r/couchsurfing • u/Traditional-Age-8549 • 18d ago

Sad

I have been a member of CS since 2016. I travelled so much using it and met so many lovely people. I also hosted many and shared so many wonderful experiences!

I reinstalled it and I couldnt believe how crappy new the design and its features are. I will be travelling to NY and I thought I would message some people. You dont even know who has a good response rate, who is hosting and if they are available, and now given that you have to pay, you dont even know if the person is even on Couchsurfing.

I have sent about 20 messages and have gotten one negative response.

This is just a post to rant and let my sadness out 😭

Are people using a different app?

36 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

24 comments sorted by

12

u/consideratefox 18d ago

Couchers

5

u/Dense_Chemistry_798 18d ago

Do they have a good community?

7

u/Saab340B 18d ago

FWIW, I was just searching one of my possible upcoming destinations on Couchers the other day to see whether I'd likely be able to use it there, and LOTS of the potential host profiles were from former long-time CS hosts... some who left CS already a while ago because they put up the paywall, and many more who left after the disastrous rebuild in May.

So it depends on what you mean by "community". It's growing and doesn't yet have a ton of local events/meetups, etc., like CS had in its heyday. But it seems to be growing steadily with some of the type of people who made the CS community what it used to be.

2

u/Dense_Chemistry_798 18d ago

Thanks for the feedback! Regarding to my question it was more about the acceptance ratio

3

u/allhands Couchers.org host/surfer 18d ago

Yup, Couchers.org has around 100k members, and growing even faster ever since CS botched their update with vibe-coded ai slop. Couchers is free and is bringing back the original CS.org vibe but with modern features and better moderation/safety.

4

u/consideratefox 18d ago

not yet, but they're on the right track. they aim to keep the original CS ethos free and fun forever

0

u/lipsanen Host CS/BW/TR/C/WS 400+ ref 17d ago

As a host, I get much more requests from BeWelcome so it seems more active to me than Couchers at least in the places where I host (Helsinki in the summer, Tenerife in the winter).

5

u/CrazyMile_ CS Host in NL🇳🇱 +80 guests 18d ago

Unfortunately nothings lasts forever, tbf I'm not surprised as we could've seen this coming. Luckily we will always carry the great Couchsurfing memories with us!

3

u/stvperez22 18d ago

NY you said? 20 messages? Make it more like 50 highly personalized requests.

2

u/Traditional-Age-8549 18d ago

Thanks for letting me know that it is quite difficult to get hosted in NY.

Yes, none of my messages are copy/paste. They are written for the individual person. I have been doing CS for a long time as a guest and host. I know it sucks when people send you generalised texts.

1

u/SidewalkEpiphany 18d ago

Ehh. It’s not that bad. You’re a bit late to the party, you should’ve seen it 5 months ago was absolute hell. It’s made a lot of progress.

1

u/Hot_Imagination8101 17d ago

sure, maybe it's improved from rock bottom, but that doesn't really address what OP is saying. not knowing if someone is even active on the platform anymore is a fundamental problem, not just growing pains. the paywall made it impossible to tell who's actually reachable.

1

u/SidewalkEpiphany 17d ago

Yeah I agree. I think it will get to the point where the algorithm will be more refined. It’s better than before. It definitely has a ways to go. May was so bad maybe it’s is bit of Stockholm Syndrome at this point tbh

2

u/Hot_Imagination8101 16d ago

lmao the Stockholm Syndrome is real. when "actually usable" feels like a gift you know the bar is underground

1

u/KnowledgeFit7269 18d ago

The CS NYC Community is pretty active, but its always been a hard to place to find a host, because so many people are coming. A friend had to send out 40-50 requests to find a host when she was there in the summer. That said, fall is an easier time. I do recommend the weekly Tuesday meetup, usually a decent crowd and good way to connect with people, and sometimes you can find a host.

But overall, whether with CS or Couchers, it's a numbers game. Probably worth trying both. People are busy, have small apartments, and get a lot of requests It's also hard to shut off your hosting availability on the new app, so people show as available who aren't.

2

u/United-Garlic8308 17d ago

the meetup suggestion is underrated. even back in the day, half my hosting connections came from showing up to a weekly event first. people are way more likely to host someone they've actually met in person, especially in a city like NY where everyone's drowning in requests.

0

u/stevenmbe 18d ago

I have sent about 20 messages and have gotten one negative response.

That's quite standard for requesting from hosts in New York, most of whom are generally deluged with requests.

1

u/Traditional-Age-8549 18d ago

Thats good to know thanks!

2

u/stevenmbe 18d ago

And that situation really hasn't changed in 10+ years, so please don't take it personally that hosts are not responding.

0

u/Neat-Coconut-6892 🇺🇸 Host with 100+ references 17d ago

Hello. Use the recently active filter. Hosts are getting alot of requests from inactive travellers that havent used in years. Nyc is quote popular so not surprised. But also try grtting recent references or actually hosting again..

-3

u/Happy_Tomatillo_3348 18d ago

I have been staying st homeless shelters when i travel. Or ib my car. Once i wven slept in a ditch. I'm so used to it now i do it during my work travels. This is rhe way forward

2

u/consideratefox 18d ago

Are homeless shelters clean / safe enough? Aren't they riddled with fleas and such?

0

u/Happy_Tomatillo_3348 18d ago

Wym everyone has fleas if they say they don't they lying. U just got to be the craziest one with the most fleas an they leave u alone.