Ask members to pay a fee ($10, $20, $100whatever) to BUY ownership of CS. But other better things are birthing. After accepting a couchrequest, exchange phone numbers, especially if your Internet is unreliable or nonexistent. References help other members make informed decisions. There are a lot of things to change with growing technology but all those things were on the backend part. Hes name is Gergely Bartha. If youre not traveling or dont have the space to host, that doesnt mean you cant be involved in the Couchsurfing community! im not saying i ever asked for money instead but to keep you going and make members contribute you can let host charge guests for a amount (only once or per night depends on your decision but a small amount like 5 or 10$ and you get 20% of it or any other percent) this encourage hosts to be active more and you can give host the option to weather do hosting this way or not but if not the guest must pay). But the CS team refused to investigate these blocks and just suspended my account with no details. I live in a popular location and host when I can but am inundated with new members, no pictures, no bio, no references, nothing. Then they move to another city, but still leave their Profile untouched. Thank you so much CS. If you receive a reference from someone who you have never interacted with, then we can remove it. This transition took us over 2 months to complete due to the complexity of our application. It doesnt take prohibitive per-user revenue to put a project in the black. Couchsurfing Review Couchsurfing is a great app for those looking to travel and save money on accommodation. If you purchased Verification we are not asking you to contribute for one full year from now. what I liked about couchsurfing: nobody would stay away who somehow found or heard of the site. They run yearly funding campaigns and why shouldnt Couchsurfing? The downside of a paid model is that it will unfortunately isolate those genuine people who want to contribute to the community but just cant afford it. In some ways I like the idea of a paid model to get rid of those that freeload people making new accounts just to find a place to sleep and add nothing to the community. In general, Indian society disapproves of dating and premarital sex. Put a limit of 5 profile photos and 1 that the photos of Couch or experiences are enabled 1 for each confirmed stay. Good decision, I support it. What is Couchsurfing International's Twitter? Especially as you are charging a really reasonable amount. Add photos of all family members and show off your familys personality with stories and funny details. Instead I get a response stating no refunds will be issued. We remain compliant with all privacy regulations. The idea of paying for many people who are semiactive or have been using the site only as hosts sporadically is terrible. I strongly believe that people who see and feel Couchsurfing as a COMMUNITY will do funding to keep this alive. If you actually read my review you would see that I WANT A REFUND! Most of these people only look to get hosted. It would be sad if people who just host a small number disappear from the site, because of your changes. Please communicate and it is not too late to communicate to all your members by email! When they host, their home bills increase. If the email address that you used to create your Couchsurfing profile has been hacked, you should also change the email that is associated with your account. First of all, it is necessary to recognize that the people I met and the experiences that I was able to live thanks to this platform changed my life. Best of luck, and lets hope better decisions will be made in the future. To find an event near you, go to https://www.couchsurfing.com/events. The benefits we get from couchsurfing, and the groups where we can communicate with people from all over the world are certainly worth that in my opinion. However, Im a bit more at ease after reading the latest blog post. I would just also add that if you are going to start mandating payment There should really be full financial transparency to maintain the trust of your members. Thing about it, they actually have work to do. You will not see anyone at Couchsurfing driving a Lambo or flying in a Gulfstream jet on the way to the latest EDM party in Vegas. While we will process your report and take action as soon as possible, a reference is an instant warning that can prevent others from being victimized. This was not the intention we had in trying to rally the community around saving Couchsurfing. Exactly.. The community has never been more vibrant (prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, of course). is expensive. People arent saying youre holding the data hostage, its that youre holding the *community* hostage. You can review and update your privacy settings, You can hide your profile from all members at any time by. I have invested in my account and built up over the years, and its sad to see how one can get victimized like that. But please, give the community that chance to contribute in a way thats right and in line with the CS spirit. The best Couchsurfing experiences start with an open and honest dialogue. We do not consider it appropriate for us to intervene in member descriptions of their experience. If you would like to make a formal complaint against another member due to a violation of our Terms of Use or Privacy Policy, please contact us directly. Even if youre busy, sending a quick message in response is a nice gesture. Login to Support Couchsurfing As of May 14, 2020, we are asking for member contributions, either per month or per year, to keep Couchsurfing alive. When checking your account from public computers, be sure to sign out before closing the page. Im also concerned that the initial barrier will put off genuine new users. Send thoughtful, personalized messages that use your potential hosts name and make it clear youve read their profile. A lot of members are angry, as youve said, of holding data hostage. Most cities have a variety of options for community events, whether its a large cafe, community center or private park. Not so clear that Id be on board for that. Couchsurfing Review 2023 - Is Couchsurfing Trustworthy? - DollarBreak Since then most of the business logic that was implemented was based on atomizing members and scaling down group dynamics. If you really cherish this community and want to continue having everybody in one place and not being slowly replaced by a company who will represent the free spirit you did so far I would highly advise to look for yet other more creative options to raise money, cut costs and what not. 20) Wont this make the community smaller? That doesnt seem to be true. Even if your French is rusty, you can always list yourself as a Beginner. Dont shortchange yourself! Manage your Apple ID 2) Why did Couchsurfing start asking for contributions? I would agree to support it if I was offered something in return. Brendon. More about Safety. We promise not to send you any unrelated messages, Click here if youd like to unsubscribe from notifications about new complaints of Couchsurfing International. Why can someone leave me a reference without having met me? If i pay now i lose about 6 months, but i will pay if you require me to do so, i think this is a very good service, but at the same time what happens to the 6 months i am good for There were people freeloading on Couchsurfing, using it as a way to find a free place to stay, not responding to messages, and flaking on hangouts or events. Why not investing more in the quality of community members, their interactions and fundamental features like search engine, why investing on fancy new features like Hangout and, I believe, marketing ? But, like I said, I believe in those people who created CS. Can you remove a reference from my profile? Also, please leave a reference for the other member so that the community is immediately aware of what occurred. surfing on their sites during the virus either. CS doesnt ask for much but provides a wealth of memories, connections, stories etc. I would absolutely hate for the events or hangouts features to go, for couchsurfing to go for that matter. I also dont see how having suddenly thousands of not responding anymore host profile will do the community any good. Couchsurfing International Phone, Email, Address, Customer Service 1) Give people the option to pay a lifetime membership to Couchsurfing with no annual or monthly payments for $200. CS HQ then deleted the Community Based Knowledge features including the new member welcome forums and the wiki, pushed out passionate volunteers and outsourced back-end work to contractors in developing countries, and then followed faulty murky business plans pursuing bloated non-core features in attempts to mimic other platforms (like Airbnb) without maintaining sufficient incoming revenues to offset the increased overhead until it finally reached a breaking point at which, while refusing to disclose the actual financials and appealing to the CS Community for greater financial support CS HQ instead generically scapegoated many years of poor financials on the Covid-19 pandemic as a justification for switching the platform to a subscription payment service and ransoming non-verified users accounts behind a paymentwall without forewarning. Exactly! If ratio of hosted/surfed is 2:1 or even more, it can be free for the surfer. We need full transparency. Terrible customer service! 6) But how expensive can it be? I find it deeply disrespectful for all those people like me who are on CS only to host people. If you guys were surviving on 4% verification payments, then I would think this will greatly increase your income. I know its expensive because I am also in website business and know how much hosting such a big website can cost, plus all developers you have to pay and etc. I am glad you are finally starting to communicate but this could have been handled so much better. was better than Pinboard? There are even people who create an id, after reaching the destination. Given the global economic climate, fewer companies are advertising so we are seeing even less funding from the few advertisements we are displaying. More importantly, it's about human connection. Security Questions. I am glad for now, I wont have to pay, as am already in the verified section, but am not sure if I would want to continue hosting, after making a payment. As a matter of interest, only one or two guests didnt offer to help with clearing and cleaning up!! Like many other long-time CS Community Members I was shocked to receive a notification indicating without warning or the CS Communitys consultation/input that CS HQ had unilaterally (in contradiction to previous commitments made to the CS Community) decided the CS website/app would become a payment subscription service and, furthermore, they had already locked all non-verified CS users accounts behind a paywall without prior discussion, notice, or the CS Communitys input and consent. CS is essentially a small business. When CS introduced the 10 request limit for not verified members, I thought, ok, I can (and want to) pay the 25$ verification fee, only to find that they hiked it up to 70$. Over 12 million travel enthusiasts use Couchsurfing in more than 230,000 cities around the world. Couchsurfing began in 2004 as a small passion project by founders Casey Fenton, Daniel Hoffer, Sebastian Le Tuan and Leonardo Bassani da Silveira. His pention is 130 euros. Hard to know what information is reliable, because independent internal sources describe this as a cash grab designed by CS leadership that takes advantage of a pandemic, but either way, suddenly imposing a paywall on users with no prior communication about it was their strategy. Take time to learn about your guests cultures, traditions, languages, and customs. All member concerns are confidential. Thanks for the explanation. Complaints for CouchSurfing International Inc. - Better Business Bureau I have a few questions and suggestionshopefully they can be addressed: Prioritizing the Couchsurfing community was the right thing to do for the community, but not the right thing to do for the business. I think your explanations are late and bad, although I do not reproach you for anything, each one runs his business as he wants, badly or well. Even though Im very low income, I dont mind paying a fee (or making a donation, since my account is good for another year). The most valuable CS participants arent customers they are Members of a rare trust-based Community. LETS DREAM this beautiful world together and make it reality. Most major cities have recurring events, which usually take place in a bar or cafe. Happy to support Couchsurfing if you work on these features. Id be happy that it provided a small part of the funding needed to keep the lights on and to spread the word. To be a great guest, read these tips. Millions of members? If youre a quiet and thoughtful hiking philosopher, tell members about your favorite books and local walks! The ability to arrive at a new destination, go to an event with a pre set date, time and location or switch on the hangouts feature and instantly plug in with locals and fellow travellers has become invaluable to me. the best vibes for CS and all of us inside !!! But now theres a different category: Contributions. could have asked for more donations! Nothing! Right now, I am getting messages from members who paid the fee, but are unaware that I cannot respond. Im sure there were saving options before and I was also surprised that there ever was a physical office for CS. Whether youre traveling the world, hosting travelers, or making friends locally, being a conscientious and generous Couchsurfer will enrich the connections you make with the people you meet. My membership is til the December 2020, so what is the score with things, Do i now have to pay or do i wait til December? Have anyone payed the monthly membership? While we dont use maps as much as you all would like, we do leverage location data across every aspect of the Couchsurfing application. Yes. The number of Couchsurfing members engaging with the website and mobile applications on a monthly basis has grown almost 5x. How should members use Events and Hangouts? Those funds were used to improve, scrap, and replace technology that was outdated and expensive to maintain. Travelers benefit from experiencing rural areas and new ways of life that are often overlooked.
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