CouchsurfingReviews of couchsurfing.com

For those that are newer to Couchsurfing, this may serve as some enlightenment. Anyone who used it a decade ago probably no longer does, and will only nod at the points I'm about to make. Courchsurfing started as a weird idea that actually blossomed into an amazing community. I made close friends, and even met a significant other, through Couchsurfing. It was a group of people who loved to travel just slightly more than they liked helping others. Just awesome, awesome people. When it first started. Then one day the founder said to everyone, "Thanks for your thousands upon thousands of hours of volunteer work - I'm now monetizing the site and changing everything you loved about it. I will not be sharing any of this income with the people who worked to build this from the ground-up, rather, I will take the money gladly and see how much more I can make." This upset a lot of people, as you might expect. The people who were truly interested in travel and helping others more fully embraced sites like BeWelcome and HospitalityExchange. But it got worse. The media was pumping Couchsurfing, and people started spinning it - it wasn't a place to meet fellow travelers and help each other save on costs, it became a place where deviants went to hook up with people. Meetups, which were normally reserved for long-time community members seeking to welcome newer members, became full on degenerate parties. New members to Couchsurfing were all about what they could get out of it, rather than what they could give, because it was advertised over and over and over as a place to find free accommodations. And then some really disgusting things started happening, and it actually started where the whole mess began, in San Francisco. People started denying guests on the basis of gender, and wouldn't host someone unless they would have sex with the host. At this point, the authorities probably should have stepped in, but Casey (the founder) was still spewing a bunch of PR garbage that newbies and the world at large were buying. So it continued. The last experience I ever had with this site was hosting a girl for a couple nights. Well, I had agreed to a couple nights. Then she wanted to live there temporarily while she did some interviews and started a new job. Not really what it's for, but I agreed to help. She, apparently, was so thankful, she showered the next night and came out from the bathroom wearing very little. Being a single guy living in a small town, some consensual activities may have ensued, but nothing could have made up for the next night, when she started acting flat out weird and rude to me. So much so, that I very clearly asked her, "So, the plan is still that you're leaving tomorrow, right?" Now she started yelling at me, rather than answer the question. Quickly, she crossed a line with me in regards to respect, and I said I could ask her to leave if she wished to continue in that manner. Rather than apologize, she started screaming about how she had nowhere else to go - not really my problem, and if that was the case, maybe a little more gratitude and respect were in order. But no, now she was flying off the handle about how mean I was for considering putting her out. Name calling came next, and soon, all I wanted was to go to bed in peace in my own home, and she wasn't allowing for that, so I told her to leave. She refused. I mean, here is a stranger in someone else's home throwing a tantrum like I've never seen from toddler, and she is flat-out refusing to leave my home. THAT started getting a bit hectic. I started dialing the police before she finally stood up, screamed at me some more, and pretended to grab a bag. Not good enough. I told her she had 10 minutes to vacate my home, or I'd have her arrested. She finally left about 15 minutes later. So when I went to report this to Couchsurfing, what do you think I found? My profile had been deleted - apparently she had contacted them first and told them goodness knows what. Rather than even touch base with me about the incident, they deleted my profile. That was it, no investigation. So there's still some lunatic out there on the site they don't want to bother because they'll believe any lie you tell them if you tell it first. After 10 years on the site, that was the end of that. NEVER AGAIN will I support Couchsurfing in any way, shape, or form. What could have been such an amazing thing has been turned into a "community" of jerks out for personal gain in terms of sex, money, and control. It's a disgusting site.

Just wanted to verify my details and then i noticed they just took £48. Sneaky. Luckily went through PayPal so should get it back. Have escalated it

We thought CS would be a great way to earn money to catch up bills, but after our first guest. We decided that it's better to cut back on gym memberships and dining out instead. Our first guest, Ralph, is a tall, young, fresh faced 27 year old with mild manners and pleasant demeanor. We set him up in the extra bedroom, but he insisted on actually being on the couch. No worries. We gave him a good meal. He didn't eat too much which explains why he was so skinny. He doesn't drink- to each their own. He pet Mr Wiggles the cat, our emotional support animal- good sign. We talked a bit more. Interesting too- he went to university in England and was currently researching a book. We gave him time to get ready for the next day- as the same for ourselves. Since he was down stairs, I wasn't too worried. The stairs creek to the loudest decibel with anyone coming up. No reason for him to come up stairs. Everything was fine until about 2 in the morning. We heard loud chanting and screaming. I proceeded down stairs and was over powered by the light and smoke. Back up stairs, "Call the police" I yelled. The wife handed me the gun and I proceed back down again. Struggling to get to the bottom, I could finally see in the living room. He was in a wizard costume waiving a wand and chanting non-sensical words at the wall. The wall kept opening and closing a giant hole. The furniture and doilies started getting sucked and thrown back out of the hole. Ralph's eyes were glowing and his voice boomed "Klaatu... Barada." Creatures of all sorts came running out. Fierce looking cat and dog-like creatures roaring. Where are the police? One of them saw me and came rushing. I fired several rounds of the 45 and dropped the creature. Ralph turned and zapped me with his wand. My gun flew out of my hand and into his. He threw it in into the hole in the wall. I could hear the MRS screaming. I couldn't move. I thought that I was a dead man and prayed. Demonic four legged creatures were busting out of the hole. They started leaping through the front window and running towards the main street. I caught a glimpse of flashing lights and heard screaming neighbors before I passed out. I woke to EMTs attending me. I said that I felt alright. I thought that the kid rufee'd me, but the neighbors and police were verifying everything that I saw. Ralph was gone. He didn't even leave the $60 dollars as promised. I have a scar of a bull on my forehead. And my house is destroyed. I called CS. They told me that Ralph's profile has him listed as a level 5 wizard graduate from Hogwarts. I should have read Ralph's bio more carefully. It's recommended that he's paired with level 5 or higher as a host. He has several negative reviews. They have no qualms pairing you with dangerous characters. Especially ones whose favorite hobby is to open portals to other dimensions to let out demonic creatures and friends. My neighbors are upset. Mr Wiggles is gone. My house is destroyed. And Ralph is no where to be found. I don't recommend CS. Sean

I met some great people via Couchsurfing! The website needs some UX improvements, but it offers excellent travel experience, still!

Guests spoil the idea of CS, don't host as it's people who just freeload and take advantage of hosts. Liked the idea of hosting, offering a bed and meeting new people however most are greedy, expect free food and don't clean up. Treat your house like a hotel. The app is totality geared against hosts also.

I became a verified member of Couchsurfing.com only to have a " host " try and scam me. He accepted my request and we met for coffee. At that time he informed me that he though that I only wanted to exchange reviews and did not need a place to " couch surf " . He then proceeded to ask me what I had to offer him to crash on his couch. Majority of the requests are not even responded to. I paid $60.00 to become " verified " , for what? If the website / company is not going to enforce it hosts and standards then what good is it? I am requesting a refund.

People are great, how this site just tried to scam 60 bucks out of me to 'Verify' that I'm me is absolutely repugnant. It doesn't tell you it's going to charge you it just says Verify. Absolutely Dispicable.

Me and my husband had 8 days in Siegfried`s family guesthouse. I misunderstood him when he wrote to me on CS, I thought he wanted to invite us for free, but he offered us to booking the room. And we decided to stay in his guesthouse just for one, may be two, nights. But when we came and saw the accomodation and location and met Siegfried with his girlfriend Lili we changed our mind. We felt ourselves so good there, that we decided to stay with them to the end of our trip. Siegfrid is so nice and smiling guy, very hospitable and polite. He is very tolerant if your English is not so good. And his girlfriend Lili is something incredible:)) We spent a lot of time together. Lili was our friend and guide, and when we fell from scooter she was our mom:)) I will miss her so much. With Siegfrid and Lili we visited Old Goa and Tambdi Surla Mahadev Temple, and tried some Goa`s street food. It was great. With Lili we visited Anjuna and Vagator beaches, Aguada and Chapora forts, Calangute and Mapusa markets. She helped us explore Goa and it was unforgettable. We really enjoyed this time spended on Goa, except falling;)) We hope to see Siegfried and Lili again, on Goa or in Crimea. And this time I hope Sasha will see Calangute beach in the day light:))) You are most welcomed, our friends, in Yalta. We wish you all the best! Take care and see you:)