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Stranger danger was not long ago one of the most preached lessons by parents and guidance counselors. Now, however, many are embracing the opposite of what they were once cautioned. Cue the 2.7 million people who have stayed on strangers’ couches across the globe, and discover the neologist phenomenon of CouchSurfing.
CouchSurfing.com is a hospitality exchange network seeking to connect strangers (hosts) with travelers (surfers), so that both parties’ may gain knowledge of other cultures and obtain broader perspectives of the world. The site’s simple philosophy urges its members to “create inspiring experiences.”
Creating a profile on the network and participating in CouchSurfing is completely free of charge, which gives members the option of providing information and pictures of themselves and the sleeping accommodation they offer, if any. A member’s profile depicts whether they wish to be a CouchSurfer, host, or both. Beyond general information, the average profile offers a member’s life philosophy, interests, types of people they enjoy, and one amazing thing they have seen or done.
Other members of the CouchSurfing community can peruse the site’s many profiles, which span 79,489 unique towns in 246 of the world’s states and countries. The site’s member count is currently equivalent to the population of Jamaica, but grows hourly, along with the reported number of successful host/surfer experiences and friendships created. Details of homestays are mutually agreed upon by the host and surfer.
“The world is full of wonderful, trusting, generous people, and for some obvious reasons I think those people are drawn to CouchSurfing,” Washington resident and CouchSurfer Eric Arendt said.
Members lacking a couch or the capability to host surfers for the night can opt to just offer their companionship. The network suggests alternative activities for members, such as meeting for coffee, bar crawls, camping trips, or sporting events. A surfer can seek accommodation or just company based on age, location, gender, and activity level. The average CouchSurfer is 28, though members range from age 18-100.
CouchSurfing.org describes the opportunity as “Your ticket to explore the world, from the world or from your own home.”
From Oddball to Organization
People called Casey Fenton crazy. His friends teased him, telling him he was only embarrassing himself, but Fenton knew he was
onto something.
In 1999, Fenton found an inexpensive flight from Boston to Iceland. As a recent college graduate struggling to pay off loans, he was thrilled to find such a cheap flight, and felt he should not have to pay hundreds of dollars for a hotel. To remedy this problem, he randomly e-mailed 1,500 students from the University of Iceland, asking if anyone could host him for a few nights. In just several hours, Fenton had received more than 50 offers of accommodation, inspiring the creation of CouchSurfing, a network where thrifty travelers like him could discover hospitality from other eager people.
Fenton’s idea became reality in 2004, when the fully public website was launched. According to CouchSurfing.org’s statistics page, the site had less that 45,000 members in 2006, rapidly launching into the near three millions today because of word-of-mouth and recommendations from other social-networking sites, such as Facebook.
The network only operates with a Board of Directors of six people, insisting it must remain a not-for-profit organization in order to preserve its mission and guiding principles. As a result, the site has obtained many full time volunteers.
In order to manage the heart of a continually growing community, members can apply to be Ambassadors. In this unpaid position, CouchSurfers are expected to be role models, actively promoting the spirit of the network to members and the public. They also typically perform administrative tasks on the site, such as answering questions and greeting new members.
To continually improve and develop the CouchSurfing project, events called Collectives are held several times a year, in cities throughout the world. These events started in 2006, which bring large groups of CouchSurfers together, and can last for days or weeks.
Things could be Stranger
CouchSurfing.org repeatedly tackles questions of safety, an issue that eventually troubles the mind of nearly every avid globetrotter. Many members have voiced their desire for some level of comfort and assurance when using a social network that requires its members to fully trust and rely on strangers.
The network has three specific ways of maintaining safety, which are all visible on member profiles for potential hosts and surfers. The first way members increase security is through references, which any CouchSurfer or host has the opportunity to leave after an experience. The second way allows one to verify their identity through the provision of a credit card number. A code is sent to one’s mailing address, proving members have a physical location to be found, and a one-time 25-dollar verification fee is subsequently charged. The final method enabling further safety is through a personal vouching system. A member can vouch for other trusted CouchSurfers and hosts once they have been vouched for three times.
The site encourages all new members to read its comprehensive safety guide, and explains additional ways for CouchSurfers and hosts to make informed decisions. Such ways include adding trusted members as friends, which offers a public description of how the two members got to know each other. Members can additionally review the “attempted scams” section of the site.
“The review system is great…[CouchSurfing] is like anything really—something could go wrong if you're not careful, but if you use a little common sense you'll have a great time,” Arendt said.
Arendt feels that his CouchSurfing experiences, which range from Moscow to Siberia, have been far safer than most hotels or hostels he could have stayed in. For some, the network has grown to provide feelings even stronger than safety and friendship.
“I suppose it reminds me to keep faith in humanity in a world that is so full of paranoia and general crapiness,” Paul Murray of Scotland said. “It shows that even with all that goes on in society today, you can still rely on the kindness of strangers.”
Despite the network’s millions of reportedly positive experiences, it has not been without several problems in the past.
According to the Yorkshire Evening Post, in March 2009 Abdelali Nachet was recently jailed for 10 years at Leeds (UK) for raping a Hong Kong tourist he met on the site, after arranging accommodation in his flat.
Other complaints that have been voiced of the site are its lack of a dispute resolution process, and concerns of fraud. Several skeptics argue the network abuses privacy with the vast amounts of information it obtains, though members must agree and acknowledge the public nature of the site before completing the registration process.
Blogger Christopher O’Toole recognizes the seriousness of such issues, but feels statistics support the network enough for people to still participate in CouchSurfing.
“The chances of a negative experience on the site remain insignificant when compared to the innumerable positive encounters organized through the site,” he said.
Not Just for Nomads
The site features newsletters and travel guides for both rookie and expert CouchSurfers, addressing topics like how to “Get away from it all: Surfing Couches in Rural Areas.” A large database of events organized by CouchSurfers is continually updated and available for searching by members. Past examples of popular events have been the annual “Berlin Beach Camp,” drawing over 1,000 attendees, and “WinterCamp,” a New Years Eve party hosted in a different European city every year.
Other articles advise how to successfully CouchSurf as a family, a culturally engaging activity that is growing increasingly popular.
The network offers a list of tips for CouchSurfing families, along with a special “Family Welcome Group” to facilitate a more focused forum for parents and children to form friendships and discover surfing opportunities. The group currently has over 5,500 members who can chose to seek family-friendly hosts based on specially marked locations.
“Just because you become a parent doesn’t mean the end of wanderlust or the desire to meet friendly people from all over the world,” Travel blogger Catherine Forth said.
Leigh Shulman and her husband are two CouchSurfing parents who echo these desires. The Shulmans, with their young daughter, Lila, have CouchSurfed all over Europe, the United States, Canada, Central America and Argentina. As a parent, Shulman acknowledges the need to be especially thorough and wise when selecting potential hosts, but has never found her experiences to be negative. She blogged about a CouchSurfing experience in France that changed her life.
“Lila played with her two children, and our families shared dinners, walks through the vineyard and overall had an amazing time. I now consider [my host] Maryanick to be one of my best friends,” she said.
To Couch or Not to Couch?
Ori Bengal (better known as CouchSurfing Ori) is a professional CouchSurfer. Or so he likes to think. He has logged his past 3.5 years of world travels at couchsurfingori.com and is admittedly addicted to the network.
“All because of CouchSurfing, I’ve gotten in the arena with an [angry] bull, stayed on the couches of the CEOs of billion dollar companies, jumped off cliffs, ridden in Hummerzines with zombies, trained with UFC cage fighters, jumped out of planes, and stayed at an all girls college.”
Bengal emphasizes that he is not just “bumming,” across the world, and notes how his experiences have assisted him as a professional photographer, videographer, and marketer. He narrates some of his most unique CouchSurfing adventures in the weekly “CouchCast” radio program.
Bengal also credits CouchSurfing in giving him a greater life perspective, and has even published a book on his experiences, which offers money saving tips, marketing observations, and other life advice.
Most CouchSurfers are not as extreme about diving into the experience as Bengal, but many are willing to give it a try.
“The best way to get the truest insight into a culture is by connecting with the locals …I think it would be sort of cool and fascinating to try [CouchSurfing] and maybe even host,” Trinity International University (TIU) Professor of Philosophy Cliff Williams said.
Williams recalled two memorable moments of his traveling adventures, one in Peru and the other Mexico, where he felt most connected to his unfamiliar surroundings. In both journeys, he stayed at a hostel, but was invited by local families to celebrate the respective countries’ traditions in their home.
“It was amazing to see life as they lived it … I think that’s what CouchSurfing has the potential to be,” Williams added.
Citing fears of safety and cultural stereotypes, TIU sophomore Rebecca Spellman said she is hesitant to try CouchSurfing outside the United States, but would enjoy the opportunity to have insight into a unique town’s Midwest or Southern subculture.
Other college students, such as TIU sophomore Kristi Sager, finds no blatant danger in the site’s premise, and sees it as an exciting parallel to other, semi-routine opportunities in her life.
“I would try hosting a CouchSurfer someday … it’s really the same concept as hosting prospective students,” she said.
Pay it Forward Phenomenon
CouchSurfing is not alone in its popular efforts towards global connectedness. WarmShowers.com facilitates hospitality across the United States for touring cyclists. Other sites focus specifically on creating international friendships, like WomenWelcomeWomen.org, where women of different countries are encouraged to first befriend and then visit one another. SparkRelief.com was recently launched, allowing people across the world to offer their couch or spare room for those displaced by the March 11 Japanese tsunami and earthquake.
The phenomenal success of movements like CouchSurfing has left many philosophers, skeptics, and even participants asking why the pay-it-forward method seems to work so well.
“When I first heard about this thing called CouchSurfing, like many, I was a little dubious. Wasn't it just something smelly hardcore travellers did, taking a kip wherever they could find it? But now I realize, it's about meeting people and understanding another way of life,” Murray said.
Other members credit the network’s success with altruistic notions.
“[CouchSurfing is] simply the best definition of humanity that I have found so far,” Marc Jähnchen of Germany said.
No matter the exact reasons, people across the globe have been and continue to be drawn to the endless tales of couch connectedness that increase with each hour the site exists. Countless testimonials on the site chronicle CouchSurfers crediting the organization as the pathway to world peace.
One such United States based CouchSurfer, Sarah Dankemeyer, commended the site for bringing a multitude of people together, often from completely different countries, languages, and backgrounds.
Dankemeyer concluded, “This is peace in action. This is unity.”
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
→ http://www.havekidswilltravel.net/couch-surfing-for-families/
→ http://www.couchsurfing.org/safety.html
→ http://www.couchsurfing.org/external_research_faq.html
→ http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/leeds_couchsurfing_com_rapist_jailed_1_2232403
→ http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2010/01/how-safe-is-couchsurfing/
→ http://allthatiswrong.wordpress.com/2010/01/24/a-criticism-of-couchsurfing-and-review-of-alternatives/#fraud
→ http://www.twortw.com/2009/07/29/couchsurfing-alternatives/
→ http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/03/25/want-to-help-japan-offer-your-couch/
