Safety Tips When You Opted for Couchsurfing or Homestay
The idea of couchsurfing or homestay is popular among travelers. It’s a good way to reduce the expenses when you don’t want to pay a lot for expensive hotels. It’s also good to engage with the locals and live like they do.
The only problem with both options is that you’re sleeping with people you don’t know. You might be in a vulnerable position and be a victim of a crime in a country you’re not familiar with. Therefore, you have to remember these safety tips before traveling.
Read the reviews and details first
Make sure that you will partner with people who have a verified account online. You also have to check if the reviews were positive. For couchsurfing, hosts want to ensure a positive reputation because if it’s their turn to travel in the future, they want to make it easy for others to host them. Immediately stay away from accounts that haven’t been verified yet or haven’t received lots of reviews.
Communicate with your host before traveling
It’s good if you can talk to your host before you travel. You want to establish a positive relationship even before your arrival. You can even set rules and agree on some details. By the time you get there, you already earned each other’s trust.
Inform your family
Let your family know where you’re going. Tell them the exact name and address of the person hosting you. If you know other people residing in the place where you’re heading, you also need to tell them. In case of emergency, you can contact them.
Keep emergency contact numbers on speed dial
You need to know the local 911 number of the country where you’re traveling. You also have to save the hotline of your country’s embassy. Again, you don’t know what could happen. In case you start to feel unsafe, you can call for help.
Travel with someone if possible
When you choose this type of accommodation, you need to bring someone with you. Traveling alone already comes with a risk. It’s even worse when you have to stay with someone you have only met for the first time. You can reschedule your trip if you can’t bring a friend with you on your chosen dates.
Leave when you feel unsafe
As you start to feel that there’s something wrong or creepy with your host, you have to leave. It doesn’t matter if you are viewed as rude for your action. You can deal with the repercussions later. For now, the goal is to be safe. Look for a hotel somewhere in a more crowded area or head straight to the airport. Don’t worry about the expenses as a result of these changes in plan. Again, the priority is to be safe.
These two options remain popular around the world. It means that many people still trust the process. There’s nothing wrong if you also give them a shot. Just make sure you know what to do to protect yourself under the worst circumstances.
Photo Attribution:
1st and featured image from https://blog.eurail.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Group-of-friends-on-couch-enjoying-football-game.jpg
2nd image from https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/18/18267500/how-to-set-up-emergency-location-sharing-android-ios
