sandralist

This investigative story in The Guardian about an Italian policeman who became a Couchsurfing host as a way to drug and rape female travelers raises some warning flags about the rise in unregulated travel accommodations aimed at budget travelers, who are more likely to be young.

Although it is true that women travelers can be victimized in standard hotels and b&bs, the ability of solo operators and psychos to gain access to online sites and lure victims poses new risks that people giving advice should think about.

Two of the most important lessons the article imparts are (1) there can be danger in accepting drinks and food from hosts you don't really know and (b) that traveling in groups can give women a false sense of security when they should stay on the alert for possibly dangerous operators.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...-assault-women

While travel enthusiasts don't like to hear negative stories about travel, perhaps especially if they contradict their own positive experiences, and women needn't be deterred from traveling and seeking adventure by the existence of a few crazies, this is information about new developments in travel that all budget travelers should have.

nytraveler

I have never understood the concept of couchsurfing - unless of course the hosts are family or well-known friends.

Even on my first trip to europe - when I was 19 - I would no more sleep in a stranger's house than I would hitchhike or hand my valuables over to someone else for safekeeping (or sleep in a train compartment with strangers). Perhaps I am cynical due to being raised in NYC - but I prefer to think of it as taking sensible precautions in the real world.

Tulips

You wouldn't just go home with any random stranger you meet on the street, would you? Yet people sleep in a stranger's house, with that stranger also sleeping there.

thursdaysd

" Yet people sleep in a stranger's house, with that stranger also sleeping there."

People have been doing that in B&Bs for decades.

Tulips

A B&B is a bit more secure than couchsurfing. They would close down pretty fast if several women complained about sexual assaults. Anyone can register as a couchsurfing host.
And if I were traveling on my own, I would not stay in a place where I couldn't lock the door.

stokebailey

I've hitchhiked, in Europe and elsewhere.

Tons of young people sleep in hostel dorms. I'm not really crazy about that, as the mother of young women, but.

sandralist

I was born in NYC and raised in the much looser and wilder neighborhod of L.A., and for my first trip abroad --- to the middle east -- I slept in tents sometimes, and there were drugs everywhere. Not recommending it -- but I was reading a story in the NYTimes just this morning about a college-freshman sponsored intern program in Latin America that finally got shut down after some of the interns reported back there was no security for in sleeping quarters and drugs were everywhere.

Apart from the always-flawless superior life and intellect of nytraveler(?), in the real world, every hotel and b&b door can be unlocked by staff and proprietors for obvious reasons, most importantly, safety reasons.

The real issue I think with online services is precisely that the purveyors are the business model is to tap into an online culture of "friendship" and "hosting" and first-name relationship as a substitute for professionalism. Obviously every hotel and b&b will advertise warm hospitality and making you feel at home, but a lot of lodging websites offering cheap accommodations for the young are also appealing to the idea of social contact and "sharing."

I posted it because I am more than a little concerned that young people on a budget are the biggest customers for this kind of lodging. Well-run and well-reviewed hostels strike me as better bets for young budget travelers.

Tulips

My kids travel and stay in youth hostels - but always with other people. I think they're pretty smart about these things. I warn them to be careful, they just roll their eyes and assure me that they are not that stupid.
Staying in a youth hostel is not the same as sleeping on some guy's sofa.

thursdaysd

"Anyone can register as a couchsurfing host"

In many places anyone can run a B&B - i.e. rent out a couple of rooms in their house. You don't think the women meeting ferry boats in Greece are somehow registered and licensed, do you?

nytraveler

Yes, but B&Bs, gasthauses, pensions, etc are usually licensed, registered with local tourist boards and have a number of guests - and operate on a continuing basis. Not saying problems are not possible - but much more difficult to cover up.

In fact, even in many hotels the staff can enter rooms (surprising how many don't have chains or bars for use by those inside) but any problems would be reported and dealt with.

As for hostels - yes some are dicey (drugs, theft, etc) but they are ongoing businesses and one can find reviews of them. Also a dorm room usually has several people in it - not just one host and one single young woman.

Just seems too dangerous to me.

danon

Several years ago we stayed in a very nice 2 bed, 2 bath apt. in Bologna .
The owner ( who was from the States) let us use her computer...
by looking at some data I realize she allowed couchsurfers
to stay in her apt.
Had I known that , I would have never rented from her.

Finecheapboxofwine

I couldn't get a good night sleep in a shared dorm in a hostel or shared couchette compartment on an overnight train. I would be sleeping with one eye open all night.

bvlenci

I've often slept in hostel dorm rooms and in couchettes, even when I wasn't so youthful, and once even on a ferry deck. However, I wouldn't couchsurf. Maybe the line I draw is irrational, but I like to know that there's some oversight of the place where I spend the night.

I think Sandra's point is that your weird neighbor could become a couchsurfing host, whereas he couldn't open a hostel, and he doesn't run a train company.

nanabee

I think it is extremely dangerous to stay in a home with a complete stranger. I am surprised this is allowed and not regulated. I'm even more surprised people actually do this. It is not the same as staying in a B & B, hotel or even a hostel.

Dukey1

I'm even more surprised people actually do this.

Are you surprised that even MORE people haven't been victimized than we thought likely?

sparkchaser

I think many people are extremely naive when it comes to couchsurfing. I think education and a questioning attitude are the best tools here.

I am on couchsurfing and turned down a request because I was going to be out of town that weekend. A few days later couchsurfing sent me an email about someone working the local area robbing people he stayed with. It was the person I turned down. Now I only let people crash at my place if I know them personally or a friend vouches for them.

It's not a big secret that many men use couchsurfing as their own online hookup portal.

bilboburgler

"I think it is extremely dangerous to stay in a home with a complete stranger. I am surprised this is allowed and not regulated"

ah the belief that regulation makes you safer,

Still I do believe that its a crazy thing to do, and I'm all for Darwin to sort out the herd.