Be honest and clear on your profile about what you expect from your guests so that CouchSurfers can make an informed decision when deciding to request your couch. Do you have pets? Do you like to stay up late? Do you like to spend a lot of time with your guests, or are you busy and prefer they look after themselves?

Look for CouchRequests that are written to you personally, and clearly indicate that the person has read your profile. And don’t stop there! Always click through to read the other person’s profile. Look for detailed information about who they are (ideally in both the profile and the references), and a clear photo of what they look like.

If you look at a person’s profile and don’t feel you can make informed decision based on what you see, or if you look at their profile and just don’t think you’d have a good time together, just say no! It’s your home, and you should only share your space and your time with people you want to meet.

CouchSurfing messages and CouchRequests let you safely communicate with other members so that you don’t need to give out your phone number or email. Don’t give out your contact information until you feel comfortable with a person and would like to meet them face to face.

When you see a profile that looks interesting, take the time to read it carefully, looking for detailed information about them and clear photos of their face. If they seem like someone you’d like to know, next check to see how much time they like to spend with their CouchSurfers. Some hosts will want to hang out a lot, others will be very busy. Choose someone whose expectations match yours. Finally, make sure that the sleeping arrangements and rules of the house -- for example quiet hours, pets, or things that are not allowed in the house -- are going to be a good fit for you.

Now that you’ve taken the time to think about why you and this host will get along, make sure you tell them about it. No one likes a cut-and-paste CouchRequest! Pay respect to the time that it takes hosts to read their requests by writing one that’s meant for them. Your chances of receiving a positive reply improve drastically by writing a personal message.

If your travel plans change, or you have second thoughts about your choice of host, you can always cancel your plans with them. But always write to inform them! It’s all about respect: if you don’t let them know that you’re not coming, they’ll go to the trouble of preparing their home for nothing, and may waste a lot of time worrying about you when you fail to show up.

CouchSurfing messages and CouchRequests let you safely communicate with other members so that you don’t need to give out your phone number or email. Don’t give out your contact information until you feel comfortable with a person and would like to meet them face to face.