Peruvian living in Madrid READ BEFORE REQUESTING When I first joined Couchsurfing, I hosted before being hosted by someone else because I believed in the idea of contributing to the community, getting to know people, and building good references so that when I traveled it would be easier to find hosts myself. In reality, even though I don’t travel very often, I’ve almost never been hosted, which has been quite discouraging. Because of this, I will ONLY HOST people who are also active hosts and who could realistically host me back in the future, preferably within Europe, since that’s where I usually travel (with a few possible exceptions like Turkey, Japan, or Morocco). I hope this is understood in the spirit of keeping things fair and balanced. On the topic of balance, let me rant a bit about Couchsurfing. In my 10 years on the app (not continuously), I’ve noticed that hosts are overwhelmingly men—probably around a 4:1 ratio compared to women, if not more. Most women who host tend to host only other women, which I completely understand for safety reasons. Male hosts are a mixed bag. A surprisingly large number don’t seem to travel at all and prefer hosting only women. Maybe women are generally cleaner or more respectful, but it often feels like there’s an ulterior motive—though I won’t generalize, because I know not every man treats the app like a dating platform (I certainly don’t). Then there are the more unusual hosts: nudists who want to share their bed (I’ll pass), very lonely people looking for any kind of interaction, overly involved hosts who want to control every part of your trip, and some genuinely kind people who simply have space and enjoy meeting travelers. I always thought I belonged in that last category. But over the years—and maybe because I’m a bit distrustful by nature—I’ve started seeing Couchsurfing more as a transaction. I’ll offer you a place to stay and hang out if I have time, but I expect you to host me in return. Otherwise, hosting doesn’t make much sense to me. Sorry for the rant. In my last 20 trips using the app, only three people hosted me purely out of kindness, and I have a lot of love for them. If I ever host you, just know I’ll probably end up visiting your city sooner or later and if i don’t host you then I hope you don’t take it personal but most likely it means im either busy, or i really don’t plan to travel where you live or I don’t think if i did you’ll host me. That being said I will politely decline without a reply any request from anyone that hasn’t hosted ever or can’t possibly host me in the near future and if you don’t write a request without mentioning: “I’ll be happy to host you back when you come to ___”