Vacation by Couchsurfing
Tips for the best couchsurfing guest
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Couchsurfing is one from the strongest cornerstones of our own travel around the globe over the past years. Due towards the endless and eager generosity of friendly locals we’ve been sheltered in the elements, given food to fill our belly, and entertained by their stories more times than we can easily actually remember.
We’ve lost tabs on the amount of times we’ve spent the night time on the couch or spare bed of any new friend made from the |
website, websites as bad their generosity we’ve always aimed towards being the right guest that we’d like to have within our own home.
Because on the increasing popularity in the accommodation-sharing and friend-making website within the last ten years there continues to be a noticeable difference in how a lot of people use the service, most chiefly to meet up with their own needs and towards his or her gains.
Like you we’ve also heard the stories about failures of awful Couchsurfing guests who've used and abused the generosity of these host to make sure they either; have a free evening of accommodation, a totally free meal, and free space for storing.
Neither of people want to see those guests still shift how people perceive Couchsurfing.
Couchsurfing is NOT a way to score free accommodation as some people may have you suspect.
Nine times away from ten a Couchsurfing guest will leave a bunch feeling thrilled to have popped their home to strangers. They get addressed with respect and gratitude - but every now and then there’s that you person who gives travellers a poor name as a consequence of one, or maybe a number of mistakes they’ve made. Sometimes there’s a cultural faux pas a stranger to a different country would possibly not understand - one example is: sometimes using footwear indoors in Japan may be perceived as rude - sometimes it’s an effective and harmless couple of one person’s notion of cleanliness differing to a different person’s.
Because on the increasing popularity in the accommodation-sharing and friend-making website within the last ten years there continues to be a noticeable difference in how a lot of people use the service, most chiefly to meet up with their own needs and towards his or her gains.
Like you we’ve also heard the stories about failures of awful Couchsurfing guests who've used and abused the generosity of these host to make sure they either; have a free evening of accommodation, a totally free meal, and free space for storing.
Neither of people want to see those guests still shift how people perceive Couchsurfing.
Couchsurfing is NOT a way to score free accommodation as some people may have you suspect.
Nine times away from ten a Couchsurfing guest will leave a bunch feeling thrilled to have popped their home to strangers. They get addressed with respect and gratitude - but every now and then there’s that you person who gives travellers a poor name as a consequence of one, or maybe a number of mistakes they’ve made. Sometimes there’s a cultural faux pas a stranger to a different country would possibly not understand - one example is: sometimes using footwear indoors in Japan may be perceived as rude - sometimes it’s an effective and harmless couple of one person’s notion of cleanliness differing to a different person’s.
- Learning To Be a Good Couchsurfing Guest
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There’s no perfect as well as simple solution to being the ideal guest - but providing we all play the role of a good example of how respectful a Couchsurfing guest could be, a lot more likely the service will probably be respected and used more widely.
The more respect there may be, a lot more people utilize it. The more people utilize it, a lot more countries we could all visit and experience throughout the eyes of an local.
Even after in excess of fifty Couchsurfing stays we’re not perfect, but we’ve learned a lot regarding the little things that is usually done as a good guest and also a respectful people.
In this post hopefully to pass on the little of the items we’ve learned in order that you too is usually a good guest and available the possibilities of experiencing a fun and fruitful experience.
Here are our tips:
The more respect there may be, a lot more people utilize it. The more people utilize it, a lot more countries we could all visit and experience throughout the eyes of an local.
Even after in excess of fifty Couchsurfing stays we’re not perfect, but we’ve learned a lot regarding the little things that is usually done as a good guest and also a respectful people.
In this post hopefully to pass on the little of the items we’ve learned in order that you too is usually a good guest and available the possibilities of experiencing a fun and fruitful experience.
Here are our tips:
- Make Your Couchsurfing Profile Honest
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Be yourself. There’s nothing worse than reading a wonderful profile about someone only to discover that anybody behind the written text isn’t as open-minded or friendly since they seem.
It’s very easy to think if you’re mailing fifty Couchsurfing requests at any given time and getting ZERO replies who's’d be far better to write what individuals want to read in lieu of what you truly believe, however in the long run you’re setting yourself up on an incredibly disappointing experience. |
You write that you just’ve a "bubbly personality" while in reality you’re an life-long introvert who can’t are in position to be at parties.
Fast to your stick with your host plus they’ve invited all of these best friends around for any BBQ and you’re set for being the star with the show.
Oh no. Crowds. People. Help. There’s nowhere to cover up.
Everyone is disappointed.
Not only do you have an excruciating time, you additionally had to pay another 3 days with your surprised (and slightly annoyed) host who cancelled promises to go away to keep and party along instead.
Be honest about what you are and what we like. People not only need to meet people that share precisely the same interests while they do, they also desire to meet people who've the complete opposite interests so they really can learn new stuff too.
We’ve stayed with non-vegans before simply because they wanted to find out more on veganism. Everyone wins!
- Send Honest and Personal Couchsurfing Requests
Your requests need being as honest as the profile. If you’re serious about meeting somewhere given that they’re former professional DJs, then say the maximum amount of in your request.
Want to understand more around the way a bunch cooks? Tell them.
Interested to learn how to juggle? Tell them.
Always desired to hear more concerning the way a designer thinks? Tell them.
Writing a reputable Couchsurfing request not merely shows you’re thinking about the person themselves, it also demonstrates you used your time to read their profile too which most rejected requesters never do.
- Use More Than One Host
Your host might look and sound fantastic from other profile, but what happens if there’s an awkwardness between you?
What if you’re accomplishment how you sound yourself profile? You’ve now five days in someone else’s home whom you can’t interact with no matter how much you are attempting because there’s no chemistry there. It’s not you, or them, it simply is.
Sometimes people just don’t connect so when they don’t it’s normally not better to have to invest long stretches of your energy in the other person’s space.
Our recommendation would be to split amount of time in a destination between two hosts, typically up to and including maximum of three nights with any host.
Sure, the thought of having to move every couple of days probably won't sound ideal to everyone, but look about the bright-side:
If your friend was visiting you from outside of town and didn’t call ahead tell you that these people were going for being six hours late simply because missed the train connection, you’d be pretty annoyed. Not only do you carve out a long time from your day to fulfill them for the station, you additionally cancelled a scheduled appointment and had prepared an evening meal for when the two of you returned home.
Emailing, texting, or calling your host from the run up for your stay is a fairly easy and common courtesy that will need little effort, yet goes quite a distance.
We always send a followup email in our host to permit them realize that we’re still coming. We text them about delays and refer to them as if we’re in a position to as well.
Make guaranteed to write down the telephone number and address of the host you’re set to become hosted by to ensure that even if your phone runs beyond battery you’ll still be competent to politely give them a call via a pay phone to ensure they are up to date.
You can’t always predict the period is going to keep on time, but trying your advisable to match the schedule of the host can go a considerable ways to show your appreciation for generosity.
If they just have a bouquet of keys then be careful that you’ll ought to come and go after they do. It’s rare so it happens, but be cautious and attentive whether it does.
It’s rare that any situation that is advertised being ‘Free’ generally is, and inside case of Couchsurfing the same is usually said.
Whilst it will be free accommodation for you it’s a single night or a couple of electricity, gas, water, and quite often food that may be being purchased by your host.
Now you could possibly feel that this above can be a small price to pay for just a couple of nights, but imagine to get a moment your host has another surfing guest every day or two or so. Over the course of the month that’s a ton of money spent around the above. Yes, nobody forced the host to invite guests into their apartment, but it really doesn’t imply that we as caring travellers shouldn’t be whatsoever times respectful in the fact.
Be the value of your stay. Give thanks towards the host because they are the best guest they’ve every invited into their house. Buy breakfast, cook them lunch, take them out for the drink, or pay because of their entrance to your club on Friday night when an exciting time is what they need.
You don’t have to invest a fortune. In fact, you don’t have to invest much by any means - however, if you’re not spending £50 every night on accommodation can it be so much to ask to pay at least a few Pounds, Dollars, or Euros to convey thanks?
Having lunch together or bringing food from home is usually a fantastic talking point around which you'll want to get to know more to do with your host plus the location you’re in.
Ask to learn tips on how to cook their favourite meal and it’s highly likely they may have a story about how precisely they came to master it or maybe a story about another time they shared the meal with another man and something hilarious happened.
Franca never leaves it for a while following arriving before asking about local and traditional food. What’s popular? Which ones are vegan? Do you know tips on how to make it? Can we allow it to become?
When I look back at many of my favourite Couchsurfing experiences I can hand-on-heart state that food was the centrepiece for it.
Share knowing about it and fascination with food and you’ll produce a great impression that could last for years.
Speaking of showers…
There’s really no excuse for not showering and staying clean. Okay, you’re on your own first holiday and you’re "finding yourself" so you’ve been walking barefoot over the past six months, but that’s to not mean you'll be ready honking up someone’s ‘castle’ using your oniony armpits and cheesy feet. Have some respect on your host as well as for yourself.
Charging your personal machine or phone is completely legitimate so you’ve no concern there, but leaving the TV on all day long or the air-con at full blast whilst you’re not even inside the house is likely to create a mountain of bills for your host to cope with many weeks once you’ve departed.
Being clean and neat in someone else’s home really shouldn’t be something which anyone should should recommend to a different person, but you’d a bit surpised at how often we’ve found out about messy and smelly Couchsurfing guests who’ve somewhere were able to create chaos through the course of the single day.
Keep your belongings within your backpack or right next with it. Don’t allow it to spread across the soil. If possible, keep the belongings out on the way as though they were invisible. If you’re staying within the sofa keeping your bag from the hallway where people rarely should walk or stand will be the smartest option, then you can definitely relocate it next to your sofa after you’re as a result of sleep to ensure that it’s near you if you need to shower or change.
One host once told us of any story that neither of people could believe.
After coming back home from work they found the apartment empty. They waited for that Couchsurfer to return to make sure they could eat together but immediately after hours there was clearly still no manifestation of them. A few hours later nevertheless no word. The surfer didn’t pass around their number while they said they'd so the host had no strategy for double checking that they are okay. The host tried to be up for provided that they could but eventually they needed to sleep as a consequence of an early start morning.
Four o’clock from the morning and also the surfer returned home - and so they weren’t alone.
After a time the noise woke the host up and - rightfully curious to learn why there have been more voices than they’d expected - they opened the entranceway and found how the surfer hadn’t just returned home drunk, but in addition with a quantity of beer-swilling friends.
Don’t be that guest. Don’t invite strangers into someone else’s home.
There really shouldn’t be any necessity for someone to become told to not take these liberties, but you’d be blown away just how switched-off, self-centred, and disrespectful people could be.
When travelling it’s simple to lose the realisation that men and women are still caught up within the 9-to-5 that many of people have escaped from. It’s an easy task to lose touch with how hectic life may be when it’s don't assume all Instagramming your breakfast and sipping £1 cocktails around the beach.
Remember that your particular host features a life and try your better to work around it. Come and go gets hotter suits them, not in the event it suits you.
Your host is being kind enough to invite you into their apartment. The least we are able to do is to get kind enough to help it become as simple to handle as it can be.
People tend to be too kind for their unique good and won’t say when enough is sufficient. They’re thrilled to host someone for just a few days, but eventually they’re all going to need their privacy back.
Don’t put your host into your awkward position of experiencing to ask you to definitely leave.
By maximising your stay to 3 nights you not simply make the host fully aware soon they’ll have their own privacy and space back, you personally can move ahead and see what another town looks like - as well as still - you can keep with another host in precisely the same location and obtain to explore another side than it.
On occasion we’ve stayed with hosts who sounded great into their profile and were fun and polite inside their correspondence, just for us to come and possess the most awkward time possible.
The host wasn’t bubbly. They weren’t as thinking about travelling as his or her profile suggested. One host didn’t even like Couchsurfing, they merely did it to make sure they could get yourself a free bed for the next occasion they went travelling.
Leaving a genuine review allows you separate out your unsuitable for Couchsurfing. Being coy with how you will word your review just so that you can don’t offend anyone isn’t fair either as the next surfer in the future along will have a horrendous experience too.
Be certain to write your review in the next best opportunity, even when it’s a week approximately later. The sooner the host gets more positive reviews on their own profile the additionally likely they’ll have better guests in future plus a greater chance at being accepted for their unique surfing requests after they next hold the time to travel.
If you’ve check this out far there’s a chance you feel you’re already an excellent Couchsurfing guest already, in case that’s the situation to get you a simply one favour - share this post to ensure those who aren’t great guests might make those simple changes.
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What if you’re accomplishment how you sound yourself profile? You’ve now five days in someone else’s home whom you can’t interact with no matter how much you are attempting because there’s no chemistry there. It’s not you, or them, it simply is.
Sometimes people just don’t connect so when they don’t it’s normally not better to have to invest long stretches of your energy in the other person’s space.
Our recommendation would be to split amount of time in a destination between two hosts, typically up to and including maximum of three nights with any host.
Sure, the thought of having to move every couple of days probably won't sound ideal to everyone, but look about the bright-side:
- You meet a lot more people.
- You remain in different parts with the town or city you’re in.
- The culture with the community from neighbourhood to your next might be wildly different
- The cafes, restaurants and bars differ from district an additional.
- There could be more activities to do in one neighbourhood in comparison to another.
- Keep Your Host Up To Date
If your friend was visiting you from outside of town and didn’t call ahead tell you that these people were going for being six hours late simply because missed the train connection, you’d be pretty annoyed. Not only do you carve out a long time from your day to fulfill them for the station, you additionally cancelled a scheduled appointment and had prepared an evening meal for when the two of you returned home.
Emailing, texting, or calling your host from the run up for your stay is a fairly easy and common courtesy that will need little effort, yet goes quite a distance.
We always send a followup email in our host to permit them realize that we’re still coming. We text them about delays and refer to them as if we’re in a position to as well.
Make guaranteed to write down the telephone number and address of the host you’re set to become hosted by to ensure that even if your phone runs beyond battery you’ll still be competent to politely give them a call via a pay phone to ensure they are up to date.
- Stick To The Host’s Schedule
You can’t always predict the period is going to keep on time, but trying your advisable to match the schedule of the host can go a considerable ways to show your appreciation for generosity.
If they just have a bouquet of keys then be careful that you’ll ought to come and go after they do. It’s rare so it happens, but be cautious and attentive whether it does.
- Remember That Couchsurfing Isn’t Free
It’s rare that any situation that is advertised being ‘Free’ generally is, and inside case of Couchsurfing the same is usually said.
Whilst it will be free accommodation for you it’s a single night or a couple of electricity, gas, water, and quite often food that may be being purchased by your host.
Now you could possibly feel that this above can be a small price to pay for just a couple of nights, but imagine to get a moment your host has another surfing guest every day or two or so. Over the course of the month that’s a ton of money spent around the above. Yes, nobody forced the host to invite guests into their apartment, but it really doesn’t imply that we as caring travellers shouldn’t be whatsoever times respectful in the fact.
Be the value of your stay. Give thanks towards the host because they are the best guest they’ve every invited into their house. Buy breakfast, cook them lunch, take them out for the drink, or pay because of their entrance to your club on Friday night when an exciting time is what they need.
You don’t have to invest a fortune. In fact, you don’t have to invest much by any means - however, if you’re not spending £50 every night on accommodation can it be so much to ask to pay at least a few Pounds, Dollars, or Euros to convey thanks?
- Share Food As Well As Stories
Having lunch together or bringing food from home is usually a fantastic talking point around which you'll want to get to know more to do with your host plus the location you’re in.
Ask to learn tips on how to cook their favourite meal and it’s highly likely they may have a story about how precisely they came to master it or maybe a story about another time they shared the meal with another man and something hilarious happened.
Franca never leaves it for a while following arriving before asking about local and traditional food. What’s popular? Which ones are vegan? Do you know tips on how to make it? Can we allow it to become?
When I look back at many of my favourite Couchsurfing experiences I can hand-on-heart state that food was the centrepiece for it.
Share knowing about it and fascination with food and you’ll produce a great impression that could last for years.
- Clean Up After Yourself… and Keep Yourself Clean
Speaking of showers…
There’s really no excuse for not showering and staying clean. Okay, you’re on your own first holiday and you’re "finding yourself" so you’ve been walking barefoot over the past six months, but that’s to not mean you'll be ready honking up someone’s ‘castle’ using your oniony armpits and cheesy feet. Have some respect on your host as well as for yourself.
- Don’t Waste Water or Electricity
Charging your personal machine or phone is completely legitimate so you’ve no concern there, but leaving the TV on all day long or the air-con at full blast whilst you’re not even inside the house is likely to create a mountain of bills for your host to cope with many weeks once you’ve departed.
- Keep Yourself Small
Being clean and neat in someone else’s home really shouldn’t be something which anyone should should recommend to a different person, but you’d a bit surpised at how often we’ve found out about messy and smelly Couchsurfing guests who’ve somewhere were able to create chaos through the course of the single day.
Keep your belongings within your backpack or right next with it. Don’t allow it to spread across the soil. If possible, keep the belongings out on the way as though they were invisible. If you’re staying within the sofa keeping your bag from the hallway where people rarely should walk or stand will be the smartest option, then you can definitely relocate it next to your sofa after you’re as a result of sleep to ensure that it’s near you if you need to shower or change.
- Be Mindful of Security
- Never Bring People Back
One host once told us of any story that neither of people could believe.
After coming back home from work they found the apartment empty. They waited for that Couchsurfer to return to make sure they could eat together but immediately after hours there was clearly still no manifestation of them. A few hours later nevertheless no word. The surfer didn’t pass around their number while they said they'd so the host had no strategy for double checking that they are okay. The host tried to be up for provided that they could but eventually they needed to sleep as a consequence of an early start morning.
Four o’clock from the morning and also the surfer returned home - and so they weren’t alone.
After a time the noise woke the host up and - rightfully curious to learn why there have been more voices than they’d expected - they opened the entranceway and found how the surfer hadn’t just returned home drunk, but in addition with a quantity of beer-swilling friends.
Don’t be that guest. Don’t invite strangers into someone else’s home.
There really shouldn’t be any necessity for someone to become told to not take these liberties, but you’d be blown away just how switched-off, self-centred, and disrespectful people could be.
- Remember That Your Host Still Has Work along with a Life
When travelling it’s simple to lose the realisation that men and women are still caught up within the 9-to-5 that many of people have escaped from. It’s an easy task to lose touch with how hectic life may be when it’s don't assume all Instagramming your breakfast and sipping £1 cocktails around the beach.
Remember that your particular host features a life and try your better to work around it. Come and go gets hotter suits them, not in the event it suits you.
Your host is being kind enough to invite you into their apartment. The least we are able to do is to get kind enough to help it become as simple to handle as it can be.
- Don’t Outstay Your Welcome
People tend to be too kind for their unique good and won’t say when enough is sufficient. They’re thrilled to host someone for just a few days, but eventually they’re all going to need their privacy back.
Don’t put your host into your awkward position of experiencing to ask you to definitely leave.
By maximising your stay to 3 nights you not simply make the host fully aware soon they’ll have their own privacy and space back, you personally can move ahead and see what another town looks like - as well as still - you can keep with another host in precisely the same location and obtain to explore another side than it.
- Leave An Honest Review As Soon As You Leave
On occasion we’ve stayed with hosts who sounded great into their profile and were fun and polite inside their correspondence, just for us to come and possess the most awkward time possible.
The host wasn’t bubbly. They weren’t as thinking about travelling as his or her profile suggested. One host didn’t even like Couchsurfing, they merely did it to make sure they could get yourself a free bed for the next occasion they went travelling.
Leaving a genuine review allows you separate out your unsuitable for Couchsurfing. Being coy with how you will word your review just so that you can don’t offend anyone isn’t fair either as the next surfer in the future along will have a horrendous experience too.
Be certain to write your review in the next best opportunity, even when it’s a week approximately later. The sooner the host gets more positive reviews on their own profile the additionally likely they’ll have better guests in future plus a greater chance at being accepted for their unique surfing requests after they next hold the time to travel.
If you’ve check this out far there’s a chance you feel you’re already an excellent Couchsurfing guest already, in case that’s the situation to get you a simply one favour - share this post to ensure those who aren’t great guests might make those simple changes.
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