Have many people here on Thorn Tree done Couchsurfing? There never seems to be much in the way of actual feedback of stays/visits.
Just go to any random profile on couchsurfing.com and have a read. Feedback is public.
max...how do these poor people in third world countries arrive at ''an expensive european city''?
Most people I hosted in Europe were poor Europeans. Some were from 3rd world countries. Some of the Europeans were hitchhiking around the continent. Many arrived on budget airlines, paying ~50€ or less. I don't remember how the others arrived, I think one was in Europe anyway for some event and took the opportunity to travel, one flew in from Asia and was doing a several month long backpacking trip, her flights probably cost around 500€. She had been hosting people herself in Asia, and now built her trip around the contacts she had created.
The consensus on the west europe branch is that you need minimum 50€/day to survive. For a two month trip, that's 3000€. You can see how flight costs are just a fraction of this number. With couchsurfing, you could get by with perhaps 10€/day. That you need to offer monetary payment to your host is just nonsense. There are other ways you can contribute.
How do they find couchsurfing opportunities without internet access?
I've been wondering the same thing. But you have traveled yourself Lucapal. As I'm sure you know, even people living in small 3rd world villages are on facebook these days.
Max I said travel was not a right. Therefore you shouldn't expect to travel, it is a luxury. Just as you shouldn't expect a ferrari or a rolex. /../ people with less money should always travel to locations within their budget. It is completely irresponsible to go somewhere you can not afford to stay.
You are completely missing the point. Couchsurfing is a way for poor people to go to these places. It opens up the world for them. It now IS within their budget, because they stay for free. Who says travel is a luxury? Who is it irresponsible to? I gladly host these people when they come to my city, and I have visited several of my surfers in their home towns and they have reciprocated with incredible hospitality. We're all happy, win-win, no-one is feeling used. So what is with the aversion, people? Is it jealousy? If you are paying a lot of money to travel, then so should everyone else? Or a feeling that you have been missing out by not using CS and now trying to justify it?
I think the point Max is that there is a segment who are only interested in a free bed, whether they could afford to pay for a hostel bed or not. More and more of the freeloaders (to use a polite term) are catching on.
I'll repeat. There is a system in place for that: reviews. Put it in the review so others will see. And don't host someone with bad reviews.
