First of all, when you're looking for a couchsurfing host, you can filter the prospects for things like number of surfers they'll host, age, smoking vs. non-smoking, etc. But of course, the more filters you add, the smaller the pool of possibilities.
Because there are more people who will host 4 people than 5, I've started filtering for 4 and then asking in my request if they wouldn't mind hosting 5 (Bella is small...she should only count as a half!).
Another tip: if you ever become a couchsurfer, pay attention to people's reply rate. If they don't have 80% or better, it's almost pointless to request. Chances are you won't hear back from them. I think a lot of people hear about couchsurfing, love the idea, sign up, create a profile, and then promptly forget to ever do anything with it. We've had our spells of inactivity, but at least I reply to everyone who requests. My favorite person to send a request to has a 100% reply rate and has been logged on in the past week. Chances are pretty good they'll reply, even if it's to decline your request.
So now for the update!
We have 11 nights I'm trying to get couchsurfing hosts for. I've sent 24 official requests, which may not sound like very many, but each one is personalized...cut and paste jobs don't get as many replies. It takes a while.
I've heard back from 12 of the 24. I've had 5 "declines," 3 "maybes," and 4 "accepts." 8 of the 11 nights now have hosts! We're getting there!
Our first couchsurfing nights will be in London. Still no host yet, though we have one "maybe." I have 5 London requests who haven't responded yet, but I should try a few more requests. It's a bummer to find one that sounds perfect (to me, a perfect host is another family with kids who has ample room) and then they decline because they have other plans. It's helpful to not get your hopes up about any potential host, and then be pleasantly surprised when one accepts.
Our next need is Liverpool/Manchester. We've had good luck there, with one Liverpool maybe and two Manchester acceptances. Both are a bit off the beaten path, but that's okay. We'll have a rental car, so we have flexibility. We're leaning towards staying with the one that's more rural, but keeping the other host on standby. Just in case.
After a couple of nights with Steve, we want to head somewhere in Scotland while we still have a car. We got a 3-night acceptance from a family in Insch, a little village in the northeast part of Scotland. They have two kids, so we're really looking forward to that visit. Then we return to Edinburgh for another week with Steve.
The next couchsurfing need is a few weeks later in Germany, and we've got a host. 3 nights in Frankfurt.
I sort of botched the end of our trip by requiring the return of our rental car in Copenhagen the day before we fly home. Which means we need a place to stay in Copenhagen our last night in Europe (or sleep in the airport, which would not be ideal). Still waiting on those requests.
This is not me. But it could be.
So we're only lacking two nights in London and 1 night in Copenhagen. We're almost set!
We need to figure out some thank you gifts to bring our hosts. Something distinctly American and/or distinctly Florida. Hmm. Any ideas?
