Sleeping at houses of strangers – Couchsurfing explained

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I mentioned Couchsurfing in many articles already, but this is an article, to understand it better. It will make it easier to understand upcoming articles as well. It is another way to save money during the topic of Accommodation. Basically sleeping at houses of strangers, here I will explain everything you need to know about Couchsurfing.

What is Couchsurfing?

Couchsurfing is a application, where it is possible for travelers, to stay for free at locals. For locals on the other hand it is possible helping travelers and let them stay over at their place. For the traveler it is possible, to travel like a local. You are able to experience the culture of the place and the daily life as well, which is usually not possible with other accommodation options.

For me as a host, I can tell that it is great as well to host people. You are able to get to know new people and can show them your city. It is also possible to learn about their countries due to the cultural exchange. Maybe in the future, it is possible for them to host you as well. You are able to have a feeling of traveling, while you are stuck in your own daily life. 

It is there, to bring people together and also to help on the one hand and receive help on the other. Couchsurfing is not a thing to use, just to save money, it is also a thing, that spending some time with the host is a thing to do. It is nothing which is required, but it is something which you should just do! 

Many people are also cooking together, which I do too and also some people are bringing gifts, which I personally don’t think is important to do. Still the upcoming host would of course appreciate it.

Is Couchsurfing safe?

After having met over 250 people with this application, I can tell that it feels safe due to some factors. 

1. References at the profile. After each experience with a person, you should write a reference, which most people do. With the references you are able to tell what to expect from the person. There is the option between a positive and a negative one.
2. Verification. Before creating an account, you are able to give Couchsurfing many information about you, which are not able to be seen from others. It is located at your profile, for example, Couchsurfing having your passport information. This is giving you a safe feeling as well.
3. Read the profile, in the profile, you are able to find out what the intentions of people are. When there is for example a guy, who is hosting only girls, it is likely to understand what he may want. But of course there is the majority, who don’t use it as trying to date someone.

I feel like, when reading every profile and also sticking to people, who have references, it will be safe. Most people are good at Couchsurfing and are just willing to get to know people and have a great time. 

It is always a trust thing, but you can never say that it is guaranteed safe. You can’t do that for anything, even in a hostel or in a hotel, bad stuff can happen. 

What to expect?

When using Couchsurfing, you can expect to learn things about different cultures and meet people. When traveling by yourself, you are able to also have someone there with you, who is able to help you. 

The application is based on willingness to have a cultural exchange and is believing in the kind of people. It is important that it is not used to make money, so when someone asks for it, refuse it. 

It is hard to say, what you can really expect, because every person is different, you can’t say “it for sure will be like this!”. Every culture and every habit of people are different. This is why I use it. To learn a lot and have a variety of experiences. 

A really common thing is that you are cooking together or sharing a meal, something like that. Listening to music and talking about Couchsurfing experiences, this I have most with people, who have hosted many people too. 

Maybe it is also happening, that you are going to explore the city together, or at least get some tips on things, which are good to visit. 

Does it cost money?

Couchsurfing in general is free, when using it, but you need to pay in the first world countries a fee, for having the membership. It depends on the country, in Germany for example, it is around 13,99 EUR a year. 

The hosting and getting hosted are for free, so it is not allowed to ask for money, you can spend that on food, which you share together, that is always something nice. 

When having someone who you can tell is asking for money, you can report the person.

There is the option to buy a verification for lifetime, but it is not necessary to spend a lot of money for it. You are able to get a free verification as well, for this you just need to host three people. For every other person, you are hosting, you are getting another three months free verification. 

The verification does cost $60, which is in my opinion not well spent, because hosting people will not harm you. Also your profile needs to be good, the verification is not the biggest help of getting hosts, I never really check if someone is verificated.  

What are the different profiles on Couchsurfing?

There are a few different types of profiles, I try to generalize some of them.

1. Ambassadors, there is a small group of ambassadors on Couchsurfing. They are there, to help having a good overview of the platform and are there to help you. Most ambassadors have been there for decades on the website and then there are also people like me, who have been using it since the end of 2019, but made it to become an ambassador. 
2. Hosts, there are people, who are mainly using the application to host people. The best example of this is a friend of mine, from Scotland. He stayed with less than 15 people, but hosted over 200. 
3. Surfers, that is people, who mainly use it, to stay only with different people, without letting people stay at their home. In general, this is something which is of course allowed, but it is not what it is meant to be. Many people are also not hosting people, who never hosted. 
4. People who are new are just searching for a free place to stay. Those people are usually new profiles, with almost no references. You can tell that they are using copy paste messages, when sending out a request and are not really interested in getting to know you.
5. Also there are people like me, who are doing both, hosting and surfing. These people fully use this application. They are like to take and to give and just do. Liking to share quality time with the host and the surfers. Just an allrounder, if you can say it like that.
6. There are people who just use Couchsurfing for the hangout option. They are going to have most likely only personal references. They aren’t really hot people and they don’t really stay with people. These users you are mainly going to find at events or in the general hangout option. 
7. The bad people, who are using Couchsurfing just for dating. They don’t care about really helping out, they mainly want to have Sex with the people they are hosting. The good thing is, they are quite easy to detect, at least for women. Most likely guys, who have not the most pictures and also possible shirtless pictures. They are having in their profile the information that they would just like to host women. Sadly those people are there. This has nothing to do with this application. It is there to help people and learn about different cultures. 

The pros of Couchsurfing

The pros are quite simple in my opinion.

1. You are having a free place to stay, while you are traveling.
2. You are going to meet new people, most likely locals as well.
3. It is possible that you are going to have the chance to experience how it is to live as a local in the country you are visiting. 
4. You are able to learn about many subjects and are able to meet people, with the same interest. Most people wrote their interests in their profile. Same as visited countries and countries lived in, are things mentioned in most profiles. 

The cons of Couchsurfing

I also think that the cons are also quite simple. 

1. You may not be obligated to spend time with your host, but it is a common thing to do. There are some days, where the motivation is just not there, but that is kind of still part of it. That doesn’t belong to every host and also with clear communication that problem could be made smaller. It is at the end not a hotel or hostel. 
2. Sometimes you are not getting along with the people, but are stuck with them. To be honest, this happened almost never to me, but it is possible.
3. It can sometimes be hard to find a host in general. When your profile is not filled with many references, it could be harder or with little information, or when sending copy paste messages. Many things can be the matter of the issue. It is also in some regions just a thing, where for example males are unlikely to find a host. In some cases the same for women, that is most likely due to religion though. 
4. The App is really bad, when using the browser it is better, but still. There are many things which for sure need to change in order to get better. 
5. It is not for free anymore. Also I find it personally unfair that only first world countries need to pay. I understand why for example people in Afghanistan can’t afford the money, people in Germany would need to pay, but they could adjust to it. With people paying for it, many people left the application, which is sad. 

Why do I use it?

I use Couchsurfing, due to the fact that I love to learn things about different cultures. It is on the other hand great for me to let people stay at my place, like this I can help and feel like traveling, even though I am just staying at home. 

Many people were met through the application, who are now important for me and with whom I am standing in regular contact. We are visiting each other in each other’s places. Also gaining new ideas are great things, which this place has to offer. 

Personally it helped me a lot, during not easy times of my life and that is a reason why it is so important for me. It helps of course also to make my trips cheaper, but also more unforgettable, when meeting amazing people. I can say for myself, that I have friends or at least contacts on all continents, besides Antarctica, and in just many countries in this world. 

Is it important to also host people when I use it for traveling?

It is really important to host people before, because some people are maybe not even going to host you, when they think that you are only taking and not giving. Also I personally think that it is important to host people, to experience it. For me it is even better to host myself, then staying at other people’s places. 

Not even that people might not want to host you, it will in general make it so much harder for you. By hosting people, you will receive references easily, because many people don’t care where they are staying. So having no references as a host is easier to receive people. That is also how I started. Before getting hosted the first time, I was already hosting many people and received some experiences and references!

For who is Couchsurfing useful and for who it is not?

It is in general useful for people, who are open minded and ready to meet people and also staying with them, in their homes or letting them stay in your home. It is of course nothing for you, when you need a quiet place for yourself, where you are going after a stressful day, before interaction is part of it. 

Of course when you don’t have much money it is something good to use, but even then you should be really wanting to meet and get to know people, this is the most important thing.

Also with money this can be something for you. Many people with money are using it, it is just about meeting people in general.

It is possible getting out of your bubble like this and hearing new aspects of things, which can be maybe positive or negative for you. 

It doesn’t make sense to use it, when you are focused on dating people, this is not what it is about. When you want to help, meet and get to know other people, then this is great for you to use.

Summary

Couchsurfing is an application, where every type of human can be part of. It doesn’t matter what religion, gender or race you have. Also it doesn’t matter what your ideology is, if you are a nudist or a free spirit, a person who gets food from the bin, everyone who really wants to be part of the community can be. It really doesn’t matter, as long as you behave and are respectful to everyone, who you are going to cross paths with. 

It may be possible for you to experience negative things, but mainly this will not be the case. When reading careful references and profiles in general, the chance of having a bad experience will decrease for sure. What is most important, when you don’t have a good feeling from the beginning on, don’t stay with the person and don’t host and meet them!

This is my profile for example Click on this link to see it.

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