@Iriedawta Can you please help me find a place as well? This is my CS profile.
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@Nadia @Alberto @ireinga @KiraVde guys can you please tell me which areas/neighborhoods are near or are well-connected to SmartBe venue so that I look for hosts there?
Saint Gilles/Anderlecht/Forest
Mostly anything close to the Midi station. Also any place that has a direct metro connection to Gare du midi stop works.
CSers in Brussels are weird! Check out this profile I came across while searching hosts for myself, @Hegazy and @Patrick_Andrews. I can’t believe this is actually real and this guy has almost 50 positive reviews lol. Guys, who’s up for staying with this host?(just kidding, he accepts females only)
Grand profile!
I find that BDSM/nudity guy has a great profile (in comparison with others where you have NO IDEA
what kind of a person you’re about to meet …). He states what he likes and you know what you’re getting
yourself into, when you surf his couch 
I would have enjoyed to know in advance how much one of my CS guests was
into BDSM, before he blurted it out to my neighbours in the garden … but that’s another story 
And here are
Some more suggestions on how to find a CS host easier
(add this where you find it useful, I don’t know if people who’re looking for a CS host will scroll down until they find it):
- Have a CS profile. It’s really kind of Iriedawta to help and look for hosts (that can be a lot of work …),
but honestly, as a host, I would find it awkward, if people didn’t have a profile of their own, 4 weeks prior
to the event. You can’t really speak of a rush here, and if someone wasn’t willing to get a profile, which
doesn’t take a lot of time, that would most probably set their chances to get hosted by me to around 0.
- Have a good profile!
Write a description of yourself, so that your host gets a good idea about who they’re letting into their flat.
It’s all trust based, so you have to pay that forward by being willing to share something about yourself.
Upload around 3-5 pictures that show you, and stuff you care about or of yourself while doing stuff you like.
- If you say that you don’t host, it’s a good idea to mention at some point, why you don’t. I’m a lot more
likely to host people, who don’t host themselves, if they state a good reason for that. And seriously, if you’re
not even willing to chose “wants to meet up” - are you sure, you’re on the right platform? “Wants to meet up”
is for people who can’t host, but who are willing to show travellers around.
- Maybe the most important part of a good CS request: Refer to something on the hosts profile! State
why you’d like to stay with THEM. This will increase your chances, because the host will notice that you
actually read their profile (go up 1 level in CS request hierarchy), and that you actually might be a good match,
because you’re interested in something about them.
If you can’t find anything - don’t ask them (in my opinion), because you will spend time with each other and there
should be something that made you chose that person to ask. If it’s only "because you live close to the LOTE
venue", you will have to get inventive
I get tons of requests saying “I will be in Bern, this is what I like …”. Aha, fair enough. But if someone mentions
something that s/he thinks, we have in common or s/he is interested in sharing - chances go up exponentially
Happy Couchsurfing, à tout le monde!
Kaja
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Transparency and outspokenness are key
I agree with @Kaja. In large, diverse spaces like Coichsurfing (or Edgeryders, for what matters) it’s perfectly OK to be off-mainstream. In fact, it’s probably an advantage, as long as you are outspoken about your off-mainstreamness. You will attract like-minded people, and everyone will be OK.
The BDSM scene tends to be really friendly and safe. In my book that does not raise any alert.
haha i know right? At least he is honest about his preferences!
@thanks @Kaja for the CS tips,added them to the wiki. Maybe @Hegazy and @Patrick_Andrews can update their profiles accordingly as I haven’t received any confirmation from CS hosts yet.
oh by the way, here’s my CS profile, normally it’s not public, i.e. you need to be logged in to see it, but I’ll leave it here for the moment, in case it is useful for others to create their profiles.
I have posted a public trip on CS website
Thanks for all the tips. I don’t know if a public trip is the best way to find a host - let’s see.
@Iriedawta like a normal request but everyone in the city can see it. It’s not addressed to anyone in particular, and once in a while you get that email from cs: people looking for a host in your city. This is where you also get info about public requests, and on the main page of CS.
@Patrick_Andrews, it does work - i usually get a lot of offers from hosts in big cities. You can also try sending it a bit personalised to different members as well - just be careful, some csers are crazy about getting personalised messages and that’s the only thing they’d read.
Oh right, I never used that feature so didn’t know how it is called. Will give it a try tonight! thanks @Natalia Skoczylas
Done!
Just created a public trip - let’s see how effective this will be!
I would love to host some people in my palace in Brussels, but where should I propose it ? Can’t find the right page for doing it!
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Google doc
Hi @CamTesta, thanks for your offer! You can add your name to the list of people offering help in this googledoc.
Did you notice @Patrick_Andrews requesting to stay with you? By the way @Hegazy is also looking for a place to stay, here is his CS profile.
Let me know if you can host Patrick and Mohamed. Thanks!
Okay I’m going to add me on the googledoc.
Yes for Patrick and Mohamed, you are very welcome ! (@Hegazy -> one of my flatmates is also from Cairo!)
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Thanks
Great - thanks Camille.
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Public trip - finally someone got back to me!
So I’ve finally heard back from a CSer in Brussels. Here’s their profile and below is the message:
Hello i leave in a big boat at 30 km from brussels, (30 min by train from the city) I love to share times with interesting poeple
I have a lote of place …you can stay a few days and if you want but it is not an obligation you can work an hour or + on the boat it still manny things to do but IT IS NOT an obligation . I m an artist and a webmaster but im also just a friendly person (and it’s the most important).
My boat is not the place to be but the place to share Friendship, freedom, justice, dinner, having a boat is firstly having a place where together we can move our perception for a better live far all so wherever you go good luck
So let me know if anyone wants to stay with Valerie and I will connect you guys.
PS: omg she lives on a boat! Awesomeness! I’ll probably go visit her after the conference if I have time 
@Tom_Markam here’s an idea for you what to do after the event?
Two more CSers agreed to host
Ok so we got already 3 positive replies from CS community in Brussels. Let me know if there is someone who still needs accommodation.