DENVER ― Meet my friends Joanna, Jo and Brenton, and Beth. They really helped me out on my recent trip to Denver.

Joanna lent me her car. Jo gave up his room and crashed in Brenton’s room so I would have a place to sleep. Beth invited me for a lovely dinner.

Thing is, I didn’t know any of them before my recent trip here.

These trusting souls are part of the sharing economy, also called collaborative consumption or peer-to-peer sharing, which may be the hottest trend in travel since the birth of frequent-flier programs.

The concept is simple: What isn’t being used can be shared or lent ― a spare room, an extra car or even expertise ― maybe for a fee, maybe not. (A headline on Time Inc.’s Money blog recently snipped, “Can We Stop Pretending the Sharing Economy Is All About Sharing?”)

You’re probably familiar with some of the players in this sea change. Airbnb, which allows people to rent a room or a whole abode, has grown like a house afire since its founding in 2008. Its revenue for 2012 was estimated at $180 million, according to Forbes, quoting research company PrivCo.

Uber, the ride-sharing service that picks you up at the touch of an app, may be worth as much as $18 billion (or not, says FiveThirtyEightEconomics), but whatever its value, you can bet your next paycheck that it’s more than most of us bring home in a month.

But, sharing proponents say, it’s not about money. It’s about making connections and about finding real people, which is important when you travel. It’s about getting insider information to experience a city more fully. And, most of all, it’s about trust.

I found all of this to be true on my try-it-out-trip to Denver, which I chose because it’s not Seattle, no offense to either. I met the nicest people, ate and slept well, found great office space, took a fun tour and learned a lot about my host city. And I didn’t get ripped off ― or worse ― by anyone.

Which may be the most surprising part of this peer-to-peer experience, except that these are not my peers. To a person, my new BFFs are Gen Y, or millennials, those born between 1977 and 1994 or ’96, depending on whose scale you use. Bottom line: They ain’t afraid of no guests.

When I was making dinner arrangements with Beth Brandstatter through Meal Sharing, I suggested she Google me to make sure I was who I said I was. In an email, she replied, “I like the element of surprise and one of the fun things about meal sharing is this is a trusting community.”

At times, I wanted to say to all of them, “Are you crazy? What is wrong with you people?” But after a couple of days, I discovered too much that was right to burst their shared balloon.

Yes, I’ve read about issues with some of the people and organizations. The San Francisco Chronicle recently reported that some Airbnb hosts are keeping what should be long-term rental properties off the market and using them for short-term.

For its part, Airbnb will begin paying taxes while insisting it is not a hotel organization. There have been incidents where hosts’ homes have been damaged and guests have been less than delighted.

But on the whole, this linking of collective arms and singing of “Kumbaya” seems to be working, and it may mean a new chapter on how to have a richer travel experience.

By Catharine Hamm

(Los Angeles Times)

(MCT Information Services)