10 years ago, I tried couchsurfing for the first time. In the following years, I stopped using it. I heard some abusive. Today, I went into a Facebook group and saw that the group has been inactive for 5 years. What's happened?

So I have been browsing through CS, BeWelcome, TrustRoots and it's clear and maybe even shocking that I'd say most of the host are actually there for sexual encounters.

You do have to read through their profile to find the keywords and it's a bit concerning for me to think that there are so many naive souls who may end up in the wrong spot.

What are the keywords or immediate red flags or indications that the host is actually on these sites for sexual encounters?

For me, I immediately dismiss the host who:

Has a half naked pic,

Uses the word naturist or any encouragement to walk around naked

Offers to share his bed

Mentions: kinky or anything that is related to sex

but I wonder if there's more or any code words people should be aware of?

I have got my 7-year account suspended today without doing anything against the guide lines. Would it be reactivated again? Or that means it get permanently closed?

I'm neither complaining anything or nor cribbing about CS. Posting this to tell people, don't loose hope.

All these 50 requests were written fresh & periodized based on hosts' profile and common interest. Please mention in your request - Why do you want to stay with some specific person.

And who ever accepted (5 hosts = 10 days), (2 hosts = meetup) were so NICE! Really thank you. I have invited all of them to my country.

I had a very positive experience from my first ever international trip to California, last month. And I'm so blessed to be part of CS community and now meeting more people, and hosting whenever I can.

The references builds trust among people.

Here is my experience I shared in my last post ~ https://www.reddit.com/r/couchsurfing/s/dlXRdwMnEH

I was traveling to Paris last year and stayed with an older gentleman. He seemed nice and he kept asking if he could take nude photos of me as he’s a photographer. I didn’t really feel comfortable doing it but he explained to me he’s a nudist and nudity isn’t that big of deal. I was apprehensive but he managed to convince me to do it after a couple drinks.

A few days ago my friend shared these photos with me. They were found online. I’m devastated. I reached out to this person and they claim they don’t know anything about it but there are a lot of similar photos like mine and I think this person is selling them. The photos are not anything crazy but they are straight up naked photos of me that are out there forever now. I feel so ashamed. Is there anything I can do?

Does it sound like written by ChatGPT to you?

Hi [Name], I am very excited about visiting [City] and to inquire about the possibility of staying at your home during my upcoming trip with my female Brazilian friend. I am eager to explore the charm of [City]'s Old Town, including iconic landmarks like the clock tower and the beautiful riverside promenade. Additionally, I am keen to visit cultural sites such as the [City] Historical Museum and experience the unique atmosphere of the [XXX] Park. I am looking forward to immersing and enjoying a bit of live music while savoring delicious [Country] cuisine. Your hospitality would greatly enhance my experience, and I am hopeful for the opportunity to stay with you during my time in [City]. I will be visiting with my female Brazilian friend and I am sure we will be able to move around by ourselves,we don't want to inconvenience you :)

All the words with [] come from me. Tbh, I didn't even know we had a history museum.

Sup folks!

Just to keep this brief, I wanted to share that I've returned to CS after several years of inactivity. To be specific, I began using the site nearly from its inception, around 2010-2012, and truly enjoyed the experience during those early years. I would say that most users at that time were genuinely interested in the concept of traveling and meeting local people, with the financial aspect being a bonus, not the main reason for using the site.

After these initial experiences, I took several years off from using it and returned about 6 years ago. Unfortunately, my experience then was quite disappointing, as it seemed (or perhaps I was just unlucky) that the platform had become very popular and the profile of the surfers had significantly changed, becoming almost mainstream. The main reason people were using it was to save money in tourist spots (I should also mention that I live and host in a city with high tourist traffic and steep prices). This shift in mindset and having quite disappointing experiences (disappointing in that most people seemed to care little about the sharing and getting to know someone) led me to deactivate my profile and leave it inactive for several years. However, I recently logged in out of curiosity, reactivated my profile, and started hosting again, noticing that maybe, it has gone back a bit to its origins. Although I receive far fewer requests now (at its peak I could easily receive 10-15 requests per day, and now I get between 1 and 3), the requests I do get seem genuinely interested in the original idea of traveling in a different way than usual.

I don't know, maybe I've just been lucky with the latest surfers, but my feeling for now is that the site has changed for the better.

Does anyone else feel this way?

I know that we're not supposed to exchange money between surfers and hosts, but we're hosting someone soon that has offered to perform a musical event at our home for a small group of friends/family. He also provided us with a digital poster for the event that we just noticed includes "Donations accepted" in small text at the bottom.

This surfer is very active on CS and has performed for many hosts in the past. I reached out to his most recent host to see how they handled it, and they said that they didn't pay him but "offered a generous tip".

Any tips on how to handle this? I'm thinking that we should still host him but not exchange money due to the rule, but I'm wondering how extravagant this performance will be, etc.

Thanks in advance!

Hello,
I am looking for someone to host me between the 21st and 31st in Marseille, for participating in an international conference!
Thanks
--

Bonjour,

Je cherche qlq pour m'héberger pour 1 semaine à Aix-Marseille, ou de m'indiquer des applications genre : " be Welcome" !

Merci.

This was my first time using CS, and I had a great experience so far.

I was introduced by a host in my city where I met with guests and had interesting conversations. Every host who hosted me in my journey, we had so many great conversations, sharing of ideas or simple human interaction, respectful and helpful.

For all my hosts, I took some goodies from my city and some non perishable items that they can use.

I used the hangout feature to hangout with other travelers and got to explore the city with them and made friends.

I also heard a lot of horror stories from women about hosts trying to sleep with them, and also heard many concerns about CS going corporate mode and focusing on money than the vision.

I am male, so maybe that’s made my experience better. But I hope this community thrives and there is proper screening of people. Maybe the $80 verification fee could be used for background checks? Police clearance certificate, it doesn’t cost much.

Hi I (M-31) plan to travel to Hamburg for work in July-August. Never tried couchsurfing, just want to experience it. I would prefer a female, family, couple host. I would feel more comfortable around (not in a sexual way) Any advice?

so i'm traveling to dallas and i'm using couchsurfing for the first time and i'm so nervous that i might bow out and just book a hostel. 3 different hosts offered their couches, however none of them are actually within dallas, they're in surrounding cities like addison or irving. i'm also in town for a 2 day wedding, but will be around for a couple extra days--however one of those days i'll be in online classes between 4-11pm. i'm just wondering if it's considered rude if i'm not planning on hanging out with my host every day, and if i should try sleeping on someone's couch if their location is a little difficult. what are other surfers' experience with this?

also, what things are you supposed to do for your host? i read different things like buy groceries, coffee, etc. but i'm wondering what is generally expected of me as a surfer.

also slightly nervous that the hosts are all male and i'm a female. i've read some horrible accounts and i'm hoping that surfing is generally a safe thing to consider

Hi all,

I did use CS in the past and paid the verification just because I liked to use the platform, but as many of us now I'm using BeWelcome. To be honest, I just hosted people so far, since it's very complicated to find a host (at least, for men) and I just like to meet people while traveling. So, when using CS 6/8 years ago, I took advantage of hangout feature and join different groups when traveling.

As a social introvert, my question is: what is the best strategy to meet other local/travellers during my trips? Do you have suggestions?

I've been on couchsurfing since 2016 and i hosted around 30 ppl.

Usually, i don't give my key the first day as i get to know the person and see if they seem nice or if i feel i can trust them.

But i almost always end up giving my spare key. It's so much easier, they can go in and out, i don't have to always be around...

Very rarely, the vibe was a bit off and i didn't give my key.

I can leave someone at my place alone they just need to slam the door when they leave.

What are your thoughts about that? I've discussed it recently with a friend and she told me she'd never give her spare keys to a CS guest.

How much worse are your chances of being hosted as a man compared to ladies?

Hey guys

Does CS work in Tbilisi and what was the experience with locals?

I have been trying to get my account back from CS. I hosted a freeloader and he gave me false review. I tried to fight it but it didnt work. I made a new account! Is there any way I could have my account they keep shutting it down the new one that I made!

Plz guide

Hola! We are 2 art students from Croatia and we are coming to Barcelona to celebrate a birthday. We didnt find accomodation on Couchsurfing for now, and we have only a week left. We are on very low budget and we travel a lot. This is our first time using Couchsurfing. Do you have any advices?

Helloo,

I am going to Germany (Munich, Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Berlin) - Netherlands (Amsterdam, Eindhoven) - Czech (Prague) - Austria (Salzburg) and Bosnia (Sarajevo, Mostar) for 2 months in May and June.

I have not used couchsurfing since they started to put paywall. Before that, I've used it in Iran, Egypt, China and Spain and it was an interesting experience with each host. I missed that experience and was thinking to try it again.

However, I know in popular cities like Amsterdam maybe hard to get a host. So wanted to ask if it is worth it to sign up again for the app for these countries. How much opportunities are there in these cities in general? The plan is stay slightly longer in any city I can find a host so I can interact more. Would like to get your inputs.

Thanks!

Hey guys! Next we me and my girlfriend are leaving for a quick trip in the Netherlands. Looking for tips tricks and how tos.

Hello,

At the end of July until the end of August, my brother and I are going on a roadtrip around Europe. I was wondering when should I start looking for a host ? Is it too soon ? I’m kind of a very organized person so I’m quite anxious at the idea of not having any accommodation planned.

What’s your recommandation ? And if you have any tips for a couch surfer beginner, feel free to tell them

Thank you !

Hi everyone! I’m going on a 30 day USA trip from Denver to LA by car and was informed about the concept of couchsurfing.

I would like to make a profile but when I googled couchsurfing I stumbled upon dozens of recent 1 star reviews on trustpilot of people saying they were unwillingly charged around 60 USD for the verification process.

Has anyone created an account recently and can tell me more about it? It looks like a scam the way it is now

Thanks!!!

don't get me wrong, i've encountered some good friends too.

but sad and unfortunate, as a asian / female mid 20s, traveled a lot, i'm often experiencing messages from males who seems like offering place to stay, some are even saying offering a hotel room. (saying they have hotel room, or i can book for you) when i ask why: they expect something romantic. most of them are new joined members try to hook up traveling girls. sometimes i told them this isn't a place to hook up for mating. its annoying.

i don't know if other women experience similar things, but i am, when you publish your trip to meet friend or host.

unfortunate this traveler community polluted this way

It is what it is. We're now without accomodation in SF for the 3 nights we'd planned to stay. I've applied to loads on CS but if anyone has any tips on solutions that don't involve spending a lot of money on a hotel I'd appreciate any advice.

Thanks in advance.

Im staying in cologne starting at the 12. to the 15. of April. I would have stayed with a friend ob mine but he has his finales so he cancelled on my last minute. So if anyone would know/have a place for me near Colone i would also go to Bonn or Essen or so. Even vor only just one Night.

Thanks in Advance

Ivo

Hi. A gringo (asia) in Brasil, living here for 3 years now. I am planning to explore beyond the SP and RJ..Curious if CS is active in Brasil? Anyone interested to host, can indicate too.