When’s the last time you asked a complete stranger if you could sleep on his couch? I do it all the time. This is how.
I’ve been couchsurfing for going on 8 years now. I’ve couchsurfed as a family and alone in Europe, the United States, Canada, Central and South America. Over the years, I’ve hosted and met hundreds of fantastic people.
Want to know how?
What should I include in my Couchsurfing profile?
This is perhaps the most important question to address when couchsurfing.
1. Include at least one photo of yourself. Very important. I automatically say no to anyone without a photo.
2. Be yourself. Be real. The more honest you are about who you are and what you want in a host or travel experience, the more likely you are to find what you need. Don’t be afraid to include your interests and personal opinions.
A potential host is more likely to respond to a request when your profile overlaps with similar interests. That connection can lead to a fantastic surfing experience because, believe it or not, you’ve dispensed with all small talk by reading each others profiles and can immediately get down to the business of having fun.
3. Begin to meet people prior to sending your first couch request.
I will not accept a couch request from someone who has no Couchsurfing friends or references. Why?
Friends and references let me know how invested you are in the Couchsurfing community. You don’t need to be an card-carrying t-shirt wearing Couchsurfing ambassador, but I do want to know you’re not just popping on the site for a free place to stay. References and friends also let me know that others have had positive experiences with you. They allow me to trust you. If we have friends in common, even better.
How do you build up references? Read on. I just want to give you one more tip for your profile first.
4. Make sure your friends and references are real-life, real-time connections.
Nothing sets of my No-Surfing-With-Me alarm bell faster and louder than a profile with all or mostly online-only connections. An online-only friend tells me nothing about whether you’re a good guest or if you get along with people face-to-face.
How to meet Couchsurfers before you start surfing?
Simple. Check groups. There’s a group for just about everything, too. From women traveling solo to stamp collecting to families welcome and everything in between.
That’s where you’ll find meetings, get togethers, mash-ups, people looking for a coffee, for someone to share a car rental, places to volunteer. Join one of these get togethers.
Couchsurfing is different than other kinds of social media!
Please, don’t treat your Couchsurfing account the same way you would Twitter or Facebook. The last thing you want to do is fill your profile with people you don’t know. If you have tens of references, but none of those people seem know you beyond a couple jokes and a drink, I still know nothing about you.
But if you’ve helped someone lay down a concrete floor in their basement, babysat their children and cooked a meal for them, then I know something. Now if you’ve had similar interactions with twenty different people, I begin to get a real sense of who you are.
It’s the strength of the connections that matter, and as you build these relationships, you build a worldwide community that allows you to show up in any city of any country in the world and have a place to stay.
