As a way to reduce costs and meet people while traveling, I've decided to couch surf. The very idea of sleeping at a complete strangers house seemed weird but I'm thinking, what the hell, I should just try stuff. I've been looking at some listings and some people seem cool while many give creepy vibes from the get go.
A lot of women have very strict conditions which is understandable as I imagine they get a lot creepy dudes trying to stay with them. But at the same time they don't give off very friendly vibes. Some male hosts don't even accept men which is amusing.
Has anyone here done it? Did you meet cool people? Cut down on accommodation costs?
"Has anyone here done it?" I was most recently a CS host for about 5 years. I wanted to pay it forward because I'd couchsurfed a lot as a guest when I was younger. Back when I did it as a guest there were 3 Internet orgs - Hospitality Homes, Couchsurfing, and Global Freeloaders. When I started hosting couchsurfing.org had become by far the most popular org of that sort, so I was just a CS host.
I did it as a traveler for about 7 years, off and on, then as a host for about 5 years as I mentioned above.
"Did you meet cool people?" As a guest every host I met was cool. That was my attitude. They were giving me a free place to stay after all. As a host I liked some guests more than others, but I never had any bad experiences. Well, once as a host I was in a bad mood because my wife and I were not getting along, and I sort of took it out on my CS guests, without explaining to them why I was acting like such a dick, not that it would have mattered. They just up and left without saying goodbye. Fortunately they didn't leave me a bad reference.
"Cut down on accommodation costs?" Yes of course. I saved a ton.
To address some of your comments:
"I've been looking at some listings and some people seem cool while many give creepy vibes from the get go." At some point many people caught on that Couchsurfing would be a good way to meet sex partners. It slowly started shifting from 99% an org which got legit world travelers and sincere traveler hosts together, to a dating service more and more. The creepy vibe has not gone away since. Having said that, I'm sure that there are many great people still using it the way it was meant to be used. You can sort of tell by the profile, and by the references. Haven't been a CS user for a while now; hope it hasn't gone downhill too much. When I used it it was great.
"A lot of women have very strict conditions which is understandable as I imagine they get a lot creepy dudes trying to stay with them." Correct.
"But at the same time they don't give off very friendly vibes." You have no idea what they've been through. I don't think it's a good idea for a young single woman to be a CS host unless she only accepts couples or single female travelers. Otherwise, she should expect guys to come onto her. That's what many of us do. Doesn't mean we're assholes and rapists though. If the idea of a guy being turned on by her repulses her, she should not be a CS host. If she doesn't mind it, and can take care of herself if it happens, then she might be more likely to have a friendly vibe on her CS profile.
"Some male hosts don't even accept men which is amusing." These are the ones looking for a sex partner.
