welcome to travel hacks again I'm
Alexander Travelbum and today we're
going over couchsurfing so couchsurfing
is an amazing half an amazing website it
is one of my favorite things in the
world when I went to Europe a few years
ago I didn't have that much money I
wanted to spend as much time as I could
there and I only had six thousand
dollars now in the end I ended up
spending six months there so as you can
tell that's Alex thousand a month spent
in Europe and that included traveling
around food beer events fun how do you
do that in Europe that's that's
difficult
well thing that saved me was
couchsurfing and so today we're going to
go over how to do counselor thing what
is it how to do it right how to get more
hosts how to meet people etc so
couchsurfing is great you can stay on
people's couches for free alright that's
great
it saved me a ton of money and that's
how I was able to last for six months in
Europe but that's not the best thing
about it
the best thing about it is that you stay
with locals stay with a local you you
become friends with them I made a ton of
good friends in Europe while I was doing
it some of which have come visit me
since and we're basically going to be
friends for life the other good thing
about it is tonight's getting a host and
a place to stay you can also use it
simply to meet people to hang out so
there's a feature now or you can do a
hangout you can make a hangout for
multiple people or you can ask directly
one person if they want to grab coffee
grab a drink or go out for the night or
have them show you around
so some people have a hard time finding
hope when they're couchsurfing and this
could be for a number of reasons this is
what you want to do you want to fill out
your profile completely right about
yourself there's a description in your
about Me section write about yourself
write about your travel history write
about your upcoming trip write about
whatever you want but but be truthful
and you know try to find something
interesting about yourself that is going
to make them want to host you and become
your friend there's also an interest
section what's interesting you hopefully
travel if you're traveling so put that
on there that's probably plus ah what
movies you watch music what books do you
read all of that there is a section for
all of this and if you hopefully you'll
fill that out completely and I've gotten
hosts just based on that I host that
like let's say music of me and because
we had this common interest they were
more likely to pick me why I'm on
couchsurfing this is another this is
another part of your about me why are
you on couchsurfing don't say it's
because you want to travel for cheap
tell them it's because you want to meet
them talk about how you how you want to
participate in couchsurfing as a whole
and maybe how you in
- host surfers of your own when you get
back from this trip if you haven't
already you can put your travel history
where you've been to where you want to
go where you've lived so my profile is
all based around travel because that's
what I like to do I like to travel and I
have a lot to say on here but if you
haven't travelled that much then just
explain how you want to travel more or
maybe just explain about this one trip
and then also explain your interests and
just try to make yourself sound
interesting, funny fun basically your
your best traits try to bring them out
in your profile photos you do not want
to forget about the photo section I
can't tell you how many profiles have
zero photos or maybe they have one photo
you know I it's going to be difficult to
get a host or get people to hang out
with you when you have zero photos not
because they care where you look like
it's because it seems a little sketchy
like why when you have a single photo
you have an iPhone you have a phone
everybody has photos these days easily
why would what do you have to hide and
then if you have one photo it's also
that it's like pieces of flair why do
you have one piece of flair when you can
have 50 don't do the minimum have you
know have more than one that also seems
kind of shady like you could only find
one one photo of yourself and that's it
it worry is it dark make sure it's a
good photo make sure you're smiling but
if you can put a lot of photos in there
it's not because you're into yourself
it's because it explains a little more
visually about who you are anybody can
write whatever they want about
themselves and they can be lying about
the whole thing but a few photos of
yourself photos don't lie
well photos can lie definitely they they
can lie but the more you have the more
that it shows you you probably aren't
lying on fifty photos it's going to show
who you are what you look like what
do your background where you're from and
so it makes people maybe a little more
trusting put up good photos be happy
smile a little bit if you are a traveler
if you have been traveling before put up
your travel photos then they can really
see that you genuinely interested in
their culture and even the best for
photos once you've had a few
couchsurfing experiences make sure
you're taking some photos with your new
friends in different parts of the world
I have a section here called
couchsurfing it shows me having amazing
experiences with the people who hosted
me and the people whom I have hosted and
that is just the best who is going to
find you untrustworthy who's going to
thank you you're going to be a bad couch
surfer if they can see you with your
hosts and you're all smiling and having
fun they're going to see that and think
hey if you did this with twenty other
with twenty other hosts then it's going
to be the same with me I want to hang
out with this person now the section
that matters the most is references now
I've done a little bit of couchsurfing
so I have references and so far they're
all positive these all my hosts have
left these really good reviews about me
and it's great and that helps
tremendously but a good way to get these
amazing reviews instead of just you
might have a positive experience with a
host or as a-- or as a host and you
might find that after they stay with you
they leave a positive review but they
really quickly put amazing experience or
he was great but you want something
better you want to stand out from the
crowd so what you should do is after you
have a couchsurfing experience you want
to be the first to leave a review then
you leave a long-drawn-out detailed
experience about what you guys did hey
we did this and it was great
we ate this I say
with them I would surf with them again I
would trust them with my life we're
going to be friends for life say things
like this leave a long paragraph or two
and if you do this chances are if
they're human they're going to leave a
long expensive amazing review for you
back they feel a little weird about
leaving you a sentence review when you
just left them 20 but of course the
first way to get good reviews is to be
an amazing host or couch surfer make the
bet don't sleep in too long or get up
too early don't be loud and wake them up
while they're sleeping basically you
know the drill do as you would like to
be done to you which brings me to the
next thing you should host people give
back don't just take all the free
accommodation don't just stay for free
everywhere around the world and never
give back you need to see what it's like
actually actually actually this would be
first if you know you're going on a trip
and you know you're going to be doing
some couchsurfing and staying with
people for free you should host people
before you go first of all this is a
good way to get reviews so that you
don't have the reviews when you go over
there begging for people for a place to
stay make an account and say that your
couch is currently available and you'll
start getting the emails rolling in so
the best host that I ever had they were
just some of my favorite people in my
whole life
my first host ever was in Italy and she
was she's one of my favorite people in
my whole life that I have ever met she
bought me traditional Italian food she
taught me how to cook pasta she gave me
a bath robe bath towel to give me not
just the couch but a whole room to
myself and then after a few days staying
with her she all of a sudden she had to
go to Paris on a business trip for a
week okay she didn't kick me out she
only knew me for three days and she said
hey you can stay here I'm going to be
gone for a week you can
stay here and not only did she let me
stay there she filled the fridge with
Italian goods she she made limoncello
and and let me drink it the fridge was
full of all these amazing Italian foods
she brought me out shopping she paid for
all of it she didn't have to do any of
that but she's an amazing person and I
will never forget her for all of that
and that's the kind of host that you
want to be take your couch surfer out
for a night on the town cook them a
traditional meal wherever you're from
cook them something from that area or if
you can't cook bring them out to dinner
make it as comfortable as it possibly
can be for them wherever they're
sleeping and be a friend just hang out
with them but also if they seem like
they want to do some of their own thing
around town let them do that as well
you don't have to be with them the whole
time but you know there's a happy medium
between being there all the time and
none of the time so the hardest thing
about couchsurfing is finding hosts and
actually getting them to host you so
what you're going to do is you're going
to find people in the area and you're
going to send them a couch request which
is basically a message what you want to
do is call them by name say hello Adam
and you need to personalize the message
let them know that you actually read
their profile and there's a reason that
you're picking them to stay with them
because a lot of couch surfers what they
do is they don't want to take the time
so they send out a hundred messages they
copy paste the same exact thing and they
send it to a hundred hosts and see what
sticks
the thing is you're going to do much
better if you write a personalized
letter to each one that you're
interested in show them that you read
their profile by saying hey you good
taste in music you know you seem like a
cool guy I saw your picture from
Venezuela and you know I've always
wanted to go there so you know maybe you
could tell me a little bit about that if
you choose to host me write them a
detailed letter and then
it out you're not going to get every
host - right - but you're going to have
way better chances if they see that
you're legitimately interested in them
as a person and not just getting a free
place to stay especially in the big
cities this is the only thing that is
probably going to work in big cities San
Francisco New York London Paris
sometimes it is tough tough finding
hosts because guess what they're getting
50 couch requests per day and they have
to go through all of them and most of
them are going to be the same hey I need
to please say can you give me placed a
blah they're going to go right through
those and delete all of them until they
see one from you I want to learn a
little bit of your language can you
teach me a few things I see you've been
to Rome I've been there too let's talk
about it and if you find that you're
having a really hard time getting hosts
try doing the meetup instead you might
be able to meet up with someone because
that's a lot easier for some people to
do not everyone is offering a couch and
a place to stay for a stranger but a lot
of people are on couchsurfing just to
meet tourists to hang out with them to
get a little bit of a cultural exchange
you'll find it easier to get one of them
to meet you for coffee or something then
if you're cool enough if you're friendly
enough if you're nice and you guys
become friends they might say hey I know
you're staying in a hostel for tonight
do you want to stay in my place that has
happened to me a ton of times as well
and I actually wasn't looking for a
place to say I just meet people I just
meet people out because I want to meet
someone from the area and make a new
friend and they end up hosting me anyway
so at the beginning you're probably lots
of very beginning you're not going to
have any reviews and when you don't have
any or you only have one it's going to
be tough one easy way to get a jump
start is to have one of your friends
maybe maybe of some kind of friend that
is already on couchsurfing if it's
hooked up to your Facebook then you
see that chances are you have some kind
of friend who is already on couchsurfing
connect with them on couchsurfing and
leave them a nice review without asking
them to do anything they'll see that you
left this nice review chances are they
will reciprocate and leave you a nice
review back and if they don't maybe
after a week say hey did you see my
review about you and they'll say oh yeah
I'm going to leave you one soon
or maybe they won't then that might be
your chance to ask them so if you get
one two or three friends to do that
maybe you'll start out with a few
reviews and it'll show that you have one
two three positive references which is a
great start
and you will get more posts looking at
your profile instead of just deleting it
straight away for having no references
because I'll tell you what I have hosted
people and when people have zero
references I don't even look at it
because who knows they could be anybody
no pictures no references no okay the
final and last thing it does cost
I believe twenty dollars but you can get
verified I actually am NOT verified yet
because I have all my references already
I had no problem getting hosts but I'm
probably going to do it especially
because I want to support the platform
couchsurfing is free and it offers so
much to people around the world and it
has given me so much that I want to pay
them a little bit and it gives you a
little green badge next to your name
which means your verified and it means
your real person it's a lot easier for
them to find house because they're
verified and they're they're not just
some random creepy no picture no review
guy on the internet that is the way to
do couchsurfing right I have no problem
getting hosts anymore and you don't have
to either
so please like this video give it a
thumbs up and I want to hear from you if
you have any other tips if you have any
experiences or if you have any questions
for me leave a comment below and I will
get back to you let me know what else
you want answered I've done it a lot I
have a lot of experience with it
and I won't answer everything below or
make another video thanks for watching
I'm Alexander I'll see you on the next
video