regular childcare, will need to make sure that they comply with the government guidelines for au pair arrangements; this includes offering National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage.

You can find more information here:
www.gov.uk/au-pairs-employment-law/au-pairs

Please make sure that you’re familiar with the visa rules for those applying as au pairs. As with any exchange, it is the responsibility of both host and helper to make sure that they are acting within the law of the country they are travelling to or living in.

How do I know Workaway is legit?

Workaway was created over 20 years ago. As the leading travel community for cultural exchange, volunteering and working holidays, our website has been featured on The Guardian, Forbes, Lonely Planet, and The New York Times among many other press.

Since then we have received thousands of feedbacks left by travellers and hosts who have connected and arranged exchanges with each other through the site! You can read the feedbacks here.

If you are still not sure, feel free to also check us out on social media (links are at the bottom of this page) to find out more about our members’ first hand experience.

Does Workaway screen users?

At Workaway we strive to provide our members with the right tools to make informed decisions regarding who they interact with online and in real life.

Please remember Workaway is a tool to facilitate contact, we do not act as agents. While we don't routinely perform background checks, we do however reserve the right to do so. To help ensure safety within the community, we actively review every profile that is created. Host profiles must meet all of our requirements before we will put them online. We also provide a way for all members to confirm their identity with our "Verify by ID" system.

How do I upload a photograph?

Login and go to your 'Account' dropdown. This is accessed by clicking your round profile photo in the top right of the screen or the three lines on mobile when logged in. Choose 'My profile photos' and then follow the online instructions. To avoid problems ensure that your images are larger than 600 pixels x 800 pixels and make sure the images are either JPG, GIF or PNG filetypes.

Try and upload photos of your place and area as well as yourself.

How do I pause , freeze or take my account offline?

Access your 'Account' by clicking your round profile photo in the top right of the screen or the three lines on mobile when logged in. Then go to 'My settings' and choose 'Pause / deactivate my account'. If you wish to turn your profile back on, simply choose 'Reactivate my account' from the same menu. If you are a host you also have the option to choose a date for your profile to be automatically reactivated.

How do I leave feedback?

By logging into your profile and choosing 'Leave feedback' on your 'Account' dropdown. This is accessed by clicking your round profile photo in the top right of the screen or the three lines on mobile when logged in.

Here you can search for the host or workawayer using username, name or email address. Once on the correct profile scroll to the bottom and leave your comments. We will verify feedback before it is put online.

Please note we will not publish insulting feedback, try to be constructive in anything you write.

I´m not receiving emails via the site. What can I do?

Please check that emails are not going to your junk or spam. Addresses from @workaway.info and @workawaymail.info (which indicates all messages from those domains) need to be set to safe addresses via your email client.

All messages sent to you should arrive in your Workaway inbox AND your email. If you still think there is a problem let us know and we can cross check the emails that are already in your inbox for you.

How can I remove feedback?

Once feedback has been left it is non editable. Please make sure that the feedback you leave is the feedback you want published! Please note: We do not publish insulting feedback.

How do I put my profile photo online?

First make sure you're logged in. Then go to your 'Account' dropdown. This is accessed by clicking your round profile photo in the top right of the screen or the three lines on mobile when logged in. Choose 'My profile photos' then hover over the image you want and click on the pen icon - select 'Make this my profile photo'

What is considered to be spam?

If our system detects the same message being sent out repeatedly it will get marked as spam and you may be automatically put offline. Therefore, please make sure that you write personalised messages to anyone that you contact through the site.

Why are some buttons or menus not working or opening for me?

If parts of the site seem to not be working, it's worth deactivating any browser extensions or add ons that you might be running because these can sometimes interfere. Try with another browser or device to see if you can isolate the problem.

What does 'Pausing' my profile mean?

Pausing your profile just puts it in hibernation, all the info (including feedback, messages...etc) is retained and available again when you reactivate. The 'Pause' and 'Reactivate' options are available on your profile page. You can also access these via your settings. Pausing your Workawayer profile does not change the end date of your membership.

Why are the icons for mail and logout not showing for me?

Usually this issue is caused by your browser's settings.

We'd suggest trying a different browser to see if the icons are showing correctly.

If the problem persists:

- Make sure your browser's extensions are not blocking webfonts (noscript, ublock or adblockplus, etc.)

- You should also check your operating system's settings to ensure that webfonts are not being blocked.

Can I see who has favourited my profile?

This information is private, it’s not possible for a member to see who has favourited their profile. If you favourite another member’s profile they cannot see who has done this.

What are the host badges given for? How do I get a badge on my profile?

Badges are our way of rewarding members for certain achievements.

The ‘pioneer‘ badge is given to hosts who are the first to leave a feedback for a new Workawayer. There are also badges that show when a host has received a certain amount of 5 star feedback and for members that have verified their profile via Facebook.

The other badges available are for ‘photographers‘ who have won a prize in our photo competition and for members who have featured as ‘host of the month‘ on the Workaway blog.

You can see any badges that you currently have by viewing your profile as it appears online.

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