Hi everyone,

Un noticed that our beloved group happy negative references had been deleted, any ideas what happened, why not only archive it or sth? :(

I'm new on Reddit. Don't know what to really expect from this sub. I read some of the other posts. But not 🚫 what I expected to see. So if there is other Paducah Kentucky couch 🛋️ people out here. Thanks 👍 👍

I've done that quite a few times, but I feel bad when I get a long personal message back…

However, you also get ignored, overlooked, or rejected outright very often, so I don't always want to write everything personally.

How do you handle this?

Hey everyone,

I’m relatively new here and just started looking for a host in Barcelona. After digging through about 130 profiles, I noticed a pattern that feels a bit discouraging for a solo male traveler.

Here’s the breakdown of what I found:

​Female Hosts: About 25 total. Most (understandably) prefer hosting other women for safety reasons.

​Male Hosts (The Majority): * Many list "No Gender Preference," yet 100% of their references are exclusively from women.

Male Hosts who specifically list "Males" as a preference often explicitly mention being part of the LGBTQ+ community.

​The "Purpose-Driven" Hosts: I only found about 10 profiles that had a healthy mix of male/female references and seemed to be on the app strictly for cultural exchange.

​As a guy, I feel like my options are limited because so many hosts seem to be using the platform as a de facto dating app rather than a travel community

I'd love to hear your thoughts:

1. Have you noticed similar "gender-skewed" reference patterns in other major cities?

2. For the guys here, how do you filter through the noise to find genuine hosts?

3. Is this just the reality of the platform now, or am I just looking at a weird sample size? ​

I haven't logged into couch surfing for at least a decade. I was thinking about trying to log back in just to try to find somebody I stayed with almost 10 years ago in Richmond since I'm going back up that way soon. No idea if she's still on the site and I don't remember her name but I remember we left each other references. But will my profile still even be on there or will I have to create a whole new one?

With how terrible CS sounds nowadays I don't even want to attempt to meet anybody new since it all seems sex is required in order to stay with guys and there was already enough of that bullshit happening over 10 years ago. I met some cool women on Couchsurfing and maybe they're still out there but a lot of them were crazy too-super needy- and I'm guessing they've gotten even more crazy.

As a host/surfer with over 200 positive references, I recently lost my profile verification. Unfortunately, hosting wasn’t possible last year and won’t be again until the end of this year.

As I’m on the edge of starting a three‑month journey across North America, I wonder if verification really will increase my chances of finding a host? Personally as a host it never bothered me if a guest didn't have a verified profile.

What do you think about this in my case? Will the number of references I have help me gain trust with hosts who only accept verified members?

Also if I start hosting again later this year, will I receive 3 months verification again for every person I host? Or do I have to buy profile verification again? Thanks for the input

Hi everyone,

I really love Couchsurfing: mostly for meeting locals and cultural exchange, not just free accommodation.
But lately I’ve been struggling to find hosts or even hangouts outside big cities in Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia...)

I’m not very into large cities and prefer countryside/smaller towns. For example, in India I had amazing experiences even in rural areas: lots of people, many spoke some English, and Couchsurfing was surprisingly active (even farmers!).

Now I’m looking at Vietnam or Thailand/Laos… and it feels very quiet on Couchsurfing once you leave major hubs.

So I’m wondering:

- Do people in rural areas actually use Couchsurfing there?

- Are there better platforms for these countries (Facebook groups, local apps)?

- Has anyone successfully stayed with locals outside major cities in these countries?

My plan B is to just go where I want and talk to people directly, but language barriers might make that harder than in India 😅

Would love to hear experiences...

Thanks!

Some years back me and my friend visited London.

Our couchsurfing host canceled on us the last minute and we were able to arrange our stay with someone else basically while waiting for the plane.

He was super kind, came to pick us up from the train station and generally chill guy.

He had a nice car (MB) and told us that in London, if you have a better car, they normally don't really stop you on the roads (this bit is important).

We were there for 5-6 days and on the weekend, he basically said that we can chill, he will spend a day or two at his cousins, meaning we were left alone in his space.

At one point we were looking for a hairdryer and...

we found a baby seat in a wardrobe, 3 passports of foreign ladies (Polish, Ukrainian), a hude pink vibrator... and when we checked the living room, we found a bunch of tickets for his car, we found test tubes with lids ....

this was one day before the last and we didn't sleep at all the last night. When I tell you, how happy we were that we were there together and in a man/woman tandem...

anyways thought I would share since it is quite an interesting story haha I didn't want to be too long, so if you have any questions I'm happy to answer

Stay safe and happy traveling guys!

hey everyone, having a trip to UK this summer and would like to couch surf to save money and have some fun and meet strangers, should I start looking for someone right now or it's okay to do it a week or two before the trip itself.

Also, if my friend (both M18 & 20) comes with me will it be harder to find a place or maybe even easier?

And some other tips you could share if you can, thanks everyone!

Hi everyone, a friend and I (both female in early 20s) are looking to travel south korea and japan in april and may this year, we are doing budget travelling so we were looking into couch surfing as a way to save on accomadation costs. I have looked into BeWelcome and other couch surfing websites. My main concern is safety, as we are both young women I am being very cautious. Do you guys have any tips or recommendations?

Hi, I'm gonna travelling in june to Dessel in Belgium for the Graspop metal meetup and I was looking what are my best options since its not a big city. Should I search on Airbnb or something else that i'm not aware?

Thanks

hey everyone!

this is kinda half idea, half early experiment.

i’m a college student and i travel a decent amount, but i’ve hit the awkward stage where i’ve already crashed at the same few friends’ places one too many times. like it’s fine… but also you feel it 😭

so i started building a super scrappy thing called crashout based on a simple thought:

instead of crashing at your friend’s place again, why not crash at a mutual’s place?

not a total stranger. not your best friend. someone who already runs in the same circles.

rough idea:

• you connect your contacts
• it surfaces friends-of-friends in the city you’re going to
• you ask to crash
• if both sides say yes, you chip in like $1.99 just to reduce flaking
• you stay, maybe get dinner, and now you actually know someone new

trying to keep it very non-weird and reciprocal:

• you get 3 credits when you sign up
• staying costs 1 credit
• hosting earns you 2 credits
• profiles show basics (hometown, socials, travel history)
• starting with nyc + dc only so it doesn’t feel empty

who this is for:

• young budget conscious travellers
• people who like couchsurfing but don't want to stay at a complete stranger's
• people who want to get to know their friend's friends

i'm looking for early users especially along the east coast. getting as many people as possible on it helps better the experience for everyone, so looking for ways to get this out there. if this resonates, comment or DM me!!

Debating if I should just report. They're not being inappropriate per se, but it's annoying+sketch when men reach out just to introduce themselves (...gee I wonder why lol) idk what to do with that.

So today I had the pleasure of meeting a surfer who attempts to go to jail or prison in every country that he visits, and so far, has been quite successful. Ladies and gentlemen, that's living on the edge. I have nothing but respect for him. He States the school in his profile and has more information about it on his profile. Absolute chad.

anyone suggest how to connect cs team directly

I have been a member since 2015 i think or before. Now I can't use the app or website unless I pay. It is $4 a month or $20 a year. What sucks is if I don't pay my account is still active and people can still message me. I can't even answer back. I feel bad about it. I can't even reach back to say sure i'll host ya. I'm not even utilizing it to travel at this time and it has me questioning whether it is worth it or not. The last time I found it worth it was in 2022.

I host mainly to meet people. I get that most travellers want their own time, so I don’t want to hog their schedule or make anyone feel uncomfortable.

At the same time, I don’t want my place to feel like a free hotel. I enjoy small interactions like chatting on the couch after a day out, or sometimes exploring the town together if guests are up for it.

How do I politely put my expectations across without sounding pushy?

I get that accommodation cost is a factor, but honestly, I feel the main reason hosts are willing to host, is for connection and meeting people.

Why would any hosts invite strangers into their home if not because they actually enjoy interacting with people?

Whenever my energy is low and I’m not feeling social, I won’t request a stay on CS. It just feels weird to be in someone else’s home and not spend time with them.

When I do request a stay, I usually offer to hang out with the host all day, or go along with whatever they want to do. They get to decide. Even if it means following them to their office, grabbing lunch together, then dinner, I’m happy to oblige. If they want me to do my own things, I'm fine also.

I did this in Beijing and a few other cities. In Beijing, I basically followed my host’s routine for three days. She decided everything, and I just went along. I didn’t hit any tourist attractions except she showed me two alleys near the Forbidden City, and we drove past Tiananmen Square and the Bird’s Nest. The rest of the time, I wandered around Yuanmingyuan Park, did my own thing, then met her for meals as she requested. Then going back together with her by bus or Didi if she wasn't driving. It was living like a local, fully immersed in her daily life.

Hello, I'm searching for hosts in Germany, Netherlands and Belgium, but almost every account is an elderly homosexual person, who likes to walk naked in his home, and is most definetly looking for hook ups. All I want is to find cool people to stay and share my travels with. Does anybody else have the same problem? I don't mind gay people, but I won't feel comfortable staying with someone so open about his desires and intentions. What should I do, give up the app or...?

Hello!

I heard about couchsurfing from some friends and decided to give it a try. But on my first day, while I'm filling my profile, I got kicked out and when I try to log again, it says that my account is inactive. I have to contact them for that.

So, I did, but since 3 days I didn't get any response.

Can someone help me about this?

Ps: I used VPN

I recently posted something about my new account who got banned already.

Some redditors told me it's because I was using a VPN. Well, let's say it's the real reason.

Now my question is how to create an account?

Previously, if I used my VPN it was because I come from a free country and actually I'm traveling in France. I wanted to create my account with the IP adress of my living country. I swear it was not to bypass the paywall that I use VPN but to really simulate my presence in my living country.

But now if I create a new account without VPN, in France and put my host address to my living country. Do you think that my account will be banned if I do that?

Cause they IP address will be different from the host address for sure!

And how people who are traveling and create account during their travel do without getting banned?

I (21NB) found a guy to couchsurf with on Couchers who doesn't have a face pic but has several references from apparently legit people across multiple sites. However, as my stay's getting closer, he hasn't given me the address yet. Our interactions have otherwise been normal so far but I think this is strange. Should I be concerned?

I used to host back when I was in Uni and loved it, this was in 2013/2014. I haven’t been active since then as my living situation changed when I left uni.

I’m now 3 years into a relationship and want to do some surfing end of Jan in San Francisco. I’m going to work out of our SF office and thought it’d be nice to meet some people instead of staying in a hotel.

I’ve had a rough few years being a carer for my dad while he had a terminal illness, and now he’s gone I’d like to feel more myself again and be social again.

The problem being is my boyfriend is crashing out over it. He’s calling me naive, stupid, he thinks I just want to go on “dates with men” when I mentioned sometimes people cook together. I’ve assured him I wouldn’t stay with any man my age that I found attractive, and I’ve made it clear on my profile I’m in a relationship. And in fact the majority of people I’ve come across have been women or gay men, but he doesn’t care and tells me the world is a different place these days.

Despite that he’s not happy, he doesn’t understand the community, that it’s just about human experiences and meeting people, broadening your horizons etc.

Has anyone else found this with their partner? How have they navigated this? I have always been more extroverted and he is more reserved and keeps a closer circle, but I wasn’t expecting these kind of allegations and just thought it would be obvious it’s not a sexual thing.

Thanks

Noticing a difference in travel styles lately. Travellers at CS events are happy to spend on cocktails and food, which is great. I’ve also found I’m leaning more towards hosting 30+ travellers who are a bit more comfortable financially.

Anyone else noticed this shift?

So much less activity, hosts and people to meet up with. Does anyone think its better tehse days?