How to Travel Cheap & Green: couchsurfing vs. hostel
30. Nov, 2009 
13 Comments 
The first time I visited Boston, I stayed in the HI Hostel on Hemenway Street. I moved on after just a few days, but loved Boston and wanted more—so I circled back through later in the summer, staying with a couchsurfer the second time around.
What was the difference between the two experiences, and which would you choose? Here’s how they stacked up.
(Not familiar with couchsurfing? Find out more here.)
Couchsurfing |
Hostel |
|
Cost |
FREE. Stay in somebody’s house for free, that’s how couchsurfing works. If you’re a good guest, you’ll buy your host some food or beer—not a bad price for multiple days’ lodging. | $40/night. Outside of couchsurfing, this is the cheapest lodging in Boston. |
Location |
VARIES. I was lucky enough to find a host who lived right by the Boston Common, and if you play your cards right you can do the same. Lots of the available crash spaces are either in the middle of town or near a metro line—but to get a good spot, you’ve got to have decent references on couchsurfing.org, and start contacting potential hosts at least a week before you plan to arrive. | CENTRAL. The Boston Hostel is right in the middle of the cheese: near the Back Bay Station, walking distance from everything. |
Eco-
|
GOOD. By staying on somebody’s couch instead of a hotel, you eliminate waste from laundry, cleaning and power. By sharing space with a friendly soul, you use only slightly more electricity and water than they’d be using on their own. | VERY GOOD. Most hostels (Boston included) pack people into 6-bed dorm rooms, greatly reducing waste of resources. Hostels around the world are actively working to “green” their practices, which means they’ve all converted to energy-saving bulbs and appliances and have laid out concrete action plans to increase sustainability. |
Safety |
GOOD. Couchsurfing is safer than it sounds, thanks to couchsurfing.org’s userbase. You can vet any potential host or contact simply by reading the reviews left by other surfers. If you deem them trustworthy, you can decide which of your possessions to leave safely locked in their house—and which you’ll keep with you at all times. | OK. Most hostels do a fair job of protecting their occupants—but with tens of thousands of lodgers coming and going at all hours year-round, perfect security is a tall order. The Boston hostel provides secure lockers for your stuff, and keycard-protected rooms—better security than many other places I’ve visited. As always, your travel safety is your own responsibility. |
Experience:
|
Couchsurfers are excellent hosts by nature. The CS community is surprisingly strong: most American cities have weekly meetups, and hosts will often take their guests out to meet other locals and surfers.
It’s not uncommon for CS hosts to take their guests sightseeing, and at the very least, couchsurfing gives you the opportunity to meet other people who are smart—and free-thinking, and generous—enough to appreciate the value of sharing resources. The resulting conversations are predictably fascinating and educational.
|
Hostels are the hands-down best way to meet people from all over the world. You’re almost guaranteed to share your dorm room with a German, an Aussie, and a Brit. Boston’s hostel is better than most: you can only get good Internet access in the common areas, which means there’s a constant crowd of people in the dining room and lobby. Add to that a free breakfast, and it’s practically guaranteed that every single hostel guest will spend some time hanging out, sharing experiences and stories. Hostel employees are very knowledgeable about the area, handing out maps like candy. There are daily activities—tours, shows, pub quizzes—all designed to make guests feel comfortable and help travelers get to know the city. It’s almost impossible to stay here without making a personal connection. While I was eating breakfast one day, a vaguely familiar person sat down across from me and started up a conversation. It took about thirty seconds for me to recognize him as Raymond, a colleague and friend from San Francisco. He’d just started working in the Boston area, and was staying at the hostel while he looked for a new apartment. Small world, indeed. |
Experience: The Bad |
My host in Boston was a great guy, a law student who went out of his way to host couchsurfers almost every day. I enjoyed his company, but man was his bathroom filthy. In the two nights I stayed with him, I never worked up the courage to use the shower. His couchsurfing.org references had all attested to his positivity, but nobody had mentioned the layer of grime over everything. A few minutes into our first conversation, my host casually mentioned “the homos,” and that they were stalking him. Turns out he was from a culture with less tolerance toward homosexuality; one day in the gym locker room, he got hit on by a dude, and that was enough to convince him that he was in personal danger. “The homos” were a recurring theme of conversation during my time there, though he was otherwise a very reasonable person. I chalked it up to a cultural difference, teased him about it a little, and let it slide. You get what you pay for. |
Let’s face it: this ain’t the Hilton. Spoiled travelers and old-fogey types beware: you won’t have a moment to yourself here, and you’ll be sharing a room with five potential snorers. There’s a strong chance that your roommates will stumble in at 3am stinking of booze, and undoubtedly somebody will need to get up at 4:30 to catch an international flight. Word to the wise: EARPLUGS.
Approximately 80,000 people stay in the Boston hostel each year. The cleaning staff does their best, but wear-and-tear is part of the experience. Like I said, this is the cheapest lodging in Boston; you get what you pay for. |
Overall |
Couchsurfing is great if you’re adaptable, openminded and friendly (note: if you don’t have those qualities, you probably won’t enjoy traveling much anyway.) But it’s riskier and sketchier than paid lodging: if you’re a professional who requires more security and reliability, go for the hostel. | The Boston hostel is one of the best I’ve visited. It’s designed for young international travelers, which guarantees a lively atmosphere. But this hostel also guarantees clean, hospitable lodging and decent security, which makes it an excellent deal for $40. |
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Love this post. I’ve been wondering about couch surfing, having never tried it but have wanted to. I’ve stayed in a lot of hostels though and have so many great experiences. My favorite hostels are: AYH Klamath–about 10 miles south of Crescent City, CA –across from the beach and near the redwoods; Port Townsend, WA at Fort Worden–gorgeous place, nutritious and free breakfast, but dorm room/beds a bit too creaky. Next time I’d get a private room, maybe. I’d had worse luck with hostels in large cities so if anyone has reviews, let me know!
Great post! Many people have done both, but I not seen a side by side comparison. Will ReTweet.
Remembered a couple more hostels that I’ve stayed at and loved, that probably also fit the ‘green’ definition.
AYH Hostel on Hawthorne in Portland, OR
close to many funky shops and ethnic restaurants in a fun-to-walk neighborhood. Recycling, a “living” roof (grass and fungi and stuff), and more. Free leftover bread from one of the city’s best bakery, Grand Central Baking.
AYH Hostel in downtown Portland is also quite nice. Great to use as a base to walk around downtown, the Pearl, and to catch the light rail.Free leftover bread from one of the city’s best bakery, Grand Central Baking.
Seaside, Oregon also has a terrific hostel though not sure it’s AYH
yes, very Oregon centered list but that’s where I live!
Hi there
Thanks for this post which really made me think about this comparison – though I don’t totally agree with some of what you have written.
The point of Couchsurfing is not to save money but to stay with a local person and get an insight into their culture and the way they live, and them you – it’s a cultural exchange. Staying in a hostel with other tourists and walking around the sights with a Lonely Planet – does this really give you an idea of the people, the culture you’re visiting? In my opinion you can’t put a price on couchsurfing for this reason – it’s that valuable.
Opinions of the host – I’m sure plenty of the people in the hostel have opinions on lots of different things which are different to your own. As you say especially across different cultures people sometimes have different ideas which you are unlikely to change or understand.
Free breakfast in the hostel – it’s included in the $40 you paid for the dorm so it isn’t free I’m afraid!
“…practically guaranteed that every single hostel guest will spend some time hanging out, sharing experiences and stories…”
I’ve travelled for nearly 10 years in youth hostels all around the world and I can tell you that they are definitely much less friendly then they were a few years ago. For me it used to be much like how you describe above but not so much now especially if you are travelling alone.
“..It’s almost impossible to stay here without making a personal connection…”
I think being hosted is far more personal.
“…You get what you pay for..” – again I think that’s unfair and misses the point of couchsurfing.
Hey James, thanks for the input! Obviously everyone gets something different out of their travel experiences, and I definitely appreciate your counterpoint to my opinions.
As somebody who’s done a LOT of couchsurfing, I feel pretty qualified to state my views; however, I do understand where you’re coming from. You’ll find that I support both couchsurfing and hostelling equally–but I don’t really think CS is for everyone. Neither is hostelling, for that matter.
Come back soon for a post I’ll be doing on three kids who couchsurfed their way across America. You’ll probably like it
Karol – those all sound awesome. I actually had a great experience in Baltimore, and also made some good connections at the India House in New Orleans. And yes, I always feel bad about creaky beds: afraid to toss&turn because I might keep other people awake. But that just comes back to the earplugs, a hostel necessity…
Have you checked out Airbnb.com? They offer a global network of accommodations offered by locals. You can choose to stay with someone from a Group (same college alumni, people that also enjoy wine) or connect with a new local. I had a great experience using Airbnb on a trip on a recent trip to NY.
I have used Couchsurfing, hostels.com, and airbnb.com. Couchsurfing is obviously the cheapest, and hostels.com is the most predictable, but airbnb is a nice balance. Some money provides security, but sites like Orbitz Orbitz are way too expensive (f anything over $60 is expensive). I also use vrbo.com, but most property owners make you sign contracts which is lame. My vote is 1) Airbnb, 2) Couchsurfing, 3) vrbo, 4) hostels.com, and then all the rest.
Yes! I’ve always wanted to try airbnb, but it’s never worked out yet. Soon, for sure.
Hi Jessica,
Another site is http://www.tripping.com, which is like a hybrid of couchsurfing and airbnb. It’s new and seems to have a lot of potential.
I’ve been on CS for 2 years and, even though I’ve made great friends, I’m getting tired of the disfunctional site and increasingly serious safety issues.
I also signed up for airbnb a few months ago to make some extra cash, but I didn’t like having guests who expected their own set of keys and breakfast. The site has a nice design though.
And hostels are always great. The nicest one I stayed in was in Mainz, Germany last year.
Anyway thanks for your article – it’s really helpful to see the comparison!
there are a bunch of accommodation networks to try out these days – crashpadder.com, hostatourist.com, myfriendshotel.com etc. etc. I love this travel concept – it’s what the internet is all about!
Wow. Clearly I need to start trying more of these sites. This will be FUN.