Couchsurfing, why it's awesome and why you should join!

 If you are planning travel, a seasoned traveller or just love meeting new people CouchSurfing is a website you should consider joining.

Without hesitation I can say it's the best website I've ever joined. I've met so many amazing people, had incredible hosts who live in interesting places and who showed me generosity and kindness. It's allowed me to experience countries through the eyes of locals rather than just other travellers. It also helped me travel for longer because the accommodation is FREE. For nearly two months in Europe I didn't pay a single penny for a bed and that helped me travel further.

At present there are more than three million couchsurfing members spread about the globe but that number grows by about 20,000 new people a month.

For those who have never heard of CS the basic concept is this: 

CouchSurfing gathering in Jakarta

If you have a spare bed or traditionally a couch in your home and you are open minded you allow travellers to stay in your home. The person will contact you by looking at your profile, then send a request which you then accept, reject or ignore. You then look at their profile and decide whether you will host them or not. The system works because you have feedback on your profile from people you've met, much like with TradeMe.  Ideally, you will get to experience both a host and a surfer.. I've even had the pleasure of staying with people who I had already hosted.

My first guest was Anna for Aachen in Germany and two years after she stayed with me in my home town in New Zealand, this year I stayed with her in her place in Cologne.

I would say that people who offer their bed to strangers are generally pretty cool and not rapists or murderers as some concerned friends have suggested to me.

Your couchsurfing profile is a bit like a facebook profile: 

You can see mine here:  http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/fei/ . 

At dinner with some Sicilians

MY BEST EXPERIENCES: 

* My girlfriend and I stayed with some wonderful Sicilian guys in Palermo.. They were funny, cooked for us, told us a lot about the local culture and we met their friends and were treated to local.

* In Brussels, Belgium I stayed with a flat full of young Dutch Belgians.. I don't think I'd ever met any Belgians before and Brussels was described as being one of the most boring cities in Europe on the forums I had read. I had a fantastic time there! I learned that Belgians love comics, at the time they didn't have a proper government and a lot of them are fluent in Dutch, English and French and are able to switch freely between the three.

* Having two cool Czech hosts in two nights in Prague, one who I shared a really good laugh with, another who
took me to watch an obscure Czech singer/ comic book artist.

* Learning a bit about Thai culture from our Mexican host in Phuket

With some Surfers and traveller's in Vietnam

MOST COMMON CONCERN AMONG POTENTIALS HOSTS: 

But you let strangers into your house!?! Isn't that dangerous?

People say this to me often. I can certainly understand why they would have their doubts. 

Well, hopefully by the time you say yes to the person coming to your house you have read their profile thoroughly, checked their references and had a few emails of correspondence. Over 99 percent of all couchsurfing references are positive so you could conclude there reference system is pretty good. 

Have you ever had a negative experience? 

Yes I have.. Not horribly negative but a bit. I've had about 70 couchsurfing experiences. Some were so-so, 2 were not so good, most were great and several were mind-blowingly awesome. I've made some really great friends too.

In Brussels for dinner with young Belgians

I did lend a Couchsurfer some money once.. I had met a Cambodian guy who ran a school for disadvantaged children in Siem Reap.. He was very nice and genuine and a friend and I organised some fundraising for the school. Anyways.. a while later he asked to borrow some money. I lent it to him and he said he would repay within two months. It ended up being six months of emails and hassling him to get the money back.. I unfortunately found that this guy had done the same thing to other couchsurfers, some who didn't get their money back. Whether he was using the money for the school or not..It wasn't honest to meet people for couchsurfing under the pretext that they might give money to him..

Me on the left with my host (South African) and 2 other surfers

Do people use couchsurfing to find hookups?/ do couch-surfers often hookup? 


Undoubtedly some people do use the website for that purpose.. When I was in Rome I struggled to find a host because nearly all the hosts were men and a lot of the Italian guys had "female only" under their preferences for guests and had profile shots showing off their abs.

It seems inevitable that when young people are using a website like Couchsurfing to meet other people, particularly travelers that some people will kiss, fuck or even find a relationship (as I did)..




Do hosts cook for the couchsurfers?


Well you can if you want to.. You can also ask that they bring their own food, it's really up to the host.. I've had all sorts of different hosts. One girl in Bristol just gave me the keys to her apartment as she went to stay at her boyfriend's place. She also lent me her camera and laptop. I already had about 50 positive references on my profile at that point so she could be pretty sure I was trust-worthy (until I stole everything!!! only kidding)

With a surfer I hosted from the States

So basically, I wholeheartedly encourage you to get involved.. It's lots of fun. It's not for everyone, you have to have time put aside.

Do some people use Couchsurfing just for free accommodation?
It's true that free accommodation is a big part of the attraction to join the website but it would be obvious if someone was using you like a hotel. I've never had that sort of experience but I've heard of people who've had. Part of the point is you spend some time with your guest and make and effort to explain the place you live or even show them some local attractions. It just depends on your level of commitment 

Does any money exchange hands during Couchsurfing? 

If a Couchsurfer offered to contribute some money towards petrol if you are driving around a lot or food if they are staying for more than 4 days then that's fine but generally no money is involved.

SO WHY SHOULD YOU JOIN? 

Arm-wrestle with surfer Lars from Germany. He's one of my good friends and
I managed to catch up with him in both U.K and Ireland

I think that the spirit of Couchsurfing is really great. It's spreading good will and helping create connections between people all around the world. If I were to suddenly think of Thailand or Belgium or Germany, I would think of the locals I met in those places and the experiences I had. Hosting or being hosted has aided me knowledge of foreign countries. And it's so bloody easy!
Increasing one's knowledge of the diverse range of people and places on planet Earth can only enable one to understand it better. CS will not be to everyone's tastes but hopefully to yours!

Hopefully that convinced you to join!


Questions? Comments?