Couchsurfing is built on personal connections between members. Sending unpersonalized requests can hurt your chances of finding a host, and annoy hosts who sometimes feel inundated with “spam” requests. For this reason, we limit the number of Introductions you can use for free.
Once a message thread has been created, you can continue that conversation without hinderance. You may also send Couch offers to travelers without using your allocation of free Introductions.
What is an Introduction?
An Introduction refers to any time you initiate a conversation with a member for the first time using the Message or Couch Request system.
I ran out of Introductions and I need to find a host! What should I do?
If you've run out of Introductions, there are three different ways you can find a host:
- Post a Public Trip.
- Become a Verified Member. There is no limit to the number of Introductions a Verified member can send.
- Wait for more Introductions. Introductions are limited to 10 in a rolling 7-day window. Once you've used an introduction, it will be added back at the same time 7 days later.
How does that work? When you try to send an Introduction, our system will check the past 7 days to count how many you’ve sent in that timeframe. If you’ve sent less than 10, you’ll have the difference available to send right away. If you’ve sent 10 or more, you’ll have to wait until some of them were sent more than 7 days ago for new Introductions to be available.
How do I find a host with limited Introductions?
If you are having trouble finding a host with these limits, be sure that you have done all of the following:
- Completely fill out your profile. Your profile is the first impression you'll give to both potential guests and hosts! Make it count. Fill out every section and include multiple pictures of yourself so that other Couchsurfing members have a good idea of who they are interacting with before they meet you.
- Post a Public Trip. Once you have created a Public Trip, you will appear as a Traveler in that city during the dates you have specified. Hosts in that area receive email notifications about Travelers visiting that area, and can offer to host you.
- Use the date filter. When you filter by your arrival and departure date, you will only see hosts that are available during your trip. Hosts that are already hosting, or have otherwise indicated that they are busy, will not appear in your search results.
- Adjust other search filters. Click "More Filters" to narrow down your search results further. You can find hosts that have similar interests as you, or have the qualifications you are looking for. To increase your chances of a response from your host, you may want to filter by "Last Login Date".
- Make sure that you meet your host's Host Preferences. Be sure that you have read your host's profile and My Home information, to ensure that you meet your host's rules and preferences. Checking this before you send a Couch Request will increase your chances of being accepted by your host.
- Write personalized requests. Let your host know that you respect and value their time by writing personalized requests to each and every host.
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