Couchsurfing Reviews 787

Hidden fees that they will not refund. Stay away from these liars.

Absolutely abusive used of "verification identity" through a payment i didn't approved since i've put my card info for an year subscription. For a reason that i ignore and that they did not respond they are illegally not applying the 14-day "cooling off period" that European Union law establishes at their Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011. I have decided to filled a lawsuit with the help of the California Consumer Protection federal service. I'm still waiting for them to answer my mails and my refund.

Doesn't accomplish what it claims to do, person just throws away $10 to get - nothing.

These guys are complete douch bags. It's a popular app that used to be free but now forces you to pay for your account BECAUSE of Covid-19! 5 years after the pandemic, they are still pathetically use that as an excuse. I guess they just want to monetize even more.

56euro just to verify yourself, without informing you upfront. The devil in disguise. They should be ashamed.

Couchsurfing scams people now. I paid last year then was told on my profile that because i hosted so many people would be extended to late 2026. Early January they now will not let me access anything, so they went against their own verbal contract and won’t let me access anything. Disgusting. How could i ever pay for more usage because they go against their verbal contract so i can’t trust them. Done with couchsurfing. I would have paid had they not lied the way they did.

I'm writing this review to share my personal experience with Couchsurfing, hoping others will know what they're getting into.

I signed up for their service and paid for app access/verification, despite my very difficult financial and health situation as a disabled veteran. In practice, I couldn't use the app as promised, and when I contacted support requesting a refund – I received automated, cold responses based solely on their 'Terms of Use' with zero real attempt to understand my situation or help.

To me, it feels like the company benefits from how easy it is to charge users, but when a customer isn't satisfied or didn't actually receive a useful service – suddenly everything is locked behind legal clauses. In my opinion, this is unfair, inhumane conduct that doesn't fit a company claiming to be built on 'community' and 'human connection'.

Personally, I experienced a financial commitment for a service I had no real use for, complete refusal to even consider a refund despite very tough life circumstances, and a strong feeling of being treated as a number rather than a human being. I do not recommend Couchsurfing, especially for anyone in a fragile financial situation, because to me they hide behind fine print instead of taking basic human responsibility.

This is my private experience description, and everyone is welcome to read, check, and judge for themselves.

If I could give 0 stars, I would.
I was charged €56 for account verification without clearly seeing the price beforehand. Couchsurfing calls this a “contribution,” but it is a mandatory payment presented in a misleading way. And when I asked for refund, they didn't want to refund me. I'm deleting the account. Very disappointing and unethical practice.

It is a scam. The app asked for my card details to verify my profile and the next thing I saw was getting charged 56 euros. I wrote to them a few times but they stopped responding after some time and refused to process refund.

I want you to not lose hope against these scammers. I lodged a dispute against them with my bank and it took a few weeks but my money came back. Don’t let them scam you. Just be patient and lodge the dispute with your bank. Usually, bank’s app allows you or you can fill out their form or write an email to your bank rep and share the details of transaction date, what happened, also refer to trust pilot reviews as many people experienced this with them

As for their service, the platform is almost dead. Most people haven’t been active for a few years. So not even worth a regular subscription.

Couchsurfing helps me broaden my horizons by meeting new people, creating meaningful friendships, hosting people and being hosted! Even when I go on a business trip, I try to find local hosts, and not stay at a hotel like my colleagues.

Extremely disappointed with the Support experience so far.

My friend’s annual subscription was suddenly canceled without explanation, despite being fully paid and valid. At the same time, a persistent technical issue on the account page continues to appear, preventing normal use of the platform.

We have been contacting Couchsurfing support for over a week now, yet we have received no clear guidance, solution, or meaningful response on how to resolve this issue.

Considering that my friend is an active and loyal user of the platform, this lack of communication and support is very unsatisfactory. The experience feels less like a Support service and more like a PROMISE service or an IGNORE IT service.

We kindly but firmly request a prompt investigation, clear explanation, and immediate resolution of this issue.

Closing account for no clear given reason after paid yearly subscription, very low quality people registered on this platform, support team is extremely incompetent. Very sad because i was using it for more then 10 years :((

I was charged approximately €70 for a lifetime verification on Couchsurfing that I never intended to purchase.

On December 21, I clicked on what I believed was a normal, free verification step, as is common on many websites. At no point was it clear to me that this was a paid lifetime service. When I realized that a payment was being processed, I immediately closed the payment window using the cancel/close option at the top right.

Despite this, the payment went through.

I contacted Couchsurfing immediately through their official support channel and explained clearly that the charge was unintentional and that I had tried to cancel the process. The customer service representative replied that nothing could be done and that a refund was not possible, referring to their terms and conditions.

I contacted them again several times, insisting that I never intended to make this purchase, but I received the same refusal each time.

I believe this charge was made without my informed consent, and the refusal to refund an unintentional payment for a digital service is unfair and misleading.

My account was suddenly blocked without any explanation or warning, even though I had paid for one year's verification.
Very few active users remain. The platform feels completely dead compared to what Couchsurfing used to be.
I strongly advise against subscribing.

Watch the documentary ' bad host; couchsurfing predator '
Stay safe

Another couchsurfer left me a review exposing personally sensitive information such as medical conditions and they refuse to remove it.

Great people with good intentions and very open minded and friendly attitude , with a love of travel and new experiences where ever they are at

I can confirm the sneaky verification charges which seems like a sc7m. At no point through the 'vetification' the amount charges is clearly stated.
Luckily I paid through Payal and recovered the charge. Cancelled the subscription straight away!
Couchsurfing, if you are reading this hope you are ashamed of treating potential hosts with complete contempt. I wrote to Paypal and asked why they allow Couchsurfing to collect such charges.

Buyer beware! Couchsurfing used to be run as a free playform. Now a subscription service which is low cost. Where they screw people is with their wording and with their "verification of payment method". You would think verifying your payment method is just a means of ensuring your payment matches your information...name address etc. Nope. They charge you $80 for it and you literally get nothing in return for that. It's not clear when you do it that it's going to cost you. And when you ask for a refund they say it was a financial contribution therefore can't be refunded. Your membership is also a financial contribution, so if they keep auto billing you because you forget, or you decide you are unhappy with the site or service, you have no recourse because they word it as a financial contribution. It's absolutely predatory as a corporation. If they do this to you please make an official complaint to better business bureau, the FTC and your credit card company or PayPal if you paid through them.

Victim of sexual assault on Couchsurfing has their profile on Couchsurfing.com removed.

To whom it may concern,

I have been the victim of sexual assault while a guest on Couchsurfing.com.

A few hours later, I could not access my profile on Couchsurfing.com.

When I contacted Couchsurfing.com through email about not being able to access my profile, they sent a very curt message stating that my profile had been removed without providing a justification, stating that their decision was final.

I am flabbergasted by the response of Couchsurfing.com.

And I am appalled by the actions they decided to take, that, at the very least, amount to connivance with perpetrators of sexual assault.

I'm outraged by the actions of Couchsurfing.com, protecting people who perpetrate sexual assaults while at the same time punishing, silencing and cancelling the victims of sexual assault.

The fact that the company, Couchsurfing.com, deliberately chooses to encourage and promote those behaviours by protecting people who commit sexual assaults while at the same time it chooses to punish, silence and cancel victims is deeply unsettling.

It is akin to having a criminal committing a crime, then going to see a judge who then will sanction and punish the victim over and above that.

Criminal, judge, jury and executioner. All together, against the victim.

Not only is there a sense of impunity, but also of lingering injustice.