How to find free accommodation abroad?
Have you ever heard of Couchsurfing? If not, you’ve missed a lot. Couchsurfing is a community of travelers who provide free accommodation and look for places to stay during their travels. The most common website for finding free accommodation is www.couchsurfing.org. There you can find a place to stay in almost any city.
How to join the community?
Anyone can join the community; simply register on the website and fill out the participant’s profile.
Be very careful when filling out your profile. After all, the information contained in it will be used to judge you as a person. Describe your interests in detail, tell about yourself, upload several photos. If you are going to host guests, it would be useful to describe the place where they will have to stay overnight. After that, you need to verify your information—confirm that you are a real person. This is done by transferring a small amount ($12.95) to the community’s account. In return, a postcard will be sent to your address. Verification is not a mandatory procedure, but it increases user trust in you.
How to travel with CouchSurfing?
The website has a very convenient search. You can simply enter the name of the city you plan to visit or choose a host (receiving party) by parameters: gender, age, etc. On the participant’s page, carefully read all the information about them, and don’t forget to check the reviews about the Couchsurfer you plan to stay with.
CouchSurfing creators recommend reading all reviews, regardless of their number. If you have any questions, you can write to the person who left the review, asking for more detailed information about the host.
If everything suits you, you can send a request by clicking the "Send Couchrequest to..." button on the user’s profile. Please note that this button is only present in the profiles of users who host guests, i.e., with a status of Yes or Maybe.
How to host travelers with CouchSurfing?
First of all, you should decide what requirements you have for guests:
- gender,
- age,
- bad habits,
- lifestyle,
- how long can they stay with you?
- what guests can use in your apartment, etc.
Once the profile is complete, all you have to do is wait for requests from potential guests. But that’s not all; if you’re not traveling anywhere and don’t have the opportunity to host guests, you can simply meet them in the city and go somewhere. Not all Couchsurfers are looking for accommodation; many stay in hotels but are open to meeting locals who can show them around the city. Additionally, community members often organize joint parties! CouchSurfing.org — another proof that you don’t need a lot of money to see the world.
