World Cup Brazil 2014: Favelas In Rio Rent Out Rooms

The 2014 World Cup is just over six months away and soccer fans are arranging travel plans for the big event. Yet as The New York Times reports, accommodation prices have skyrocketed, pushing many travelers to seek an alternative. Inhabitants of Rio's slums or favelas are making the most of the World Cup crowd by renting out rooms in their homes to soccer fans. Despite being dangerous enclaves of drug violence and gang warfare, many budget-conscious travellers are seeing this as a viable alternative.

The 2014 World Cup has pushed hotel prices through the roof, with even modest hostels charging as much as $450 a night for the soccer tournament period. The problem emerges from a fundamental lack in accommodation available in the city. According to the Times, "the city has only about 55,400 hotel beds for as many as 300,000 expected visitors." As such residents of the city's favelas have begun setting up guest houses where soccer fans can stay for as little as $11 a night, as well as getting an authentic Rio experience.

You can book your own favela acommodation at favelaexperience.com, a small start-up set up by 23-year-old American Elliot Rosenberg to provide travellers with an accommodation alternative.