I don’t care how many men and male-identified women try to argue me– men are dangerous. Men of all nationalities, cultures, religions, and every other group imaginable are a danger to women. NoT aLl MeN of course, but a majority of them. And that’s why I don’t really fuck with Couchsurfing anymore. I’ve never been an advocate for women sleeping in the homes of male strangers (nor traveling without backup accommodation). Yet, I’ve still done it. And after three terrible Couchsurfing experiences from men I gullibly trusted to not attempt to violate my personal boundaries, it’s just further evidence that most men cannot be trusted when traveling alone as a woman. Maybe I’m just unlucky, or many the women who rave of the platform were lucky enough to have female hosts (which in my experience, never offer to host me), but I digress.

There’s no perfect measure when vetting men who are using the platform as an alternative to Tinder, and the men who genuinely want to connect with other travelers. A woman using Couchsurfing will be bombarded with dozens of requests from men offering their couches, but which ones aren’t creeps trying to bang you? Here are the 6 types of men to ignore on Couchsurfing because in my experience, they will DEFINITELY try it.

1.) Ugly men

Tinder isn’t working for them, so instead their only hope of getting laid is by preying off of vulnerable girls with nowhere to stay, with probably no data, who know no one in the city they’re visiting. Analyzing the behaviors of most unattractive men on the internet and in real life, the uglier the man is the more bitter and sexually-frustrated he will be. Also, add in the probability of him being socially awkward, he may not even be ABLE to read the social cues of you not being interested.

2.) Attractive men

Don’t let their good looks fool you, they’re used to getting sex from women in real life, and what better way to diversify their bed notches by making a profile on Couchsfuring. I am in no way claiming that women do not have agency over their own bodies– if you want to bang a cute foreign dude, more power to you. But the only reason he’s comfortable with trying to bed you (aside from being yet another entitled male) is because it worked for him before. So if you aren’t DTF, avoid good-looking men at all costs.

3.) Men with reviews from only women

Trusting he is safe because he has positive reviews from (only) women is exactly how I ended up with my last Couchsurfing host attempting to guilt-trip me into sex. I stupidly believed that because he’s physically repulsive and his positive reviews couldn’t possibly be from women he’s managed to sleep with, that he wouldn’t try anything. But he did. If all of his reviews are from women, he clearly has an agenda and is only playing the ‘nice guy’ act until some woman stupidly sleeps with his dumb ass. Try to choose hosts with an equal number of reviews from both men and women, preferably of all sexual orientations.

4.) Men with no references

If you’re new to Couchsurfing you’re not going to have any references, so it’s kind of odd that a man, who you think would realize that the website relies on a merit system, is offering to host you instead of building up his profile. Whether his intentions are good or bad, it’s better to be safe than sorry by avoiding men without anyone, not even a friend, vouching for him.

5.) Men with blank profiles

How do you even know about this website if you literally have no photos of you traveling, nothing to add to your profile, no references, and no friends?  What are you doing here? I’ve noticed that many men have infiltrated Couchsurfing in order to creep on women. I cannot count how many vague messages I get that only say “hey” from men with no photo in their profile. If you’re trying to get laid, at least attempt to make your profile look legitimate.

6.) Men with unverified profiles

Not everyone wants to give Couchsurfing a photo of their identification to verify who they are, which is understandable. But if a person, especially a man who is aware of the rightful stigma against men on Couchsurfing, wanted to prove to the traveling community that he’s safe, he’d go ahead and take the two minutes to submit proof of identity. And it’s not only for women, but other male travelers and hosts as well. He could try to ROB you. If his identification is on file, it would make it a lot harder to get away with any sort of problematic behavior. I’m not necessarily saying men without verification are unsafe (and you shouldn’t automatically disqualify them); just keep in mind that those who are verified have an extra level of security.

Maybe just avoid men all together.

Weeding out the weirdos is just another hassle women everywhere have to deal with, so as cliche as it is, trust your instincts. Are his messages ‘off’? Does he refuse to give you his social media? Does he have a blank WhatsApp profile? If you simply must use Couchsurfing, try meeting up with him prior in a public place to feel him out before deciding to stay with him. After reporting my negative Couchsurfing incident and getting a seemingly concerned response from the staff promising they’d “investigate” the situation, his profile still remains and is active, which proves that women, unfortunately, must take extra, extra, extra precaution to stay safe while traveling.