My Top 8 Tips for Successful Couchsurfing

One of my favorite ways to save money and meet people while I'm traveling is Couchsurfing. I've mentioned it several times in previous posts but for those of you who are not familiar with it, Couchsurfing is a website that allows travelers to find hosts in the cities they are traveling to who will provide them with a free place to stay. Not only is it budget friendly, but it's also a great way to meet locals if you are looking for a more authentic cultural experience as opposed to meeting mostly fellow travelers like you would at a hostel. If you are interested in trying Couchsurfing but need some pointers, or if you simply want to learn more about it, I have compiled a list of my best tips for navigating the site, finding a host and having a successful Couchsurfing experience.
(Note that even though I'm writing this with the focus on surfers looking for hosts, it also applies if you want to be a host as well.)


1) Know yourself

The first thing you will need to figure out is whether Couchsurfing is the right type of accommodation for you. You cannot expect the same consistency as you would at a hostel, or the convenience and personal space as a hotel. Also be aware that the host is not obligated to provide extras like towels and food, although some do. The accommodations very greatly from host to host, so each experience will be different. The general idea is that you sleep on someone's couch, but you may also get an air mattress in their living room, a place on the floor to put your sleeping bag, or if you're really lucky, your own bedroom. This actually happened to me several times in Europe, and a couple of them even had private bathrooms! But that is not the norm, so you have to be prepared for very basic arrangements.

You will love Couchsurfing if you:
-want to meet locals
-are on a budget
-are flexible and adaptable
-are not expecting luxury

Couchsurfing is probably not the best choice if you:
-are picky about where you sleep
-want to sleep in a real bed
-value consistency
-are uncomfortable staying with someone you just met

Some of my best travel experiences have been thanks to my Couchsurfing hosts. They live where you are traveling so they know the city very well, and I love it when they take the time to show me places or foods that I normally wouldn't have known about because they are off the beaten tourist path. Ultimately, you have to decide what is best for you and your traveling style. However, if you open yourself up to the possibilities, Couchsurfing can enhance your trip while saving you money.


2) Fill out your profile completely

Now that you've decided to take the plunge, it's time to sign up and fill out your profile. Signing up is free and very easy. You simply go to the Couchsurfing website, and either create a username and password or connect with Facebook. Then you will create a profile, similar to any other social network (name, picture, basic information about yourself, etc). In addition, Couchsurfing asks you to write about your experience with couchsurfing, why you are on the site, what you have to offer your hosts or guests, and various other "essay" format questions. My advice is to fill out all of the sections. When I look at someone's profile, I am much more likely to contact them if they have a full profile, as opposed to someone who only has a few lines about their favorite movies. The more a person has written, the more it suggests to me that they are invested in the community and will respond to my message in a timely manner.


3) Read hosts' profiles completely

It is always a good idea to know as much about a person as possible before you contact them, so read their entire profile, even if it's long. Hosts want to know that you took the time to get to know them, and on the flip side, you also want to make sure there isn't something about them that you missed that would make them an unsuitable host for you (for example, if you are a smoker and they do not allow smoking, or they have pets and you are allergic, etc). Some hosts will also put a keyword in their profile and request that you include it in your message so they can tell that you read all the way to the bottom. Taking the time to peruse all of the information will make you more informed about the person, and can save you from wasting time contacting someone who won't be a good fit.


4) Check references

References are feedback that others in the Couchsurfing community have left about their experience with a host or guest, and they can be even more important than what the person writes about themself in their profile. If someone has a lot of positive references, you can be confident that they are a trustworthy person who you will feel safe staying with. If they have some bad references, take the time to read those carefully and see what kind of negative comments their previous guests have had. If the negative feedback is not outweighed by the positive, I move along.

Also, if you are new to Couchsurfing and you have friends who are active on the site, it is a great idea to ask one of them to write you a reference. That will give you more credibility on the site and show hosts that you are trustworthy and a good candidate to have as a guest.


5) Write individual requests for each host

When you are searching for a host, it can be tempting to write a single message and copy and paste it to multiple people. However, most readers can tell when you've done that (especially if you forget to change the name, which I've heard about happening), and it is a big turn off. It is nice for a host to know that there was something in their profile that made them stand out from all of the other hosts out there, so I make sure I always start the message from scratch for each new host, and pick out at least one thing from their profile that we have in common or that intrigued me about them. That makes it more personal and more likely that the person will respond. The only part of a couch request that I ever copy and paste is the information about myself and the dates I will be in their city, since that obviously does not change from person to person if you decide to contact multiple hosts in the same city. My typical formula for a couch request message looks like this:

Greeting, including the person's name
Introduce myself
When I will be in their city
Why I want to meet them (what we have in common, what I liked about their profile, etc)
Closing, expressing anticipation to hear back from them

This technique is thorough but doesn't take too long, and you will get much better responses then if you only spend a minute jotting down a couple of sentences or spam a bunch of hosts with a cookie-cutter message.


6) Use the "Public Trip" feature

The Couchsurfing site has a feature where you can create a Public Trip, which is simply a post you write including the city you are going to, the dates you will be traveling, and a description of your trip. Once it is published, it can be seen by hosts in that city, and sometimes hosts will offer travelers a place to stay based on their trip posting instead of the traveler needing to search for a host. This has saved me a lot of time in the past because instead of looking through pages and pages of host profiles, hosts have contacted me with offers. Sometimes you get no responses, but other times you can be inundated; when I posted a public trip for Rome, I got over 10 offers! I suggest creating a public trip every time you travel. Even if you also want to search on your own, or if you get offers but decide not to accept them, it's always nice to have that as an option.


7) Allow enough time before you travel

It's never a good feeling to be stuck with nowhere to stay just days before you travel. To be safe, I usually start the process of finding a host about 2-3 weeks before I leave. I start by posting a public trip, then I wait a few days to see if I get any offers, and if I don't, I start the search myself. The sooner you start sending requests, the more likely it is that a host will be available, and the less crunched for time you will feel if it takes a few days to hear back. Just be aware that if you start too early, hosts might not know their schedule yet.

Even if you do all of this and start with plenty of time, there is still the possibility of ending up host-less right before your trip. Some cities, like Salzburg, have relatively small populations compared to the number of tourists who visit, so it can be very difficult to find a host who isn't already hosting someone else. When I was in Salzburg, I ended up having to stay in a hostel because I just couldn't find anyone, so keep in mind that Couchsurfing is not always a sure thing. Some cities have groups on the Couchsurfing website specifically for last minute couch requests, so if you've had no luck after all of your searching, those can sometimes offer a solution. Simply search under groups for "last minute" plus the city, and if there is indeed a group, you can write a post and hope someone responds quickly. The effectiveness of these groups varies greatly by city, so sometimes you might get lucky. However, if you've found yourself in this situation, you might just have to settle for a hostel in the end.

Once you have found a host (congratulations!), make sure to stay in contact with them, especially if it is several weeks before you will stay with them. I like to follow up a few days before just in case they need a reminder about my stay. It's a good thing I did this with the host I was supposed to stay with when I arrived in Costa Rica, because he messaged back and said he would be out of town. I'm not sure why he offered me a place to stay and then made other plans, but luckily I was able to quickly find someone else to stay with and didn't end up waiting around once I got to San Jose, wondering where he was.


8) Trust your instincts

Finally, this is probably the most important piece of advice I can give. Couchsurfing is a great community of many friendly, generous, caring and amazing people, but every community has the potential for some deceitful characters, and your safety should always be your top priority. If someone contacts you and you don't get a good vibe from them, just politely decline their offer and move on. It's also perfectly okay not to respond if you'd rather not communicate with someone, and if there is a person who is making you very uncomfortable, I believe you can report them to the Couchsurfing site. Also, don't be afraid to change your mind about staying with someone at any point in the process, even if it's when you are already at their house. It's better to be safe than sorry, and you want to feel comfortable in the place where you are staying. My interactions with my Couchsurfing hosts have taken many different forms, and there were of course some that I got along with better than others, but all of my experiences have been positive. The vast majority of the people who participate in Couchsurfing are great people, and with the right amount of caution, careful reading of profiles and references, and trusting the feelings you get about people (positive or negative), you should have a successful and safe Couchsurfing experience.

Visiting a castle with my Couchsurfing host from Artés, Spain

A note for female travelers: as women, there are unfortunately safety concerns that we have to think about that most men do not. One thing I've noticed about Couchsurfing is that most of the hosts you will find on the site are men, and in fact, I have never stayed with a female host (although there have been a couple of hosts who were married or had female roommates). I suppose this makes sense, since women do have to think more about safety and are therefore less likely to feel comfortable inviting strangers into their homes. But ladies, do not let this stop you. If you feel more comfortable with a female host, you can tailor your search accordingly, but also know that there are lots of great hosts out there, most of whom just happen to be men, and it would be a shame to miss out on the opportunity to meet them.


Bonus tip: even if you don't want to stay with a stranger, Couchsurfing can be a good way to meet up with locals. You can search for members who are listed as "Wants to Meet Up" instead of "Accepting Guests," you can post a public trip just saying you want to meet people, or you can check the "Events" section of the site for things happening in the area. I went to a Couchsurfing meet up event when I was in Dublin and had a great time just meeting and chatting with people.

I hope these tips have been helpful, whether you are new to Couchsurfing, have lots of experience, or just want to learn more about it. If you have questions or your own Couchsurfing advice to share, feel free to post them in the comments. Happy travels!