Someone wants to stay with you. That's exciting! Here's how to find their request, respond, and keep everything on track.
How Will I Know When I Receive a Stay Request?
You'll get a notification in your Activity Center and the request will appear under Your Guests in your Library
.
If the traveler isn't already a friend, their request arrives as a chat request. Accept the chat first and then you can respond to the stay.
How Do I Respond?
Open the chat with the traveler to see the full request, then respond from there.
On mobile:
- Tap your Activity Center
notification, or tap Library
in the bottom navigation bar, find the request under Your Guests, and tap View Your Guests
- Open the chat with the traveler
- Tap View Request on the Pending Stay
- Review the request details: trip info, dates, number of travelers, and their message
- Tap Accept Stay or Decline
On the web:
- Click your Activity Center
- Open the chat with the traveler
- Click View Request on the Pending Stay
- Review the request details: trip info, dates, number of travelers, and their message
- Click Accept Stay or Decline
What Happens After I Accept?
Nearly there! Accepting kicks off a quick two-step confirmation:
- You'll be asked to review your home info (address and sleeping arrangements) to make sure everything is current
- Once you confirm, the traveler gets notified and confirms on their end
The stay isn't locked in until the traveler confirms. Once both sides are good, the stay moves to upcoming and you're all set.
What Happens If I Decline?
No worries, it happens. When you decline you'll be asked to pick a reason:
- I don't want to host right now
- I can't host because of my living situation
- I can't accommodate the dates or traveler
- This person has made me feel unsafe or uncomfortable
- Other (please explain)
Your reason goes only to Couchsurfing, not to the traveler. They'll see the request was declined and any brief message you choose to include.
Can I Cancel an Upcoming Stay?
Yes, at any time, even after both sides have confirmed. Open the chat with the traveler, tap or click the three-dot menu (⋮), and select the cancel option. You'll be asked to select a reason.
If you need to cancel, do it as early as possible so your traveler has time to make other plans.
Can I Receive Multiple Stay Requests at Once?
Yes. You can have requests and upcoming stays with multiple travelers at the same time. Just keep in mind you can only have one active request or upcoming stay with the same traveler at a time.
The platform doesn't check for date overlap, so your schedule is yours to manage. If you accept stays for the same dates, cancel any you won't be able to honor as soon as you know.
Where Can I See All My Stay Requests?
Everything is in your Library under Your Guests: upcoming visits, pending requests, and past guests. Your Activity Center
catches all the notifications too. And in any chat with a traveler, the stay details appear right at the top of the conversation.
Looking to send a stay request instead? See How Do I Request and Manage a Stay? A Guide for Travelers.
Need more help? Get in touch. You can also reach us anytime through Settings → Contact Support.