Alternative Lodgings

One of the best ways to save money on lodging costs is to look for alternative, non-profit places. These vary widely in both quality and cost, but one way to be relatively sure of cleanliness and quiet is by choosing a convent, monastery or other lodging place run by a religious group.
A great source for information on such lodgings around the world is the searchable Website www.goodnightandgodbless.com, which offers information on beds for visitors offered by religious groups around the world. You can also buy a print guidebook with the same information. Produced by an Australian woman who has travelled widely, as many Aussies seem to do, it is worth a look if you are heading to an expensive place and don't really want to take a chance on couchsurfing or an unknown bed and breakfast through a site such as www.airbnb.ccom.
You can find monastic lodgings in locations as diverse as Hong Kong, New York, Rome, Berlin, Iceland and now, new since I last looked as the site, Moldova.
While I haven't stayed in any of the places listed, I have enjoyed stays at similar convents in Switzerland and near Montreal. I used to stay in a hotel in Munich that was run by nuns, but it does not seem to be operating now.