How to prepare for your first Couchsurfing experience
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Together with the rise of the budget traveling trend came the increase of accommodation options for every kind of traveler. But aside from paid accommodations, there is a service known as Couchsurfing that allows its members to share a home for free.
Together with the rise of the budget traveling trend came the increase of accommodation options for every kind of traveler. Gone are the days when our only choices are hotels and resorts. Today, we have hostels, capsules, homestays, and Airbnbs, but aside from these paid accommodations, there is a service known as Couchsurfing that allows its members to share a home for free.
According to its website, Couchsurfing, or CS, "is a global community of 14 million people in more than 200,000 cities who share their life, their world, their journey." It aims to provide people from different places with a social experience that goes beyond having free space to sleep in.
"I was in my hometown of Rapu-Rapu, Albay watching Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho when I believe they featured Couchsurfing. It started there. I got curious and interested about the community so I decided to create my profile," shares Ian Ron Bello, who has been a member since 2016.
Meanwhile, Nel de Luna started with Couchsurfing by joining a meet-up in Makati. "I started CouchSurfing when my condomate and colleague Lerry invited me one Thursday night to hang out in a bar in Leviste, and I easily blended in with the crowd. Since then, I never missed a Thursday night without dropping by."
Former engineer Fiz Mineh from Sabah, Malaysia says he turned to Couchsurfing at a time when he wanted to travel but couldn't. "I felt kind of suffocated in my own country because I wasn't traveling or meeting new people. So I checked out Couchsurfing and started meeting travelers in my city. It was a very good start!"
If you're interested in joining this community, here are some things to take note of before becoming a member:
Start with meet-ups
Meet-ups are a good way to introduce yourself to the system. It gives you a feel of what the members are like, allows you to mingle with both hosts and surfers, and helps you decide if it's for you or not.
"If you're a shy person, please start gradually like I did. I started meeting up with travelers, and over time gained the confidence to actually host. Then, I started surfing," says Fiz, who is now based in Hong Kong.
He adds, "I managed to gather like minded travelers here in Hong Kong and we became one awesome hangout group for a few weeks. Some of them extended their stay, some were very sad to leave. I think we have made this concrete jungle a bearable one to live in."
Read your host or surfer's profile
Once you've passed the meet-up stage and want to become a host or surfer, make sure to read the profile of the person you will be sharing the house with. The profile contains the details of your host or surfer, and it helps a lot in determining if you will enjoy hanging out with that person.
Ian explains, "I believe it's natural for Filipinos to be friendly and hospitable, so it's not so difficult to relate. Make sure to check the profile of the person you're hosting. It pays to do some research and to know the interests and temperament of your host, so you'll have a common ground and a good place to start."
Check references
Hosts and surfers are required to give references to each other, but members can also leave one to each other after a meet-up. It helps your fellow members in gauging the kind of surfer or host that you are, and boosts your chance to be hosted or chosen as a host. References also help weed out fake profiles or unruly members.
"Read references, trust your instincts, be aware and don't put yourself in a situation where you have very limited access to seek for help," shares Nel.
Hangout with your host or surfer
Couchsurfing is all about connecting with fellow travelers and learning about other people's culture, so make sure to hang out with your host or surfer no matter how busy you are. Whether over dinner or while visiting tourist spots, conversations will strengthen your friendship.
Ian, who lives with his grandparents, recalls how his grandmother would welcome his surfers. "She would always welcome people and is very positive about hosting. She told me it's like traveling without really leaving your home! She would often bring out her world map to locate the country where the Couchsurfer came from, and it's always a delightful sight."
Fiz's favorite experience as a surfer happened when he went to Manila. "My Swedish host in Manila welcomed me at midnight with a bunch of drinks and local friends! I ended up hanging out with his friends who are nice and very helpful."
Don't be a freeloader
Staying with a host might be free, but some people just take it a bit further. Don't be that kind of person.
"A freeloader is someone who doesn't share the Couchsurfing way, like they have last minute couch requests and when you allow them to stay, they would extract all your time and energy for their own benefit only. They don't share any language with you, they don't have time to share with you to talk about their culture and share stories and at some point are taking advantage of the hospitality you initially give them," explains Nel.
Since you are not paying for your accommodation, there are many ways to repay your host's kindness. Treat him to a meal, pay for his car's gas if he'll drive you around, or bring something from your country as a gift.
"Enjoy the whole experience and always take note of the culture you're seeing. I think the whole point of CS is opening our eyes to the greater possibilities of life while making us more open-minded and culturally literate," says Ian.
