I agree with all your points (long-time couchsurfer with 6 vouches, 42 references, all positive from an even mixture of hosts, surfers, and friends). However, I

I agree with all your points (long-time couchsurfer with 6 vouches, 42 references, all positive from an even mixture of hosts, surfers, and friends). However, I will say from personal experience, it seems that women have a much easier time getting responses on couchsurfing. I'm not saying it's more useful for women, just that men appear to be more likely to initiate interactions with women and respond to women. My best friend (who is female) and I just moved to Portland, OR, and both of us posted to the Portland couchsurfing group within a month of each other, with slightly different messages but a general theme of interest in meeting Portlanders. I received no responses, and she received 4 or 5 (all from men, who wanted to show her around, meet for coffee, let her know the good spots, etc). She has never hosted or surfed (except with me when I arranged it), and has only one positive reference, no vouches and a less than descriptive profile. I'm not even insinuating that these men all have ulterior motives. I believe that there are studies that have suggested that women are perceived as more approachable and less threatening than men, and that could be the principal at work. Regardless, I do think there is more to it than just faulty observations on the part of men who may be overlooking the completeness of their profile, though that is a possible contributor to these observations as well.