When EJ was called out of town for work, she decided to use couchsurfing site AirBnB to rent her home out for the week. She took care to lock up her valuables (money, passport, iPod, grandmother's jewelry) in a closet. She came home to find her tenants had systematically looted & trashed the place. They got to the closet through a hole they made in the wall & even cut the tags off her pillows. AirBnB has made sympathetic statements but EJ remains devastated.
posted by scalefree on Jul 29, 2011 - 132 comments

I love websites and communities that wouldn't exist if it wasn't for the internet. Couch Surfing is just about the most useful site in the world for a wandering college student. You can quickly see what countries offer a couch, there are profiles for each participant with past testimonials and friends lists, and you can even map your travels and where you want to go.
posted by mathowie on Feb 2, 2004 - 9 comments

Australians! Give Ramon a bed for the night.. 'After almost 8 months of travelling through 13 countries, I took a break back home again in January 2002. Now it's time to hit the road again. I have put my mind on Australia.' I really enjoyed meeting Ramon last year, and it seems he is ready to hit the road again.. so take a chance, and invite him over. Or if you would rather read the weblog of a guy who has just been attacked by natives in Borneo, check out Marlow Bidforth's backpack adventure.
posted by wackybrit on Feb 12, 2002 - 5 comments