Hey CS, how’s the Couchsurfing experience in Australia? Are hosts still accepting requests? Could anyone who’s surfed recently share their experience? I'll travel around December during the Holidays and hoping to find a host for few nights.

Hi Dear Couchsurfing community,

Recently, I have been receiving messages from people on Couchsurfing who ask questions about the people who have left reviews for me (or the ones I left reviews for them).

Once someone sent me a message that she is trying to organize a birthday for a person who I've once stayed with, and needed me to tell her about their personal life information and likings.

This immediately came to me as a social engineering attack and raised concerns in my head, so I immediately reported and blocked them.

I just wanted to share this with you to be cautious about similar messages asking for someone's information. Never give somone's information to just any random person.
Bad actors can use this information to guess someone's password, password hints, bank pins, or personal threats and blackmailing, and even more complicated hacks.

Safe travels and wishing you all the best

I 18 male living in germany want ti start hosting soon,any tips or advices and is there anything i should be carefull of?

Hey CS Community. I’m a straight male, in my mid-30s, and have been on CS for over a decade. I’ve hosted hundreds of people and recently have been surfing quite a bit in Latin America. This past week I had a dangerous experience with a gay, male host (also mid-30s) that you need to know about. This experience will likely result in the host leaving a negative review about me which you will soon understand why. As we all know, one negative review, true or not, can be a death sentence for a CS profile. I’ve spent the last decade building a fun and safe environment for surfers and I’m incredibly saddened that one bad actor can tarnish a reputation I spent over a decade building. I’ve written to CS Support but have concluded that they cannot take sides unless there is concrete evidence, which there is not. I want to convey the anguish and frustration I’m feeling, just so you understand—even if there’s no fair resolution. I realize my only option is to leave an honest review for my host, Miguel, and to respond thoughtfully to his review of me. I’m still reeling from the experience and by writing it down I’m hoping to get clarity. All comments and advice are welcome, especially anything that could help keep my CS profile in good standing. Here’s what went down:

My first two days with Miguel were fantastic. He was welcoming, energetic, and eager to show me around his hometown. I appreciated his playful, shit-talking banter—he reminded me of a friend from back home, so we hit it off right away. We talked about my girlfriend, so it was clear I was straight and not interested in men. During those first two days, I never felt uncomfortable or unsafe. We even started casually discussing plans for him to visit me in my hometown. This is what CS is all about!

On the third night, things took a turn. We went out downtown, bar-hopping, where I met several of his friends. We stayed out until the bars closed around 4 am. As we lingered outside, he struck up a conversation with three gay guys and invited them back to his place, which was fine with me—they were friendly, and I enjoyed practicing my Spanish with them. Back at his place, around 6 am, they all continued drinking, but I’d had enough and wanted to stop. That’s when Miguel’s demeanor shifted dramatically—a real Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde moment. His energy went from friendly to unsettling. He started pressuring me to keep drinking, insisting that I was being a "bad wingman" for stopping. I told him I was content without more alcohol, but each time I refused, he grew more hostile, transforming from a friend into something predatory. To add to the friction, his friends began to chime in, calling me a "downer" and saying I wasn’t any fun. When he realized he couldn’t pressure me into drinking, his tone changed. Like a caring mother he said, “Hey, Mike, you look tired. Why don’t you go sleep in my bed?” I declined, but he insisted, and his caring tone instantly reverted right back to one of agitation. He then demanded that I come into his room. At that moment it was crystal clear that Miguel could not be trusted and I had to get the fuck outta there. It wasn't physical yet but it felt like it could be in an instant and I would be out numbered.

I got up from the couch and headed to the sink to drink some water, hoping it would clear my head. I chugged glass after glass, his friends continued hurling insults as I began formulating my exit. Being on the fourth floor of an apartment, with my bicycle in need of repairs and all of my saddle bags, I knew an immediate escape wasn’t feasible. I kept deflecting Miguel’s advances until he finally gave up, heading to his room with one of the other guys. I seized the moment to step outside, circling the block to gather my thoughts.

Around 8 am, I found a coffee shop and stayed there for an hour to regroup. When I returned to the apartment, Miguel was still hostile. I made up my couch bed and kept repeating that I needed rest, though I wasn’t going to sleep. Eventually he left me alone and returned to his room. I stayed alert, listening as Miguel and one of the other guys got intimate in the adjacent room. Over the next hour, I planned my exit strategy. In Miguel’s current state of mind, he could not be reasoned with so I had no other choice but to leave in stealth to avoid any potential physical confrontation.

Once things quieted down, I decided I needed to repair my bike first. I began moving it outside to fix the flat tire and then buy the spare part I needed. Miguel heard me open the front door and ran out of his room asking what I was doing. I explained, and though he made a few snide comments, he didn’t stop me. I fixed the flat and got the spare part I needed. At 11 am I returned and locked my bike up out in front. I entered the apartment quietly, hoping everyone was asleep. Miguel’s door was closed so I quickly gathered my bags and ran out the door. I attached everything to my bike and left without looking back. Once I reached a hostel, I blocked him on WhatsApp and Couchsurfing.

Miguel broke trust and from that, there’s no going back. If you believe this story then you know that Miguel is not fit to host travelers or be on the platform. I’m a confident person and didn’t back down to his demands, but had it been a less experienced person, the situation would have been horrific. Miguel is a dangerous predator who should never be able to use CS again. I have submitted this report to CS Support in the hopes they can prevent him from using CS but I know that's likely not possible since it's so easy to create an account under another name. More or less this will be my review for Miguel as long as there aren’t character restrictions on CS. I’ve got another week before I need to leave a review for Miguel so if you have any suggestions on anything I should add/remove I’m all ears.

UPDATES:

11/1/24

- I'll continue to update you all as this progresses. No response from CS Support yet. I did make a post on X which you can like and retag CS on if you'd like - https://x.com/thiktreasure365/status/1852435963823133100

- I also DM'd CS on Instagram

Hey I am a big fan of Couchsurfing and have been using it since I was backpacking in South America. I have recently moved to Galway. I just couldn’t find any travelers visiting Galway? It’s so dead!! I really enjoy meeting new people and listen to their travel stories especially when I am not able to do much for now due to my studies

Any advice?

I wanted to ask this question so as to say what i look for, and see what others think/adjust based on that.

For me, as a host (Hosted about 10 times, anywhere from 3 days to 2 weeks, and one guy 3 months), i want someone who seems interesting. I'm a very relaxed host and give them a key to the place though i'm often home most of the day anyway. All I want from hosts is to hangout a bit. Maybe get some drinks, do a one on one dinner. Once a day for an hour or so is all i really want as i enjoy spending time with this person i probably wont ever see again in my life (especially if they live in a really distant place from me)

That said, im unsure what to offer as a surfer. I'm a more introverted as well as shy, unexperienced guy. I'm trying to work on branching out and doing more things/traveling but im unsure on say if the host expects me to cook them a meal or to share my culture.

So, what do you all think? Any thoughts are appreciated.

Hello, I am planning on backpacking through Europe next summer. In which countries would I be more likely to find couches to stay on. How do you find couches?

Hey everyone, I have recently started using CS and i have found one host he is ready to host me for 7 nights in Jibhi, Himanchal Pradesh, India but he does not have any references on CS, so i m just little afraid that is it safe ?

Note:- 22M here

Anyone wanna visit India, wanna help in every possible way.

Just want to associate with good people, please 🙏🏻❤️

Want to experience local life in my 2 day stay jn Malaysia, any couchsurfing leads please.❤️

Usually I find hosts after 5 or 10 requests, but in Copenhagen and Skane my success rate is about 1 in 40, or not even. I think tonight I will sleep in the 24/7 McDonalds because after requesting 50+ hosts (all with 70-100% reply rates, with personalized and imo very nice requests, etc.) apparently everyone is "out of town for their friend's birthday" or "extremely busy this weekend". Am I just unlucky or is there some special etiquette for these places? I have my profile at 100% completion, with only positive reviews, many pics, etc. I'm a man in my 20s. Maybe people just hate Spaniards? IDK
Typical example of my requests:

"Hey -, my name is -, I was working in a farm in Sweden and am now on my way back to Spain. Cool that you pick up accents that fast, we will see if you pick up mine (maybe its not cool enough). During covid i was really trying to achieve a flawless british accent watching a lot of british movies and learning the lines, but it has faded quite a bit. In general you sound like the true ideal couchsurfing host, doing this out of solidarity, and I think that's awesome. Maybe we can cook a nice spanish omelette together, its a pretty good recipe.
Best regards,

--"

Hi all, I am looking for amazing hosts during my travel to Vietnam next week … Pls share suggestions…. Looking forward to connect…

I've heard of this app before on travels where you can share a car ride with somebody whos traveling the same direction as you, i cant remember for the life of me what its called... anyone have a clue?

I am looking for some apps to meet new travel partners before I travel or during traveling.

I tried posting on the travelpartners subreddit in the past but never got a response.

I know many people mention staying in hostels to meet other travelers/make new friends but I cannot sleep in a room with other strangers. It triggers my anxiety. I need a private place to fall asleep.

I did some research and it seems like bumble bff is one and couchsurfing app is one. But the couchsurfing app is paid and I am not really sure yet how that works. Do I also need to make my place available for other travelers all the time ? For example sometimes I can have a friend over.

Any reccomendation is appreicated :)

I was reading about other users experience. I don't saw any price listed when I just randomly clicked "verify payment by credit card". If someone can provide me printscreen by chance?

https://preview.redd.it/3ovihcw4w5wd1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=1c4894f14e29d6b97cca364191386bfa1edadf93

Need a place to crash tonight around Mayfair/London central.

30M Working professional

Will possibly come in quite late - 12-12:30am depending on distance. Happy to meet up today. DM me if you would like to help

Many thanks A

I would love to host but I have about $30,000 to $50,000 worth of valuables that can’t be hidden. Any tips? What precautions can I take? Can I ask for ID?

Is this the right sub? Is there anyone else doing it? I'm a musician and I would need a laptop, a midi controller, headphones, some clothes and I'd be set. I'm in the EU. Do you have any recommendations or advices? Thanks!

I am a single man from Europe in my 50s. Plan to visit Hawaii soon. I sent a request to be hosted to 10 different hosts on 3 main Hawaiian islands but had no answer after a week. Are they all inactive or what?

I've seen some posts related to freeloader guests and some of them mention that there are some guests that expect things to be paid for. Is this really happening? I find that shocking, as it almost doesn't make sense to me to do more for your guests since you are already doing something for them by hosting.

For reference, I don't pay for anything for guests, except sharing my snacks and drinks and a ride to the airport if they are running late. I have also treated them to a meal when I've seen young travelers eating struggle meals (e.g., Ravioli out of a can or Mac and Cheese).

I had 86 positive references on Couchsurfing, my account was deactivated, and I was told I’m no longer welcome, without any clear reason. If anyone has advice on how to get my account back, I’d really appreciate it. Couchsurfing has meant a lot to me, my email address linked to my account

mohamedmo501999@gmail.com

Guys, my host in another city got their account removed, I have contacted them via another platform to ask, they said it just happened out of nowhere, when I first checked the account although not verified but it had solid good amount of all positive references… they said they have contacted technical support and haven’t heard back ..

So what are the list of known reasons to get an acc deleted, i am curious and want to know should i go for it or just find another way to stay in that city for couple days ..

Just a side note: the host seems reasonable enough and it has been nice chatting and trying to plan my schedule there

Can anyone help me with the verification scam issue? I emailed them back and forth, and now they responded with this; even though I mentioned the EU regulation law.
It’s soo annoying, but I saw some people succeed with getting a refund. Can anyone help?

Hi! I’m 29 (F), currently living near Tokyo, and I like traveling. I was wondering if having a Couchsurfing verified account worth it! Also, how safe is it now? I searched for answers but those I found are 4/5 years old ones, seems like nobody talks about it anymore. That’s why I’m asking for getting recent updates. Thanks for taking time to read this!

I wanna get into this app, but I wanna know how the traffic is for it in the U.S. specially illinois, if anyone's stayed within, is it active?

Am I scrwed with all the data and contacts I had ? I movesd to Spain and location was still set as my home town in india. Now today I thought of updating it. I updated it. Saved it. The app refreshed and instantly it asks for subscription. Is there any way to bypass it ? Is there any option to update the location again to India ? As it looks like in india CS is still free.

I have just signed up for couch surfing and I have a hard time understanding how to find hosts. I’m just sending people a friendly hello from the prompt. I haven’t decided any place yet but I’m planning mostly a domestic trip in India. It’s asking me for references and couch surfing “friends ” How does one begin couch surfing?

I don't have to feel ashamed about this though I don't know how to feel about it, well just bad and used, I had this 30yo CSer girl from russia (well the country doesn't matter really, just to add details I'm not russophobe nor russophile) she went to the bathroom and left, I go in right after to use it and she had pissed and I don't know what else all around the cup, she probably didn't even seat! So I just clean and shut up about it, damn I should have told her and made her clean all up, I felt so used, I stopped hosting after that! Have you had similar nasty experiences?

In couchsurfing status -Accepting Guests -Maybe Accpting Guests -Not Accpeting Guest

3 options thete make sense for me.

But the last one said -Want to Meet Up

This onr make me think that about same as not accpet guests but want to meet people.

I choose the last one but someone send message for stay But i think there is other tab for requst to stay. That make me confused what is that status mean..