The Art Of Couchsurfing: Tips For Backpackers – The Art of Couchsurfing | How To Stay With Strangers Around The World Dec 02, 2015 | ANĐELKA JANKOVIĆ | Travel
You won’t find an 1886 medieval mansion with a greenhouse and butler’s quarters on Airbnb. It’s unlikely that your hostel will greet you with a cup of homemade coffee, and I’ve never heard of a hotel concierge taking you to a punk house show.
The Art Of Couchsurfing: Tips For Backpackers
If you’re longing for a more engaging or adventurous accommodation experience (because it’s more than just a change of scenery, right?), Couchsurfing is a way to travel cheaply and meet locals around the world. A travel community based on global altruism, Couchsurfing connects like-minded travelers on an online platform where “surfers” request to stay with a local host in a city. Fun fact – there are apparently more hosts on Couchsurfing than rooms at Hiltons! The main difference is that Couchsurfing accommodation is free of charge.
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In my six months of traveling across North America, I’ve stayed with over 12 hosts in 10 cities so far. Before doing it alone as a solo traveler, the idea of Couchsurfing made me nervous and I couldn’t help but think “what if I get killed?” (If you’re having the same thoughts, don’t worry.) When I got to my first house in Portland, I had no idea what it was all about, but I was curious enough to find out. And I’m so glad I did. I was on a one-off adventure and wanted to waste a moment playing small.
Visiting a stranger’s home was fertile ground for transformative experiences. In a matter of minutes, complete strangers have become good friends—sharing not only a place to lay my head, but also my time, friends, weekend plans, and personal trips around town. Couchsurfing hosts have gone above and beyond for me, and this weary traveler will be forever grateful for the good-natured offers of a fresh towel, hot shower, washing machine, cup of tea, pickled preserves, bikes, WiFi passwords, cat hugs, spare keys, and time together. The Couchsurfing ethos: “Expect nothing, be grateful for everything” encourages you to appreciate how generous humanity can be.
The good intentions and generosity of the Couchsurfing community is unlike anything else I’ve experienced. Couchsurfing can open doors to new experiences – not to mention people’s homes – but there are some etiquette rules to follow when using such a service.
The community keeps alive a genuine purpose of connection where the currency of service is presence – show up, leave expectations at the door, keep an open mind and go with the flow. Invited to a group I’ve never heard of? Of course! Want to try Peruvian food? I would love to! Couchsurfing is not for you if you’re looking for someone to throw your suitcases, party all night and sleep until 2pm. This is a community for travelers, not tourists. Your host may want to party (and those spontaneous nights in a new city are the best!), but the magic is also in taking the opportunity to hear someone else’s stories and perspectives (which lead to late-night conversations).
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He drove me across the Canadian border to catch a train, showed me around an abandoned church in Detroit, cooked vegan curry for an awareness community in Boulder, took me on an amazing leaf-peeping hike in Vermont, stayed with two ballet dancers in Montreal, shared Korean bibimbap with a Turkish surfer straight from his first transatlantic flight, and serenaded an all-male acapella group as it aired around MIT in Boston. I’ll never forget the midnight bike rides, share house dinners, swap meet music, restaurant tours, wall jumping adventures, hike tags, and every open hearted soul that didn’t really “kill” me, really – they made me felt more alive than ever.
Much more than just free accommodation, Couchsurfing is a safe, fun and adventurous way to meet like-minded locals, have life-changing experiences and discover that we’re all made of the same stuff – human gold!
Hopefully now you’re ready to dive headfirst [sorry, bad surfing game] into the world of Couchsurfing. If you have any questions, ask below or find me on Couchsurfing. You can follow her on Twitter at @TourAbsurd. If you’re a travel writer interested in submitting an idea for a future guest post, email editor-in-chief Bret Love at @gmail.com.)
When I travel, I like to meet people and connect with them. Although I’ve been on some wonderful package tours, I inevitably feel like there’s something missing that isolates travelers from their environment. For those looking for a deeper, more personal travel experience, there is a growing global community of travelers known as CouchSurfing.
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There are quite a few myths about CouchSurfing, some of which have even been perpetuated by reputable news sources. I’ll list them in reverse order because I have the most to say about #1:
While the age range of CouchSurfers may skew towards 20somethings, you’ll find people of all ages and income levels on the site. There are retirees, families with small children, single people, couples, students and the list goes on. There are CouchSurfing groups for almost every age, location and interest.
The first thing you do on CouchSurfing is set up your profile. Let your personality shine through, which will improve your chances of finding a place to stay and increase the likelihood of a compatible experience. For example, I’m an introvert who would find staying out at a club until 4am absolutely miserable. Although we may have had space on the couch when we lived in Cork, we wouldn’t take requests from people who stated they wanted to “check out the clubbing scene on St. Patrick’s Day!” CouchSurfing is supposed to be fun for everyone involved. Unhappy hosts = burnt out people who stop taking requests.
People who open their homes to travelers are as unique as the travelers themselves: some are adventurous, some do it because they can’t travel, some are empty nesters who love company. Sharing travel stories, sharing meals/activities and getting to know each other is the norm. Therefore, before sending a request on CouchSurfing, thoroughly read the profile of the person whose home you are requesting accommodation in. Hosts don’t want their homes to be seen as hotels. So some hosts hide a keyword or phrase somewhere in the description to separate the wheat from the chaff. If this word is not in the subject of your request, your message will be deleted. Remember, CouchSurfing is a community, not a service. Be a participant, not a user.
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CouchSurfing is not an exchange system and you don’t have to keep track of how many times you surf or host and then give back. Some CS members do neither, but simply connect with other travelers (which can mean anything from meeting up for a tea mint in Morocco or sharing the cost of renting a boat in Italy). For many, it’s the thrill of meeting new people and giving unconditionally. The phrases “pay it forward”, “karma” and “the gift economy” often come up in discussions. The site also has groups based on location or interest where you can schedule meetings for local meetups. In Cork, for example, there is usually at least one meeting a week in the local pub. However, you are NEVER obligated to host or accept an offer to stay with someone.
One of the first questions I get about CouchSurfing is, “Aren’t you scared?” The answer is no, I didn’t. On different continents, in different cultures and in different languages, I have found that people are inherently good and decent. However, the CS site also has some security checks and balances. First, there’s the profile: if someone’s profile is missing information, don’t send them a request or accept their profile. Second, here is the voucher system:
“When someone is vouched for, it means a higher level of trust in the community. The only way to become vouched for is to be extremely trusted by someone who has been vouched for by three other members. You have to know yourself in the real world… Once you’ve vouched three times, you can vouch for members you honestly believe are trustworthy.”
Third, there is the referral system. Each time you meet a CouchSurfer, you have the option to leave a positive, neutral or negative reference and comments about your experience. When you leave a reference, you need to do it honestly. I once came across a blog post that suggested, “It’s best to leave neutral responses (or none at all) instead of negative ones.” That’s crazy. According to the website, “references are one of the key security features of CouchSurfing…for the benefit of other members…Other people can read this information and make an informed decision about who they want to host, surf or meet.” In short, advising people to undermine the system is dangerous for everyone involved.
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Yes, it’s free! Charging for accommodation is against the CS terms of service. But that doesn’t mean you have to feed or pay anyone