That sounds like a general description of way too many internet communities, too.
Anyways, I love the initiative and would love to see it catch on, I love communities like this, but, to be honest, as much as I like looking at them from a distance and admire them, I'd probably be too busy to properly participate in them.
But when it becomes the dominant topic everywhere, it is a problem.
Solution is hard of course, with so many singles out there. But I was also single for a long time and as far as I know, I did not harass any women in that time. So it might partly also still be macho thinking, that women are there mainly for sex. It might be even only a small minority doing it, but some aggressive machos can be enough, to destroy a whole community, or make it mostly male. So moderation will be key. "Report user" Etc.
I mean, we are not living under Taliban rule. You can go to a million sex finder sites if that is what you want. No need to encrypt your desires and bother other people who are in some group for the plainly stated topic.
Was I encrypting my desires and bothering other people? I don’t think so. It turns out humans will, from time to time, hook up with other humans who they meet doing random things, even if those things aren’t swiping right on an app.
Like I just wanted mostly to relax in a new awesome wellness place, I have not been before.
But sure, saunas are intense and you see other people without masks, which increase the chance of direct contact.
So if I meet someone nice there and this person is also interested, then sure, things can go another way for us, but not in this particiular place as other people are there for sauna and not an orgy.
Most, especially young women, cannot relax very well, with sexual tensions in the room directed at them, so the sauna culture is very sensitive to keep all that out as much as possible. You are just naked among other people. And relax. You may admire the looks of other bodies, but you are really not supoosed to stare at them, or bother them in any way. But in most public saunas it is sadly mainly horny old people keeping the women out. (which is why I am a bit mad at horny people creeping into private wellness groups looking for swinger sex)
I can't recommend affinity groups (especially co-ed sports) enough for ways to be social, exercise, and explore romantic matches (for cheap!) It bakes in compatibility/values traits.
But saunas...?
For saunas, one of many obvious differences (with volleyball/softball) is that I can't expect someone to engage in conversation. For sports, I need to communicate and coordinate. Parent is referring to people lustfully conflating brothel/bathhouse facilities with a family YMCA.
In Germany, sauna clubs are unapologetically marketed as brothels.
I am not sure, if I understand that right, but here in east germany a sauna is about sauna. And fkk is fkk(nudism). And sex is about sex. And surely people are combining it, but I have not heard of a gay "sauna club". That is, I do not know any sauna club at all. I am just in a telegram group, where a privately owned wellness place announces the next days when they are open for people (limited). And general talk around sauna/wellness. Nicer atmosphere, than in the big puplic ones, when you do not own your own sauna, which I would usually prefer.
>I am just in a telegram group, where a privately owned wellness place announces the next days when they are open for people (limited).
In the US, the equivalent are "country clubs."
See also: "oriental massage parlours".
One minor pivot that OP might consider is make the site about finding ways for travelers to integrate with the local community. Volunteering opportunities would be the primary idea that comes to mind, but if there's any mechanism to integrate with meetup that might be useful as well. Basically tie in systems that have already developed a survival mechanism to filter out creeps.
Besides, "finding a partner" is a much more common and pressing goal than "finding strangers who also like that niche thing I do".
I've also used Couchsurfing for many years and had great experiences! Sadly it got paywalled during the pandemic to stay alive and the usage has plummeted. I also always thought it could be have been done better.
The harassment messages will be a challenge. I've just added a step now that first messages will be reviewed and approved by a moderator, but would have to come up with something more scalable long term.