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Tourism
LifestyleTravel & Leisure

How women travellers’ Facebook group Host a Sister offers members a safe place to stay and introduces travel companions

  • Horror stories about solo women travellers’ experiences with Couchsurfing inspired Rashvinda Kaur to start the Host a Sister Facebook group
  • The group has more than 550,000 members, who offer each other places to stay, companionship on visits, and local insight

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The Host a Sister Facebook group was inspired by solo women’s travel horror stories. Its more than 550,000 female members offer accommodation and advice, and help bring travellers together. Above: Rashvinda Kaur, founder of Host A Sister, in New Orleans. Photo: Host A Sister
Avantika Chaturvedi
I was 18 years old when I first travelled independently: a short camping trip to Parashar Lake, in Himachal Pradesh, India.
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At first, finding myself alone more frequently than I had foreseen, I was disappointed – many solo female travellers on Instagram raved about their experiences, after all.

So, like any other oversharing teenager on the internet, I took to social media to rant. And that is when a stranger popped into my DMs to tell me about Couchsurfing, which offers introductions to travellers who just want to socialise with locals as well as those looking for a bed – or couch – for the night.

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I morphed into an adventurous, carefree teenager and found someone to meet up with, through Couchsurfing’s “hang-outs” section, on my next solo trip, to McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala, also in Himachal Pradesh.

The author had a terrifying experience in McLeod Ganj (above), in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, after using the Couchsurfing accommodation exchange service when she was 18. Photo: Shutterstock
The author had a terrifying experience in McLeod Ganj (above), in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, after using the Couchsurfing accommodation exchange service when she was 18. Photo: Shutterstock
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