#8 - as always, I do not travel with an itinerary and I have no idea where I will end up, so it's hard to find and contact the appropriate tourist offices in advance. Also, as a rule, these are always closed whenever I need them - always.
In Germany, tourist offices indeed are the best sources for cheap private accomodation and I've had some very good deals through them, cheaper than in Albania. Yet most cheap places are not on the internet, too, and you have to plan ahead and know your destination.
#9:
May be you realized in the meantime that this kind of accommodation is not popular in Switzerland. Extremely few people rent furnished private rooms for less than 1 month.
I wasn't aware of that. I simply assumed that the situation is similiar to Austria and Germany where usually offers are plentiful.
I think I'll go with a combination of luck/tourist offices/the printed B'n'B guide/google mobile/hotels.
