Incoming students spend 3-5 nights in Switzerland in order to join dedicated courses such as Management Games or other Block Release courses at the FHNW. There is an obvious lack of appropriate accommodation in terms of affordable hostels in the Brugg-Windisch area.

Altogether, there were three surveys executed for this paper, one with local FHNW Brugg-Windisch students, one with former incoming exchange students at FHNW and one with possible future in-coming exchange students. The latter survey is not taken into consideration, since it lacks participants. Simultaneously, a stakeholder analysis was conducted to identify who is directly or indirectly involved in the business model and who can profit from it. The business model was then constructed with the help of business model canvas and the ideal process of matching guests and hosts was illustrated. Finally, the business model was augmented with a risk analysis to ensure the flexibility and sustainability of it.

The two surveys allowed for following conclusions: the former exchange students are more price sensitive, the shorter the stay, while at the same time this price sensitivity generates lower accommodation standards. The need for individual transportation of this sample is low, however this need does exist. Another desire of the participants was cultural exchange. The same can be stated for the local students who also whish for cultural exchange. The half of the population would even consider hosting an exchange student for different time periods. However, the local students would want to be compensated for providing services to the guests.