How to be a Good Couchsurfing Guest and Host

Whenever people come to my events or read my books, they ask me, “How do you manage to get invited to so many people’s homes when you travel?”

First, I am super social when I travel. I talk with whomever I’m sitting next to on the bus. I chat with vendors. I banter with people while waiting for a train. I ask for directions even when I’m pretty sure I know where I’m going. The more people you talk to, the more people learn about your journey, the more likely that someone will say, “Hey, if you don’t have a place to stay, why don’t you stay at my home?”

Second, I meet potential hosts on Couchsurfing.org (see my couchsurfing profile). I adore couchsurfing because it gives me insight into a culture that would be hard to get when you’re staying at a hotel or hostel. Such insight was essential for writing my latest book, The Hidden Europe: What Eastern Europeans Can Teach Us.

It’s important that people don’t think of couchsurfing as a free roof. Technically, it is; however, the reality is that a guest should always give back economically to the host. If he doesn’t, then he’s just a leech/freeloader, which is totally uncool. Therefore, it’s important that you learn….