Couchsurfing & crashpadding

[chez]

Has anyone tried this (as host or guest), and if so what are your experiences?

My initial thought were that its dodgier than hitchiking but having taken a closer look I like the review system etc, and the ones where you can pay for a room, house, boat etc as an alternative to a hotel look like they have great potential if you're discerning about it, a bit less anonymous than a hotel

I've provisionally booked to stay for a weekend in Dublin in a lovely looking house at airbnb.com and I'd therefore be quite interested to hear any feedback from anyone who has tried a similar thing.

[EDKiwi]

Haven't tried it personally but mu step-sister in law and her friend (both females in their lower 20's) did a bit around europe earlier this year and said it was a great experience. They were a bit worried about it at first but stuck to people with good reviews and ended up meeting some really nice people and some were happy to give them little tours about their local area.