Uploaded March 2018 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
FOLLOW ME! (^_^):
*On Twitter: @SonnieTravels
*On Instagram: @SonnieTravels
We’ve had mixed experiences while couchsurfing. The bad experience was pretty dang bad, but we learned a lot from it and our next two times couchsurfing was wonderful! So , I wanted to share what I’ve learned with you. SO! In this video, I want to give you some tips and tricks on how to have a great Couchsurfing experience! But first, what is Couchsurfing?! Couchsurfing, for those of you who don’t know, is a community of travellers who offer their spare rooms or couch or whatever they have for other travellers to crash on.
1. Build A Complete & Honest Profile: Make your profile perfectly clear about who you are, what style of traveling you like and what you enjoy. Don’t sugar coat things. After a bad experience couchsurfing, I changed my profile to include that Joe and I aren’t crazy party people and don’t want to go clubbing all night. This directly lead to much more positive experiences down the road with much more chill people.
2. Look For Complete Profiles: Stay with people with pictures, a profile AND reviews. If they don’t have all three of these, skip em. This is usually a clear sign that they’re not dedicated and may cancel on your plans last minute or stop replying to you.
3. Read their profiles with a fine-toothed comb: After we had a negative couchsurfing experience, I went back and reread their profile and noticed some red flags that I didn’t originally pick up on because I was so excited to book this trip! While I like being optimistic, optimism has no place on Couchsurfing. You’re staying with a stranger, so try to get to know them before you go.
4. Don’t Spam People: When you message people, don’t send out the same spam request to each person. People will know. Customize the message. You’re asking to stay in their homes, so tell them what in their profile stood out to you to make you want to stay with them. What do you have in common? Show them that you’re interested in THEM, not just their couch.
5. Show Your Gratitude: Someone is opening their home to you. They’re saving you a ton of money, sharing their knowledge as a local with you, and will sometimes even cook for you! So make sure to show your appreciation. We liked to treat them to a meal out, but you can also, bring them over a bottle of wine or a case of beer (depending on their interests). It’ll start your relationship off on the right foot.
6. If You’re Having A Negative Experience, Leave: Don’t stay in a home that makes you uncomfortable. Especially if you don’t feel safe; leave as soon as possible. Don’t feel bad about it. Try not to be rude, because it may make the situation worse, but get out. We used the excuse that we felt we saw everything in the area already and decided to get a head start on the next part of our journey. We thanked our host and left. Easy as that.
7. Leave A Review: The best thing you can do for someone on Couchsurfing is to leave a positive review for them. It increases the chance that they can stay at other people’s places and may help them host more travellers too! Even if you have just an ok time, write a short, but positive review. Don’t straight up lie, but highlight the positives. If you didn’t click with someone, maybe write about their awesome knowledge of local restaurants or bars. You can think of something nice to say! I know it.
Thanks so much for watching! Have you ever couchsurfed? What were your experiences like? Please comment below with your thoughts and stories! If you like this video, please hit the Like button, it really helps my channel and subscribe if you’d like to see more! If you’ve already subscribed, hit the little bell icon next to the subscription box so you get a notification every time I upload a new video! I’ll see you next week! Bye!
FOLLOW ME! (^_^):
*On Twitter: @SonnieTravels
*On Instagram: @SonnieTravels
We’ve had mixed experiences while couchsurfing. The bad experience was pretty dang bad, but we learned a lot from it and our next two times couchsurfing was wonderful! So , I wanted to share what I’ve learned with you. SO! In this video, I want to give you some tips and tricks on how to have a great Couchsurfing experience! But first, what is Couchsurfing?! Couchsurfing, for those of you who don’t know, is a community of travellers who offer their spare rooms or couch or whatever they have for other travellers to crash on.
1. Build A Complete & Honest Profile: Make your profile perfectly clear about who you are, what style of traveling you like and what you enjoy. Don’t sugar coat things. After a bad experience couchsurfing, I changed my profile to include that Joe and I aren’t crazy party people and don’t want to go clubbing all night. This directly lead to much more positive experiences down the road with much more chill people.
2. Look For Complete Profiles: Stay with people with pictures, a profile AND reviews. If they don’t have all three of these, skip em. This is usually a clear sign that they’re not dedicated and may cancel on your plans last minute or stop replying to you.
3. Read their profiles with a fine-toothed comb: After we had a negative couchsurfing experience, I went back and reread their profile and noticed some red flags that I didn’t originally pick up on because I was so excited to book this trip! While I like being optimistic, optimism has no place on Couchsurfing. You’re staying with a stranger, so try to get to know them before you go.
4. Don’t Spam People: When you message people, don’t send out the same spam request to each person. People will know. Customize the message. You’re asking to stay in their homes, so tell them what in their profile stood out to you to make you want to stay with them. What do you have in common? Show them that you’re interested in THEM, not just their couch.
5. Show Your Gratitude: Someone is opening their home to you. They’re saving you a ton of money, sharing their knowledge as a local with you, and will sometimes even cook for you! So make sure to show your appreciation. We liked to treat them to a meal out, but you can also, bring them over a bottle of wine or a case of beer (depending on their interests). It’ll start your relationship off on the right foot.
6. If You’re Having A Negative Experience, Leave: Don’t stay in a home that makes you uncomfortable. Especially if you don’t feel safe; leave as soon as possible. Don’t feel bad about it. Try not to be rude, because it may make the situation worse, but get out. We used the excuse that we felt we saw everything in the area already and decided to get a head start on the next part of our journey. We thanked our host and left. Easy as that.
7. Leave A Review: The best thing you can do for someone on Couchsurfing is to leave a positive review for them. It increases the chance that they can stay at other people’s places and may help them host more travellers too! Even if you have just an ok time, write a short, but positive review. Don’t straight up lie, but highlight the positives. If you didn’t click with someone, maybe write about their awesome knowledge of local restaurants or bars. You can think of something nice to say! I know it.
Thanks so much for watching! Have you ever couchsurfed? What were your experiences like? Please comment below with your thoughts and stories! If you like this video, please hit the Like button, it really helps my channel and subscribe if you’d like to see more! If you’ve already subscribed, hit the little bell icon next to the subscription box so you get a notification every time I upload a new video! I’ll see you next week! Bye!
