  Recent work in CHI and CSCW has devoted increasing attention to how the
design of network hospitality platforms shapes user experiences and relational
outcomes. In this article, I interrogate how different risk factors emerge
based on the type of exchanges these platforms facilitate. To do so, I
juxtapose two prominent network hospitality platforms: one facilitating
negotiated exchange (i.e., Airbnb) with another facilitating reciprocal
exchange (i.e., Couchsurfing). Homing in on sexual risk, an underexplored form
of platform danger, and drawing on interviews with 40 female dual-platform
users, I argue that Airbnb's provision of binding negotiated exchange and
institutional safeguards reduces risk through three mechanisms: casting initial
guest-host relation into a buyer-seller arrangement, stabilizing interactional
scripts, and formalizing sexual violence recourse. Conversely, Couchsurfing's
focus on reciprocal exchange and lack of safeguards increase sexual precarity
for users both on- and off-platform. This study demonstrates how platforms with
strong prosocial motivations can jeopardize sociality and concludes with design
implications for protecting vulnerable user populations.
