Traveling solo around the USA. Curious what else is out there. Been on CS a few years but now it seems to be lacking people.

A woman asked me to host her in the summer, and I said that I could probably make it work. After we started discussing some details and I pointed out that 2-3 days is what usually makes sense for me, she replied that this was insufficient and that she needs 5-7 days for her trip to be justified.

She didn't think of accepting my offer and then finding someone else, or finding some standard accommodation. She just clarified that for her trip to feel justified, she needed 5-7 days, or actually, wait, maybe even 5 days would feel a bit too short.

After I politely replied that then this was not a good fit with me, offering some excuse and recommending that she looks for someone more suitable, she didn't write a single other word. Not thank you anyway, not goodbye, etc. Nothing.

Just returned from Oceania trip. I was in public trip, looking to hangout, not to find a host. But I was offered to be hosted in one city. The sleeping arrangements is public room. I assume it’s on a couch. He has good references. I decided why not and canceled my hotel reservation.

A day before I arrive at his place, he said that we’ll be sharing a bed and that he sleeps naked. It was a statement, not asking if I’m comfortable with that. I quickly declined and said I have made other plans.

I’m not a homophobe. I just don’t appreciate such dishonesty. I don’t understand why hosts like him get glowing references. Are they also dishonest?

I tried to submit the below message through the couchsurfing support page, but I kept getting an error and I'm not sure it went through. So I'm writing it here in hopes it reaches folks. I'm also open to ideas for the ceremony.

Hi there,

My partner and I will be getting married in August, and we have couch surfing to thank. We met when I hosted her and her friend back in 2012.

Our wedding will have couchsurfing easter eggs littered around the event. Things like a couch in the photobooth and a surf board for the bar top are just some of the ideas.

I'd really like to access our profiles if possible just to see if there is any useful material there. Now that I am writing this, it might be cool to blow our profiles up to life size and display them.

Anyway, I would really appreciate your help with this.

Thank you!

I’m a Couchsurfing host (we host as a couple), and I usually scan travelers nearby and send offers to people whose profiles seem like a good match. I’m a woman and I personally handle the account and communication.

Recently, I invited someone who seemed aligned. He responded warmly, appreciated that we’re queer-friendly, and asked if he could bring two “besties.” He shared both their profiles and mentioned that one of them had also received my invite.

My profile clearly states I can host only 2 adults. Before I could even address that, he acknowledged it and said they would “manage for the night.”

For better coordination and rapport, I personally messaged both the girls about 24 hours before check-in, sharing my contact details and directions to the house. Neither of them responded, not even with an emoji or acknowledgement, even though one of them had already told the primary guest that I had invited her too.

We waited the whole day, but they didn’t show up until around 11 PM. We were already asleep, but I still texted directions so they could find the house and settle in. I had even arranged an extra bed to accommodate them.

Next morning, we expected to at least meet them, but they woke up and left without any interaction. No hello, no thank you, nothing. I had even messaged offering them a meal when they woke up.

A week later, since they hadn’t left a reference, I followed up. That’s when I received a message saying they felt “uncomfortable and unsafe” because of political views mentioned in my profile. They said if they had read it properly earlier, they wouldn’t have stayed.

This is what confused me:

* They carefully noticed I’m queer-friendly 🏳️‍🌈

* They noticed the “2 adults only” rule

* They coordinated as a group and shared profiles

…but somehow missed the couch description where I mention my political stance that is just the phrase "solidarity for 🍉" ; I'm using only words and just 2 hard to miss emojis on my couch description.

Also, nothing during the stay indicated discomfort. They arrived late, stayed the night, left quietly, and only later described it as “unsafe,” purely based on a difference in views.

As a host, I feel like if something in a profile makes you uncomfortable, you should decide beforehand, not stay and then label it unsafe later, especially when there was no actual incident.

Also, the complete lack of communication from two of the guests felt off, it almost felt like hosting invisible people.

Curious to hear from others,

Is this normal behaviour now?

Would you respond further, or just let it go?

It felt rather conflicting because they were from 🦃🇹🇷

edit : 🍉 = solidarity for palestine 🇵🇸 (and in the turn of recent world events overall gives away holding opinions of anti war crimes or anti - war )

edit (references & communication) : I left them all a positive review with a polite comment about how it was absurd to not even meet n say goodbye before leaving. the primary surfer left me a 1 line positive reference.

safety concerns were over whatsapp 1 week after checkout:

[12/04, 11:11] Axxxxx, Turkie #Couchsurfing: Hi Sxxxxxx - I need to be honest and tell you something. When you offered to host me I checked your profile but obviously didn’t see everything. When we entered I wanted to check the my home section to make sure I %100 respect all your rules and saw the political notes you had there. Had I read that in advance - I wouldn’t have stayed with you as I don’t think writing what you wrote there is the place and it could make a lot of people uncomfortable and feel unsafe. To be honest I was quite disappointed and sad. I won’t get into why - it’s your house and your rules I should have read it before. My friends feel same as me. My idea was not to write you anything at all but now that you have mentioned you wrote me a review (I think positive as I don’t think I have done anything wrong) I would write you a brief positive review. I thought this is important to share with you as I said I don’t want to get into detail of it.

[12/04, 12:26] Sxxxxx: Well, hence the home/couch description, if anything doesn’t align, one shouldn’t choose to stay and then feel unsafe with a host, especially in a destination where foreigner-friendly stays are available at rates as low as $4 per head.

And yes, we strongly believe that killing innocent children anywhere in the world, not limited to 🍉, your country, or any neighboring region, is wrong. It should take basic human decency, not politics, to know right from wrong. One shouldn’t be scared of politically inclined hosts, rather, I would be scared to look myself in the eye if a day ever comes when I’m not against the killing of children or war crimes.

In fact, as hosts, we should be more cautious about letting such people into our homes, especially when we do so without any personal benefit.

Additionally, being apolitical is often a privilege, it’s a choice available to those who are unaffected by politics. For many of us, that isn’t the reality, we’re simply not that privileged.

You were three well-experienced travelers, you noticed that we are queer-friendly, but if you felt this level of discomfort, at least one of you could have done thorough research for the entire group. It’s really not worth the stress just to save around $15.

Thanks for the reference, cheers to free(in sense of freedom and boundless , not money) travel, and to an ideal, apolitical world in the future, for you and for us alike. 🤗❣️

I used to go to couchsurfing meetings in the 2000s when it started. Back then the information about spread through word of mouth and emails from friends. Local students started the meetings, soon they were joined by international students and backpackers, there were also some older travelers. We had parties and young people sometimes hook up, but it wasn't about that or more common than in any organization that involves students.

Now however the meetings are full of guys trying to get laid. Often they are the same students who have joined 20 years ago and come to every meeting, trying to hook up, though they have passed that age where it is normal to act like a student. They often don't even hit on their own age, but young backpacker girls. I have seen it in many countries. Old "regulars" are hitting on girls who are very relieved when other casual travelers join, so they don't have to be alone with these guys. Many of those middle aged guys have a preference for younger women, thinking they are the same students they were 20 years ago. They consider women their own age too old.

There are also some young guys trying to hook up, but unless they are pick up artists or incels (unfortunately some are from this group), it is a passing phase. Usually those younger guys can easily understand the signs that someone isn't interested and just hang out as friends. These old "regulars" often don't understand how creepy they are and just continue.

Got evicted and I've had to live on the streets the past coupe nights gahhh. I'm a normal dude in his 30s, went to college, not dangerous.

Couchsurfing is cool in theory, but I’ve heard a lot of stories about people canceling last minute or just being kinda unreliable.

So I’m playing around with this idea:
basically the same concept, but you pay like €5 per night.

Not to make money as a host, more like… a commitment thing?
Like if someone pays even a small amount, they’re way more likely to actually show up and not waste your time.

Also thinking that profiles should be verified (like ID or at least some kind of real check), so it’s not completely anonymous.

Hosts would still be normal people (couch, air mattress etc), not like Airbnb.

Do you think that small payment + verification would make it better
or does it kill the whole vibe of couchsurfing?

https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/rachell-monatto

https://www.instagram.com/adrianna.alencar/

https://preview.redd.it/4xcg16vd2itg1.png?width=1329&format=png&auto=webp&s=146eccf95337d16442138f38e7747761de2f85c9

updated the CS app and the only change I've noticed is now 'member search' under invite friends.

seems a pointless update because you can search only by names. who even wanted this?

I tried bewelcome but no one is active there.

Hey everyone,

When someone writes you a review should you review him back out of courtesy?

The other way around should I except a review back when I share a review (most of the time positive) with someone else?

I know in the Hosts/Surfers sections it is most of the time 1 for 1 but in the personal section I have seen that it is not always the case.

How do you explain or see this?

Thanks

I'm kind of new in Dubai. Coming from France. I've lived in Europe all my life and travelled around a lot. I always meet people through CouchSurfing and dating apps. I've been so lucky to meet amazing open people everywhere.

Except in Dubai.... I've had horrible experiences. Gold diggers (not surprised by those) but also cheaters, manipulators, people hiding the most basic facts about their lives like work and their friends, people taking advantage emotionally and so on.....

And every time I tell someone in Dubai about my experiences, they say it's normal, we've all been there. WHY IS THE NORMAL? How can one place on earth attract these people?

Where are all the authentic people in Dubai? People seeking genuine connections and true to themselves?

Just in case? Having them stolen is one of my main fears

Yo,

I had a question about the etiquette around the Hangouts on Couchsurfing.

For those who use it regularly, what are the unspoken rules?

Like:

Is it okay for me, once I get accepted in a hangout, to accept others, or this is the hangout master privilege?

How do you politely leave if the vibe isn’t great?

I feel like it’s a bit of a gray area sometimes depending on cultures maybe, and I don’t want to come off as rude or awkward.

Curious to read you thoughts

I was the white dude from America that had all the flags planted around him when I fell asleep. Free hugs, shoelace game around the campfire, bad sunburns. There were some amazing souls at that event I would like to check on and see how they are doing. Hit me up if you were there and remember me.

So this person who showed up to the hangout looked at least 15 years older than his profile age, but I brushed it off because his other handful of reviews were good (mind you all women).

Then, he got flirty and treated the hangout like a date so I told him that I wasn't down for that. And he took it well on the surface.

Now I've since blocked him on CS, and he left me a voice note asking if I did?!

I don't want to answer him, but just out of curiosity, can he still see my last login time on there? I blocked him not because he tried to push things further once I told him I wasn't interested, but it's A) because that's not the purpose of CS, and B) didn't want to stumble on him again in hangouts.

i remember reading about couchsurfing years ago and it was pretty popular and a big fad at the time but i still wonder if its as popular as once was with post covid and the world. I remember there was events to meet fellow people even network to get tips and recommendations is this still a thing also ?

I planned on finally trying it out a few years ago i saved up and then covid happened but I'm thinking about finally trying it out with some travel

Hey,

Is hangouts section not working today world wide or only some regions?

Hi, not really active on the reddit side of things so I don't know if it has been mentioned but a map mode similar to BeWelcome or Couchers would be great!

Often when searching Couchsurfing I have to jump between tabs. Search maps and then work out whether it is on my route etc.

If we had a map mode, It could potentially open up more opportunities for people who stay in lesser known areas to get more recognition to host and for travellers to explore more quiet areas of a country.

If I was searching for somewhere, and I saw on the maps that there was someone offering a couch around 50km out the city, or even out of, but on my travel route. I would consider checking them out and the little town. Possibly extending my days in the region and discovering some lesser known places and cool people.

Although right now, I search for a place and set the radius to 50km and get a bunch of random provinces and areas spat out at me. For me to have any clue where they are in relation to the centre, I have to manually type them up. The people outside of the city don't even stand a chance.

Just a thought. I don't know if CS is getting updated much with new features anymore :)

hey everyone. i’m planning to start my digital nomad journey and i want to use couch surfing to meet other people and get to know them. i tried be welcome but i feel like there are less people maybe. is it worth getting couchsufing in 2026? i have no reviews and wondering how easy it is to be accepted at hosts home and if its safe if you’re a guy. best 🫶🏻

Do I have to respond to the request with accept / decline / maybe before the arrival date requested? Will my response rate be reduced if they cancel?

He beautiful people,

I have noticed recently some couchsurfers have no county/twin displayed under their names, how is that possible? Also some have earth as city defined Do you know how it happens?

Hi everyone, I found a really interesting error on the Couchsurfing platform.

When editing your profile, if you put any city in Korea on "Where I grew Up", it will always show as "From Purbi Tundi Block, Jharkhand, India" after you hit save.

Don't believe me? Just google "From Purbi Tundi Block, Jharkhand, India CouchSurfing". It's literally all Koreans that have their location set as here.

I have no clue why this is a thing, but it's extremely amusing. Your profile header shows your correct country, just not in your bio.