Helpful Couchsurfing Guest Tips: 5 Things to Expect as a First-Timer

I am a participant in affiliate programs, so basically I earn a small commission if you use any of the affiliate links on this post - at no extra cost to you! Dope right?

Couchsurfing, and other free local homestay platforms, are vital to budget travelers everywhere. I mean, they allow you to stay in another city or country for the low-low AND you have the ability to interact authentically with locals. It’s a gem! But, if you’re a first time Couchsurfer, you may have some questions or concerns. That’s where this Couchsurfing Guest Tips post comes in handy!

Today, I’ll be sharing the ins and outs of how to most effectively use Couchsurfing as a guest so that you can set yourself up for the best experience possible. We’ll also go over some Couchsurfing guest tips to handle some of the most common situations you might run into. Also note: these tips can be applied to most websites and platforms that allow you to book a stay in someone else’s house.

The first step though, is setting up your profile.

Getting Started on Couchsurfing

Before you become a jetsetting Surfer, let me give you some Couchsurfing guest tips to get started. And that means having a bangin’ profile.

Now you don’t have to fill out a whole detailed resume and cover letter, but one of my best Couchsurfing guest tips is to have a profile page that represents you!

Don’t try to hard to be super professional with academic writing. Write in your own voice! If you’re a silly person, crack some jokes on your profile. If you’re sarcastic and a tad bit of a pessimist, show that! Potential hosts will see your personality through your profile and will want to host you based on how well they think you fit with them! Some other great things to include on your profile would be:

• Where you’re from/places you’ve lived
• Favorite countries/countries you want to visit – and why
• What you like to do/see when you travel
• What kind of Couchsurfing host you are looking for

By putting all of these little tidbits into your profile, you help flesh out your personality and give other Surfers a little insight to how and why you travel.

Finding a Good Host

Once you get yourself all setup on Couchsurfing, the next of my Couchsurfing guest tips would be to…well…find a host.

You can’t be a guest without a host, right?

Search for people whose status is “maybe hosting” or “hosting” and go to their profile. Read the profile and if you like that person, send them a personal message asking them if you can stay with them. For some Couchsurfing guest tips, here are things to look out for when browsing profiles:

Does the host have any experience hosting and do they have reviews?

I really love staying and also hosting people without any experience, but if you want to be on the safe side, especially as a first time Couchsurfer, it might be a good idea to look at the reviews of a potential host. I also recommend solo female travelers to book with hosts that have lots of good reviews (from other solo female travelers).

Do you have anything in common?

It’s not a necessity, but for sure if you want to make friends with your Couchsurfing host, it would help if you have something in common. So when you’re browsing profiles, definitely look into their profile and check out their interests, favorite countries, job, age, etc.

Even every day activities and hobbies like skating, painting, yoga…yanno, anything that you’re interested in! You might even be able to do it together!

Is the host verified?

Verification is supposed to give you peace of mind that the person you are going to stay with is a real person and not going to do anything bad or illegal.

That said – yanno. Still, anything could happen. But I personally do like to stay with verified people, but it’s really up to you. At the very least, I would make sure the host has their phone number and home address are registered on the website.

How to reach out?

When you have decided that you would like to stay with a person, send them a message. Make an effort to show that you read their profile and WHY you want to stay with them and why you would be a great guest for them. Couchsurfing guest tips: Personal messages go a lot further than copy/paste impersonal ones.

Many people that you reach out to won’t reply. Don’t get discouraged by this. It’s normal. If you are lucky, one (or more) of the messages you have sent will get a reply. Now is the time to decide how many nights you will stay, where and at what time you will meet with your host and any other questions you both might have.

Should You Bring a Gift?

Gifts are certainly not at all required or expected -necessarily- but it can set you apart as a very great Couchsurfing guest. Bringing a gift is a nice gesture to bring a little thank you gift for your host. So don’t forget to prepare and pack something. You can of course also buy something at the airport like some typical sweets from your country. I have a list of some of the best gifts for your Couchsurfing host if you need ideas. But in general, for Couchsurfing guest tips, keep it small and thoughtful.

If you don’t want to buy anything you could also cook for them as a thank you or invite them out for food or drinks.

Tip #1: Write Down Their Address

Make sure you have a phone number and address of your host before you start out to meet them.

Immigration can be a real stickler when it comes to knowing where you’ll be staying. I almost got stuck on immigration when entering Taiwan because I didn’t know the exact address and hadn’t asked for a phone number to ask the host. This has even happened to me when I booked an Airbnb because I couldn’t load the address in the app.

Sooo, make sure you have the address before you leave the country and either have it written down or have a screenshot on your phone because airport WiFi is not your friend.

The Surfing Experience

If you didn’t know it yet, guests using Couchsurfing are called “surfers.” I’ll share my first Couchsurfing experience as a guest. I’ll also add in some Couchsurfing guest tips to the story that you as a surfer could follow.

My first Couchsurfing experience as a guest was when I studied abroad in France. My three friends and I wanted to visit Lyon, France for Fête des Lumières. Buuuut, as students on a fixed budget trying to visit a city during a festival, prices for hotels were a bit out of our budget. And this was way before Airbnb.

So we turned to Couchsurfing. I made a profile and we searched for a host that at least had a private room for the four of us to share. Since we weren’t traveling solo, we weren’t too concerned about finding a womxn host.

Couchsurfing guest tips: depending on your comfort level, you can filter by gender. In general, it is easier for womxn to find a host because some womxn hosts might not be comfortable hosting a male. Keep that in mind and book earlier to ensure you can find a spot!

We were able to find a host with a spare room and we were all good with sharing the one double bed. But another Couchsurfing guest tips – make sure you ask about the sleeping situation. If you are cool with the couch or sleeping in a shared space, then go for it. But if you need more privacy, don’t sacrifice your comfort because ultimately it can make or break your trip.

Hanging Out with Your Host

It’s also not required to hang out with your host, or vice versa, but the first level of Couchsurfing etiquette is to have open communication and one part of that is to be clear about your intentions. If you want to just have a place to stay, say that. But if you would like to hang out with a local or spend time with your host, let them know and discuss your schedules!

For us, our host had the day off so he volunteered his time to hang out with us and give us a walking tour of the city during the day, and then at night he showed us a great spot to watch the lights. Our host loved to travel and was very interested in doing a USA road trip some time in the future, so he was excited to discuss America with four American girls.

In exchange, we didn’t bring him a physical gift, but we did treat him to lunch at his favorite local spot!

Saying Goodbye

We only stayed overnight and left the following afternoon, so we didn’t spend a huge amount of time with him. But as we left, we did exchange facebook contact and Instagram handles (well, I wasn’t cool enough to have an instagram back then).

If you had a good time with your host, it’s not at all creepy or too-forward to exchange contact info. Especially if you had plans to meet up in another country later or maybe host them later in exchange. But if you aren’t comfortable giving out your WhatsApp number, then social media is a great way to keep in contact.

Couchsurfing Guest Tips: Conclusion

That was my experience as a Couchsufing guest, and just as a roundup, some things I would say to expect is:

• Rejection – a lot of times, you will not get a reply to your guest requests. It’s just the name of the game
• Be picky – especially as a solo female traveler, the pickier you can be, the better. Always prioritize your own health, safety, and comfort. ALWAYS. So be picky when picking a Couchsurfing host!
• Communication hiccups – I meannn…things happen. You plane gets delayed, your host gets stuck in traffic, your phone dies, your host has a work emergency…there’s no telling what can come up. So be sure to have all of the basics written down (their address and contact info).
• Hanging Out – This will be up to what kind of experience you want, but a lot of hosts are open to hanging out with their guests!
• Friends for Life – If you had a great time with your hosts, sometimes they can become really great friends. I am still friends with people I have connected with on Couchsurfing and we have even met up in other countries together!

For more Couchsurfing guest tips, check out my review post of Couchsurfing advice from seasoned travelers all over the world!

Have you ever used Couchsurfing before? How was your experience? What are some of your best Couchsurfing guest tips for first-time users? Leave them in the comments below!

Pin these Couchsurfing Guest Tips!

Sharing is caring!