SirJman

I've hosted in Seoul a handful of times, but I have met some other Seoul hosts that I have become good friends with.

I have surfed in Fukuoka, Chengdu, Chongqing, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo and I am boarding my flight to Port-au-Prince in 45 minutes and will be staying with a host there too! I love it, I will never go back to staying at hostels/hotels, I will always try to surf when I can.

It really is a great way to meet people, and an even greater way to see a deeper side of the city.

i7654

Im pretty sure Montreal has the most amount of couchsurfers. .

i agree with what you say about the money you save. its more about visiting a city, and experiencing it from the perspective of people who live there.

to be honest, since ive grown up and got a real job, i dont use CS that much, i used it a few times to couchsurf, but mainly i used to host a lot in portland. When i travel anywhere nowadays, i stay in hotels, but meet up with some local CS'ers and hang out, and let someone else have a place to crash because they might need it a little more than me.

i have had nothing but great experiences there, and most of my friends used to be shocked when i would give a stranger my house keys or my car, but they eventually realized not everyone out there is going to rape/rob/murder you.

Just wanna say thanks to all you guys on CS who make it happen, you must admit, some of the coolest folk out here are the people on CS/HC/bewelcome etc. you have to be pretty dam cool to let a complete stranger in to your home

i7654

Who hosted you in Portland, if you dont mind me asking, i only ask because i used to live there and hosted a few people

deniah

im a 2 year participant of couchsurfing. hosted many guests in my house. i have an international network of friends from college (exchange students) and work (multi-national) so i dont surf often. here are a few assorted thoughts:

-sometimes, a multi-bed hostel is more relaxing than couchsurfing. as weird as that might sound. there is no obligation to "entertain" or "engage" ones host. no worry about hogging showers, coming/leaving at odd ours, etc.

-some cities have quite snobby userbase / difficult to find a host. very specifically speaking: london. too much of the "you have to write such and such and such and prove yourself to me" mentality. as someone with high reputation "points", very thorough and personal messages, good timing, i was either given terse brush-offs or flatly ignored.

-in general most people there are great. perhaps 1/15 to 1/20 are "fringe" types. as a host only once have i had a "sour" experience but it was not at all a concerning/safety type situation. (left the room in unkempt state, no personal thank yous or even reference left)

-on extended work travel its great sometimes in the evening to have a drink with non-colleagues. in major cities there are always daily events where you can instantly connect with like-minded people through a "local" activity

-few times ive surfed i had terrific hosts, and hung out with them and their friends and connect as if we all grew up together.

i7654

About the "snobby userbase" i feel i should say something here.i think you will find these people in the worlds popular cities, such as London, Amsterdam. they get hundreds of requests for places from people to host, they cant host them all so what do they do?? they would at least like to host someone who has made an effort to the community, or even act like the host is more to them than a free hotel room. if you have 4 requests for a couch for the same day, 3 of them jsut signed up and ask if you have a couch, and 1 of them has hosted a lot of people before and writes a decent request mentioning things about your profile who would you host?? i would probably host the person who actually read my profile.

im sure if most people received that many requests, you to will start filtering people out.
there are people who have stayed with someone, used there place as a hotel left and not even bothered to leave a reference.
if you look at it from this perspective, then maybe you can understand the snobby userbase.

finally, by reading their profile before writing them, perhaps you will avoid situations where you may end up with some of the creepy people highlighted in this group.(not all are creepy, some are just funny and weird)

http://www.couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=12156

happy holidays and safe travels

jackal

This brings up a question I've had: what's the general expectation for leaving the room? Do hosts prefer you to make the bed, or do they prefer you strip it for laundering (or even launder it yourself)?

Hopefully I'll be traveling more next year and can perhaps try out the couchsurfing thing. I can't host here (I don't have my own place--I'm renting a room), but I can "host" people during the day and take them around (like I do for FlyerTalkers visiting! ). Hope to meet some cool people this way.

deniah

when people visit i instruct them on how to inflate the mattress, and pull out as many sheets, comforters, and pillows as they'll need. on departure everyone deflates the mattress into its storage box, folds the bedding and puts it in the corner. pretty standard s.o.p. just as if you were staying at a relative's or a friend's.

this particular group was particularly malodorous, and left everything as if they vacated a partied-in hotel room. i now dont accept people with dreadlocks - just a matter of hygiene

deniah

i understand the perspective of someone from a popular location (paris, london, buenos aires) and the need to be specific in the guest selection. we had the same experience when the democratic national convention came to our city.

i have 10+ vouches, L3 verification, and put effort and sincerity in my request messages--same sort of characteristics i look for in my guests. but the londoners were particularly strict and choosy. ive elite status in 3 hotel chains and enough points to stay wherever i want. couchsurfing fosters casual fun and the experience of hospitality from a stranger. if it feels like one has to beg for a place to stay - then it goes against what i feel couchsurfing is all about

exquisitered

I'm a couchsurfer! I've both hosted and surfed. I'm still friends with the very first girl I ever surfed with (about 2 and a half years ago).

I actually joined after reading an article about it in American Way magazine. I joined because while I frequently travel alone, I don't always want to be alone when I travel. I am a very picky surfer - I'll scour profiles to make sure I find someone I'll have fun with...just hope they say yes!

TrueBlueFlyer

i have never surfed using this service... a bit shy to be honest and not self confident enough that the hosts would accept me (wouldn't host myself as I don't have my own place yet)


however on this visit to Australia that I'm on now, I have basically "surfed" quite a few times... one of them with a FlyerTalker who left me home alone for two weeks "house-sitting exotic fish"


I might seriously look into this idea for next year's trip to Europe. I have booked a monthlong flight thinking I'd be able to crash with my family, but because of new commitments the person I looked forward to visit the most is not so keen at this time. Need an alternative quickly.

salvadors

If you're new on the site, and have no friends or references there, then there are some people who'll view that as a negative. But take the time to write an interesting profile, and personal requests explaining why you'd like to stay with a particular host (rather than just what looks a cut'n'pasted request to every host in the city), and that'll go a long way. If you can get a references from people you know from other means that can help a lot too. Maybe go to a meet-up in some city you're passing through first – most major cities have regular events, or will gladly organise something if someone is visiting. Or ask to meet up with some people for coffee or beer or to show you around their town, rather than actually staying with them. Once you've built even a small amount of reputation and show that you're not just a freeloader most people will host you gladly.

exquisitered

That's a really great idea. CS has lots of "Groups"...and there are ones for various interests (backpackers, camping, music, etc)...and locations! When you join, just try to find the closest thing you can to your 'local' group and join. (Plus if you're going somewhere, you can join that group too and see if the locals have any activities during the timeframe in which you're visiting. Or if you're like me, post something like "I am coming to visit - I want to meet you, so let's organize an event!") The locals post various activities (happy hours, etc), and you can come along. I've been to plenty of them, and there are almost always a few new people there trying to test the waters. (Also a good way to check out that new restaurant/bar you've been meaning to try!)

JerseyVics, Europe is a great place to get started--CS is HUGE in Europe. I hope you give it a try!

jth

I have been looking at this for a long time now, but the more "paranoid" side of me hasn't dared to take the jump yet
I have some spare space (a big couch, actually!) so i think i would be a pretty good host too. Also, i would love to try this on my trips, seems much more fun than a boring low-budget hotel or a seedy hostel.
I think the major personal issue with this is the idea of letting people i don't know anything about into my very personal space (my home).
I am not sure how i would feel about knowing that someone else has the keys to my apartment and is running in and out of it while i am at work, for example.
You Cs-users here, how do you tackle this?

i7654

Hi, heres my opinion.

these people you consider strangers, don't have to be strangers by the time they walk in to your house, or even by the time you agree to host them.
if you were to read their profile, read their references, check out their group memberships/posts, look at their pictures, or even if you still don't feel comfortable, email previous people that have hosted/stayed with him, then i don't think they are exactly strangers any more. yes you still haven't met them, but this should give you a decent idea about them. after doing all this, would you put them in the same category of stranger that you would say, someone random person walking in the street?

about giving them the key, this is simple, if you dont feel comfortable giving someone a key, then DONT. Couchsurfing requires some common sense, from both hosts and guests. just because they are on couchsurfing, it does not mean you should go against your gut instinct and give people your keys or loan them money, or what ever.

if you are still worried about hosting someone, try meeting them before, or perhaps have a friend stay with you or something. if your worried they will steal something when you meet them, be nice, polite, and tell them you will be unable to host them, or tell them theres been an emergency. but dont let them stay.
CS is getting big, i remember when i first joined, there was maybe 30,000 people, now theres almost a million i think, maybe more, with this many people, your bound to find some bad people amongst the good.
so just trust your gut, read about them, and you should be fine.

how do i deal with it, well my place was always open to friends and random people, so it never really bothered me. now, well i cant host right now, but if i did, i would probably still not read their profile, and let them stay. i have a little soft spot in my heart for travelers (WHO BATHE) and as such, unless they have a swastika tattooed on their forehead, i generally go the extra mile for them

i7654

Thats Londoners for you. i'm from Brighton, about 50 miles south of their on the beach, and i cant stand London or Londoners.

next time you should try out Brighton instead.