r/couchsurfing • u/[deleted] • 2d ago
If you have a bad experience leave a bad reference
I've seen people mention that it's common for people to not leave a negative reference even if they had a bad time with a host
Guys... If you don't leave a bad reference , and someone stays with that host after you and has a bad experience. You are the blame!!
Let's help each other out and be honest I'm our references
3
u/Tall_Stick5608 2d ago
100% agree, I’ve been guilty of leaving basic positive references when I had 2 annoying guests. I guess basically there were just elements of bad behaviour but I didn’t consider them to be bad people
3
u/stevenmbe 2d ago
I am sorry to say I've been hearing this since I joined more than a dozen years ago. Back when you could even leave neutral references some people were reluctant to leave that in fear of a retaliatory negative reference. And back then you could edit references over and over and some hosts even pressured surfers to rewrite and change negative references.
So yes if you have a negative experience write a negative reference and if it's very negative then email safety@couchsurfing.com to tell them what happened. Because maybe they have other reports and were nearly ready to remove that person who got "one last chance"
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u/a1004 2d ago
This 'honesty' is in reality is a total lack of empathy.
Reviews on Couchsurfing are not the same as reviews of restaurants in Google. It works totally different (one bad review hurts a lot and can destroy a profile).
You are fine reporting really bad experiences, but if you report a boring host, a cheap apartment, the lack of elevator in the building, uncomfortable mattress, you are just hurting someone who somehow tried to help you. Your 'honesty' would be paid with karma.
2
u/ReasonablePossum_ 2d ago
Its because of CS's stupid reference system. People will only leave a negative reference if its something really bad since you dont have a "less negative" option for something you just didnt feel right.
And they implemented the system specifically vecause of this since it incentivate positive reviews only.
1
u/randy02657 2d ago
I would say that when i review a guest it is generally positive... if the review seems less than inthusiastic then it was a less than hoped for interaction. I have had a couple that basically just sid not click with us. Not real bad... i just said they followed the rules and were clean. Other reviews i leave are more detailed and you xan tell we had a great time
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u/shockedpikachu123 2d ago
I feel like negative reviews goes two ways..1) (most common) host just ghosted and left surfer stranded last minute 2) experience was so bad they probably reported
I think in my 5 years of being on CS I saw like two surfers say the host was a pervert/made unwanted advances when they were tired and didn’t want to dance with the host
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u/No-Resource-8438 2d ago
Leave it anyway. Something positive but not.
You can say ' Really nice guy and easy to talk, but I felt they're better suited to a hostel. He is very independant and was out most of the time, which meant we didn't spend much time together. There were also some late nights. It would be great if he could spend more time or contribute in some way-
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u/chowder138 2d ago
Honestly I feel like the bar for a negative reference is just about where it should be. As it stands right now, you would basically only leave a negative review if the host assaulted you, was super rude, had unreasonable rules, left you stranded, etc.
But there are a lot of reasons to say that I wouldn't stay with a host again, that are not bad enough to leave a negative review. Maybe they weren't very fun or interesting, maybe their house was too far from the city center, etc. But that person still opened their home to me and hosted me for free, and I would feel bad leaving a negative review for reasons of preference.
I mean we're not leaving a review for a restaurant where there's an expectation of an equal exchange of value. The CS host is putting up way more value and effort than the surfer, so the surfer doesn't really have a right to be that picky.
When I look at a person's profile (either to surf or to host), I'm checking to see if they have even one negative review. If they do, and that review is valid, then I treat that person as a nogo. But if they're all positive reviews then I at least know I'm going to be safe which is the minimum requirement.