CouchSurfing for you and me~
A hospitality exchange is an organization that connects travelers with local residents in the cities they're visiting. Connecting with the right people at the right time, can lend you a room or sometimes a couch in the place you’re visiting for free. A grassroots effort that gave the hospitality exchange network a stronghold on our planet is CouchSurfing!
In 1999 Casey Fenton found a great deal on a flight from Boston to Iceland. Rather than afford a hotel or even a hostel, he “spammed” 1500 students from the University of Iceland asking if he could stay with them. He received more than fifty offers of acceptance. On his return flight to Boston, he began to pencil in the ideas that would create the cultural phenomena that would be forever known as CouchSurfing.
The target audience was for travelers who had flexibility and were traveling on a dime. Flexibility was and still is important to ensure that schedules were harmonious and suitable to the couch owner, and travelers themselves. On a dime, because money is not exchanged, staying with your host(s) is always free; it is contrary to the values of CouchSurfing and against their terms of use to charge someone to surf your couch. Many surfers like to bring their hosts gifts or treat them to a meal as a "Thank you," but it’s not a requirement. “There are infinite ways to reciprocate goodwill”, they say.
CouchSurfing.org became a public website in January 2004. Initial growth was slow, and by the end of 2004 the site had just over 6000 members. In 2005 growth accelerated and at the end of that year the membership stood at just under 45,000.
CouchSurfing is still popular. In fact its mission statement is to create inspiring experiences and is intending to change not only the way we travel, but how we relate to the world!
There are other hospitality exchanges in the network but according to this chart from Wikipedia, CouchSurfing is way ahead of the rest.
Members * Organization
------- ------------
1,430,318 * #CouchSurfing Project
437,042 * #Hospitality Club
56,961 * #GlobalFreeLoaders
13,000 * #Servas
7,236 * #BeWelcome
4,000 * #Affordable Travel Club
1,350 * #Pasporta Servo
700 * #Hospitality Exchange
? * #Casa Casa
? * #Belodged.com
? * #Stay4free
I would definitely consider becoming a member of this site. There are built in safety features that make me feel comfortable. Like the fact that they’re a self moderating community, which means they work like a neighborhood watch program to keep each other safe. This includes a valuable rating system that collectively shares experiences that others have had with a particular couch.
A world where everyone can explore and create meaningful connections with the people and places they encounter? I like this. Let’s call it the couch effect. Sleep Well~
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