BootsnAll Travel Community

Hi there,

Might anyone have a Couch Surfing [dot] net invitation that they'd be willing to forward to me? My email address is:
juliamcc [at] stanfordalumni [dot] org

My husband and I are trying to find affordable accommodations on Grand Cayman Island, where our good friend will hold his wedding in November. All of the advertised options we've come across are just exorbitant, especially for our graduate student budgets. Moreover, we're just looking for a place to sleep, not some ultra-luxurious oceanside mansion with swim-up bars and infinity pools.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Best,
Julia

You don't need a invitation to join Couch Surfing. You can do that on your own.

I would caution though not to appear that you are using the forum just to score some free accomodation or cheap one. Some long timers and hardcore CSers will take issue with that.

Couchsurfing is more about meeting the locals and seeing their country from their point of view.

I'm one of the long timers that Madhu spoke of. Whenever I get a message and it's obvious that the person is just looking for a free place to stay, I simply don't respond. If I'm going to open up my home to a stranger, than I expect to interact with them.

Looks as if there's a difference between couchsurfing.com and couchsurfing.net. I'd not heard of the .net site until today, and can't make any comment on it. The .com site is quite popular though, and with over 500,000 members you might find it to your liking.

I use couchsurfing.com, only signed up a couple of months ago. But I agree with Ratguy, there is definately an etiquette to how you use the service.

I got a recent request from a French couple saying they were coming to watch the rugby cup final in Cardiff and basically wanted to use my flat because they couldn't find a cheap enough hotel. The girl had not even bothered to fill out any of her profile, not even a photo on there. And she obviously hadn't read my profile properly either or she would have seen that am able to host 1 person maximum.

Hi all,

Thanks for the cautionary couch surfing tales. And thanks, also, for the etiquette lessons, which I trust were shared with the best of intentions.

Perhaps I should clarify the motivation behind my original post, to discourage derisive suspicious about what I might bring to a couch surfing community (and correspondingly, to real live peoples' couches).

First, I respect that couch surfing is far more than finding a cheap place to crash. It's a cooperative effort that requires conscientiousness from both the "couchee(s)" and "coucher(s)".

Basically, my husband and I are trying to find a way to attend our friend's wedding in a manner suitable for our graduate student budgets. Maybe this will happen through couch surfing, or maybe there are reasonably-priced accommodations that we just haven't found - your suggestions are welcome!

Couch surfing presents an added appeal because, as many responses have noted, our host might be interested in showing us "his/her Grand Cayman Island!" However, it feels quite presumptuous (to us, at least) to expect such a level of hospitality and commitment out of anyone. I mean, when friends crash at my place, there are times when they're totally on their own thanks to my husband's and my occasionally crazy schedules - and there are other times when we can hang with them and show them around.

I feel like this post is about to get TOO LONG, so I'll stop it here.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Best,
Julia

Julia

The information was shared so that you can use it how you feel fit. Wanted to share my experience and also pass on information to somebody who is just starting out. Not assuming anything more or anything less. We all start somewhere in these Travel forums and it takes time to build a feel of community. So you have plenty of time to get involved in the CS group, see if you can participate in it in the spirit its intended. If you find a place for the cayman trip great if not you will find a lot of like minded travelers. Lot of it is a give and take.

And do come and participate on Bootsnall as well. Lot of us here help with asking and answering questions. Check out the section on Carribean islands and maybe you will find answer to your question there.

Cheers
Madhu