Couchsurfing Travel App Reviews

by Traveler And Lawyer

We need a better alternative. I was forced to pay $3 every month to be able to use the application but that’s not the main problem. I largely enjoyed using the application because I met many people from all over the world who I have become friends with and had good experiences with. But the administrators of the application have a very poor management style. I once hosted a guy at my house who ended up causing many problems, including stealing my keys. I made sure to complain to the CS team about this, and provided videos. All they did was suspend his account for a week. There were also multiple instances of people using the application to sexually harass people including myself. The application allows anyone to block you for any reason and with no follow-up. That’s not what’s problematic. What’s problematic is that after taking your money, the team suspends your account if “too many people” block you. There are people with multiple accounts who have blocked me because they either wanted to cause trouble at my house or sexually harass me. It’s common for people to abuse the block function. But the CS team refused to investigate these blocks and just suspended my account with no details. I have invested in my account and built up over the years, and it’s sad to see how one can get victimized like that.

by Jenn H. S.

They are blaming covid-19 for their bad business decisions since making couch surfing for profit, they now suddenly locked me out of my 10+ year account unless I pay to support them. Couchsurfing are already making money because people like me open my home to travelers for free! What should I them pay for exactly? You didn’t listen to us when we complained about the beautiful community you destroyed. Taking away the community aspect out of the couchsurfing community, no more groups, or city events, you enforced limits of how many messages can be sent, spammed us with ads and exposed the community to people just wanting a free place crash to instead of true travelers.. I will not support this kind of greedy attitude.

by Ksalemini

I made an account on month ago to provide a reference for a friend who was on the verge of homelessness. Upon visiting the website I was asked to “donate” a certain amount of money to even be able to access the site. This red flag should have dissuaded me from even registering, but I wanted to make sure I could help my friend however I could. I “donated” (paywall) thinking that was all, and promptly finished setting up my account. Fast forward one month later I see another charge from Couchsurfing. I never authorized this transaction, and emailed support asking for a refund and to remove me from any kind of automatic payment system I may unknowingly be on. Instead I get a response stating no refunds will be issued. They ambiguously worded the entire “donation” protocol and never explicitly state that the “donation” will be a recurring fee. I don’t even use CouchsurfingTravelApp , I just had to write something for a friend. Congratulations, the measly $2.39 you guys refused to refund after effectively stealing it from me is now a chargeback and a report to the Better Business Bureau and FTC.

by Pdagee

I’ve used CouchsurfingTravelApp 3 years ago and on my recent travel I decided to download it again. I was updating my profile & was prompted that I would have a higher chance of getting approved if I verified my account. They asked for a credit card to verify my account but did not indicate that a charge was to be made or how entering my cc details would result in a $60 charge! I entered my cc details thinking that it was just to verify that I am who I say I am regarding my name etc. Returning home from my holiday I received an email stating that I have been charged $60!!! I emailed their customer support stating my situation - I was unaware of the charge, amount, & ultimately being mislead. Jenny a customer service agent said they do not refund outside of the 7 day window (mind you I was only 2 days outside of the 7 day window) and asked for them to make an exception and she insisted that a refund cannot be processed.

Very upsetting considering that I didn’t end up using CouchsurfingTravelApp . Terrible customer service! Absolutely Money hungry!

*UPDATE* - stop responding to reviews advising them to contact customer service when you know very well your customer service agents will refuse to help out especially regarding any sort of refund. If you actually read my review you would see that I WANT A REFUND! & if you were genuine with helping me out you would provide a specific email and a claim number to ensure that I indeed get my refund!!

by ProdigalSon08

I’ve used Couchsurfing for years. CouchsurfingTravelApp has always left something to be desired (there are unfixed bugs that have been around since 2018). I’ve had “verified” status because I host often. However, there’s been a pandemic for a year so I obviously haven’t hosted since the last week of February 2020.

As soon as February 2021 hit, I could not login. Or rather, when I logged in all that I could see & interact with was a screen saying that I needed to pay a monthly or yearly fee. Couldn’t access my messages, my profile, or anything else on CouchsurfingTravelApp .

If that wasn’t hostile enough, when I then paid their ransomware fee, I was then greeted by ads. Ads. What? Didn’t even know CouchsurfingTravelApp had ads because in my 4+ years of using it I’d never seen not a one. Apparently a free verified user can go ad-free, but a *paid* user still sees ads?!

And not just little banners at the bottom or top of the screen either. They’re everywhere. So much so that it breaks the UI of CouchsurfingTravelApp wherever they appear (which, again, is everywhere).

This is a poorly-coded sorry excuse for an app that is excessively user-hostile and hasn’t been updated significantly in years. It isn’t worth your money.

by Albert Camus89

CS used to be an amazing community, but now it is just the shell of a company that has been gutted by greed. If you had an account prior to the recent changes, then you aren’t even allowed to access your own photos and data without paying a ransom, which unless they respond to my email in the next 18 days, is going to result in a violation of GDPR. As much as these corporate frat bros might not like to admit it, they don’t have a copyright on the concept of hospitality. Plenty of other apps do the same thing, and will gladly take all of the previous members of this community who cannot get their data and leave soon enough. Instead of acknowledging that they screwed up, this company has made every attempt to deny and distract, but I for one am leaving, and I hope their soulless money grabbing adventure fails miserably. Try TrustRoots or BeWelcome, or literally anything else, because CouchsurfingTravelApp is garbage.

by Samwael_

I think Couchsurfers deserve an app better than that. Can’t see groups on CouchsurfingTravelApp , neither verify my ID because CouchsurfingTravelApp always crashes. Plus in the beginning of the Pandemic, they locked me out of accessing my account for the sole purpose of paying money, imagine. Like there was literally any service that I had to pay for, even though because I like the idea and wanted to help the company, I paid $15 which was supposed to be for verification, but guess, they made it just a contribution and the worse thing is that it says it’s an annual contribution and they may charge me for the coming year too. Ok! Verified my account for $60 which I see that at some point they’ll take it away too with their poor management. They state “not set to expire soon” Lol, ok you can end it anytime I’m sure, I didn’t read the policy but it can also change without any prior consent or agreement.
I’m not telling anybody to stay away tho, my message is for the developers and managers to respect their users.
Couchsurfers deserve better than that.
Good luck

by Ekofocus

I completely love Couchsurfing and especially the couchsurfing community, but more the time pass and worst CouchsurfingTravelApp and the concept become.
Before it was no limit to request you can send, while now you have a limit of 10 which I can see a reason behind, but when your limited request get nullified by a not good system behind it kind of pisses me off as Couchsurfing born to help travelers and people that can give it back, I will explain the issue : after I send a request to a person which had availability on the calendar before sending the request ( host can lock days when they can't host) the system came up with a message saying "the couch is not available" which is ok if wouldn't take out my opportunity to send another request as it was already unavailable.
I don't know if is a software issue or what, but unlike when it started as no profit, community based program, nowadays it is becoming a not well supported app.

Love the idea, love the community, love the people I met through Couchsurfing, I just wish the development could keep up with the awesomeness that Couchsurfing Vison is.

by Faristuta

I like the idea very much, and I’ve hosted some amazing people but the majority of requests now are from people who arrive very late, just want a place to crash and shower and takeoff the next day early morning. They don’t want to interact or spend time with the host. This usually affects hosts who live in a somewhat smaller town that happens to just be in the way of the couchsurfer and they have no option but to stay there.

Couchsurf needs to add a feature or disclaimer, or something in the way we rate others asking if that person understands the spirit of couchsurfing or wants to use CouchsurfingTravelApp for the sole reason of saving money. Definitely saving money is a big motive but it shouldn’t be the only one, otherwise you feel you’re being taken advantage of rather being thanked.

by Kayeor

Despite being relatively new to CouchSurfing, I love it & am wholly invested! It is a great experience as a host and as a traveler. The CouchSurfing app is essentially a good one. It works well most of the time. I appreciate how we can personalize information about our homes, add CS pictures to add credence to our profiles, give honest reviews of our guests & respond to feedback we have received. My primary complaint about CouchsurfingTravelApp is the size of the font is so small & the color of the font is so faint that it is difficult to see. Also, I wish there was a way to edit/add to a reference I’d written for someone. (I had written it before traveling with a girl I knew from work & learned quite a lot about her while CouchSurfing together. I would have written a more revealing review for others who plan to host/travel with her.) My final complaint is that I will often receive notifications for emails that do not appear in my inbox. I’m not sure whether I am ever able to recover those. Other than those small issues, I find CouchsurfingTravelApp very functional & it fully compliments/supports the CS website.

by AEC21

I looooove couchsurfing. It's changed my life and I'm so grateful for CouchsurfingTravelApp and what the connections it assists in creating. Howevvvveerrr... Technically some things need work. For example, sometimes I get notifications and sometimes I don't, making it difficult to correspond with surfers/hosts. Also, unless I accept/decline a couchsurfing request, I cannot send a message back to a person, even if the request has expired and I didn't have a chance to accept or decline.. I cannot send any messages at all!! Very stressful, as I would wish to reach out to some people I didn't have a chance to respond to in time. I also do not understand the point of paying for "verification," but luckily not being verified has not negatively impacted me yet. Also through CouchsurfingTravelApp the age range when looking for hosts is a very weird gap, it would be great to be able to put in ages yourself.

by Dom Aleksandr

I’ve always enjoyed using Couchsurfing, the experiences with others around the world have been phenomenal. Overall, the system for setting up and reviewing couchsurfs is solid and I have nothing to add.

I had an issue a few years ago purchasing verification, but it not applying, so I purchased directly from the site in hopes to fix it, which caused a bunch of customer support issues that didn’t get resolved, but years later I purchased it again and had no issues.

I would like to say that CS is aiming to lower verification prices, and I hope they don’t lower it too much, it would be a shame to lower the barrier for entry, which can cause logistical from for those less committed to following through with a hosting.

I recommend some kind of badging system to encourage people to use the group and event features more. Anything to make the community more tight-knit and active will help grow the community organically.

by Ateverwhay

I LOVE couchsurfing. It’s truly the best way to travel if you want to see the world like a local and make friends. Especially perfect for students and budget travelers. I’ve loved getting to know my hosts, see their favorite spots in their cities, and get small glimpses of the ways other people live. CouchsurfingTravelApp is great and easy to use, and I love that you can choose or start a “hangout” to find activities or people nearby. My only complaint is it doesn’t give access to “groups” from CouchsurfingTravelApp . I would like to be able to access to group pages so I can see what others have posted or info on group pages. Besides that, great app and an amazing resource for travelers.

by Samar Khalife

I am personally a person who dread’s the cliché travel experience and this is where Couchsurfing comes to the rescue! If you want to discover a country’s gems, it’s more satisfying to look from a local’s eye. Not only do you find out about the country’s secrets but you also get to enjoy the lifestyle of any country’s population. The purpose of CouchsurfingTravelApp is a win-win for hosts and for surfers if not for the whole global society. The only Remark I have to give is the technical issues I faced while dealing with CouchsurfingTravelApp . Other than that I applaud the creators of CouchsurfingTravelApp for giving people a way to scope the world without the pain of spending loads of money and seeing the bare minimum.

by Rachthegirl

CouchsurfingTravelApp has been a lifesaver when traveling, helping me connect and make friends with people in this world I otherwise would have never came into contact with. The events page is great and is utilized quite a bit where I live, however some debugging needs to happen. Namely, the event disappears before the event would be over, so you have to make your event end the following day, which can be (and has been) confusing for out-of-towners. Also, currently it’s not possible to add a cover photo to the event. The last bug I notice and need to mention is the search engine for members. If I search for a particular member in a region, they almost never show up. Instead, random members show up in the search. Fix these bugs, and I’d be more than happy to re-rate CouchsurfingTravelApp to 5 stars! :-)

by Kickalicous

The platform lends itself to being mixed between desktop and mobile usage so it's great that the dual functionality works out. I like to send out my mass requests/write feedback on the desktop and do everything else on the mobile app so it's a very convenient split! There are a couple of features that seem unique to the mobile app which seems like poor cross-platform UX design (i.e. availability calendar) but aside from that, CouchsurfingTravelApp works very well and provides access to the most necessary information.

by Swooop-USA

I don’t understand why some of reviews are less than 5 stars just to communicate feature requests or enhancements. It is all about —value— here. CouchsurfingTravelApp is a life changer. There is no better way to meet people and develop a close personal connection quickly, with people you want to meet and stay connected to forever. You don’t have to be an active traveler, host’er or surfer to to do this. Just correspond with people who grab your interest that are close by and invite them for coffee or use the “Hang Out” feature. Totally rewarding. Hosting and surfing are priceless means to expand a limited understanding of cultures around the world. How cool is that??

by SoleraRose

This is such a solid way to travel and form lasting friendships and bonds and travel way farther than you could of by not having to pay for a place to stay.

Because of the references left you can tell if a person meets your level of safety to stay with. When traveling with kids I make sure someone I stay with has around 200 references and of course no negative ones! And same with those who come stay with.

Have been on so many adventures and had so many great conversations and learned so much from people on the website! Very solid, very safe! I would recommend to use this site to make friends and travel buddies and have local guides where ever you go! I would fee safe with my kids using this website when they are older for their travels!!

by Ash:-]

I’ve maintained a profile on Couchsurfing for a long, long time. Over 10 years now. I downloaded CouchsurfingTravelApp about 2 years ago and had great success on multiple trips, meeting hosts and offering students a place to stay. Excellent tools. I can’t find my “groups” on CouchsurfingTravelApp , though. My only glitch experience was with an essential verification in my profile, and as soon as I emailed the helpdesk, they fixed it.
I wish there was a way to hyperlink phone calls to your main contact for accommodations. ( for safety ) but overall this has afforded me the best stays with new friends & introductions to new food. It’s unprecedented! I’ve always wanted to contribute to Couchsurfing, their expenses for me have been mailings, reviewing documents, and storing my profile & messages on their site. Processes that add to my reputability as a Couchsurfer! Totally worth an annual fee of $15!
Thank you for giving us a way to give back.

by Chasen Martinsen

I love Couchsurf! I really like the idea of it and it is a perfect tool for travelers to find a place to stay, and people to hang out with. It's also fun hosting people, helping out where you can, and learning from people all across the world. My one complaint is, please bring back verification via hosting. I really enjoy helping out travelers, but not for $60. I'm not going to pay that much money for people to come stay with me. I think you should be able to earn "verified" status through other ways, such as staying active and actually hosting people. It's makes it difficult for us generous hosters. Please fix this Couchsurf, it's not fair. Thank you,

by NehaGupta

I love what the CS community stands for. CouchsurfingTravelApp is great too. I have been seeing some issues with CouchsurfingTravelApp and the web browser.
For the web browser: for some reason I cannot search for other travelers on the web. It’s gives me an error msg and goes to a blank page. But the functionality works fine from the mobile app.
And another issue I have seeing is with the phone # verification. I paid to be verified, but the phone verification functionality doesn’t seem to work. I have tried giving my number using different browser/app but don’t seem to receive the sms back.

by DeviantTraveler

CouchsurfingTravelApp leaves a lot to be desired. Aside from the navigation being less than intuitive, services like verify you number returns a text over 2 hours later to my phone. I have to verify through the web interface. The ID scanner is completely non functional. But I am also aware that in the spirit of this community most of the development is probably donated. So I would just like to point out the critical verification services that should be looked into to better assist members, and should you need an experience audit or review I would be most willing to donate my time.

by Enesbergm

I’ve been on couchsurfing for a while, and CouchsurfingTravelApp makes it even more fun, especially with the new “hangout” feature. I’ve been able to connect with so many interesting people in new cities, with very little effort or planning. I imagine that this particular feature might become an app in itself… People are always looking for spontaneous fun with other people who want to do similar things.
The only downside is that there are always some men just looking for Nookie, but that seems to be an unavoidable phenomenon no matter where you go!