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Couchers is officially out of beta

(couchers.org)
246 points laurentlb | 1 comments | 02 Jul 25 18:05 UTC | HN request time: 0.334s | source
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yrcyrc ◴[02 Jul 25 19:05 UTC] No.44447576[source]▶
Very fond memories of couchsurfing met very nice people both as a traveler and a host. But this was long ago. Not sure this will ever work again though
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simonhfrost ◴[02 Jul 25 19:41 UTC] No.44447960[source]▶
What's changed? Did you get older?
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Nextgrid ◴[02 Jul 25 20:40 UTC] No.44448584[source]▶
I wonder how much of it is down to the internet changing - similar to the eternal september, or overtourism.

Couchsurfing used to be a relatively niche thing which allowed it to work and thrive. The percentage of freeloaders or bad actors was low enough not to be a problem.

But now with more people being aware of it/its alternatives, the percentage of bad actors would increase too (and maybe not even proportionally to the number of good actors).

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1. yupitsme123 ◴[03 Jul 25 00:58 UTC] No.44450517[source]▶
It probably also belonged to a certain period of time and a certain generation. The peak of couchsurfing coincided with millennials coming of age, and provided something that appealed to them at the time. Namely, cheap travel and interesting, random experiences to brag about.

That demographic is a lot older now, and the younger generation has other interests and expectations which couchsurfing likely does not appeal to.