The world’s greatest travel secret could still be considered a secret due to the simple fact that not enough people are aware of it– and until a great word-of-mouth reference comes their way, many would have a hard time taking such a concept seriously. I didn’t take it seriously at first either, but after a couple of dozen excellent experiences of previously unknown people inviting me into their homes for an evening, to “couchsurf,” I find it to be one of the greatest projects on the planet!
Originally conceived by a Casey Fenton, the Couchsurfing Project has been open to the world for nearly six years. In 2000, Fenton purchased an inexpensive flight from Boston to Iceland. Rather than stay at a hotel, he randomly e-mailed 1,500 students from the University of Iceland, asking if he could stay with any of them. He received over 50 accepting offers. On his way home from Iceland, he began to develop the ideas that would underpin the Couchsurfing Project.
Couchsurfing.org became a public website in January of 2004, and after some slow initial growth, a 2006 crash and near dissolution of the site, the project is now stronger than ever and still growing rapidly, with over 1.5 million members participating throughout the world. Similar to social networking sites like Facebook, Couchsurfing invites anyone to create a profile, add pictures, and add detailed personal information. If you set your status to “Has couch,” you are potentially making your home available to a traveling Couchsurfer, who may find your profile by searching for users from the city you are registered in. My status during the Walk is “Traveling at the moment.” When hosts receive any inquiry from a traveler to “surf their couch” (or floor, or spare bedroom– whatever they specify as being available), they are under no obligation to open their home– or even to respond, for that matter. But if the traveler appears to be someone interesting enough to respond to, and perhaps invite, then the host may choose to contact the traveler back, and perhaps a brief homestay will be set up– always free of charge– and only for as long as the host wishes to make his/her home available. If the experience is a good one (I’d say there’s a 99% chance it will be), then both the host and the traveler are encouraged to leave positive references on each other’s profile pages– available for all the world to see– and a vital tool in the decision-making moment of whether or not to host someone or stay somewhere.
Is there the potential for danger in such a project..? Just like with anything else one may do in life: yes. I am aware of one reported rape, in the UK, via contacts made on Couchsurfing. And though any violent crime is tragic, if we’re to place this report in perspective, out of any community of 1.5 million people, one such event definitely undercuts typical violent-crime statistics within such a population. Using common sense will generally keep you from connecting with users who have highly incomplete profiles, give a bad vibe, or exhibit other unwelcoming signs.
So far, I’ve stayed with a couple of dozen Couchsurfing hosts– and I have nothing but positive feedback to give regarding the project. I’ve had almost exclusively outstanding experiences with each Couchsurfing homestay. Hosts invite me in, give me a nice place to sleep– be it a sofa, a mattress on the floor, or even a guest bedroom. Without ever once asking– they usually fix me dinner and breakfast as well, sometimes even giving me some healthy snacks for the road. Some go as far as providing me with items that help me with my walk. New friendships quickly form, and I continue to keep in contact with many of those who have hosted me– with the dream of going back and visiting all of these friends once again.
The people I’ve met via Couchsurfing.org have truly been a godsend– accounting for close to half of the homestays I’ve enjoyed so far. (12 weeks on the road– and I still count my nights outdoors on my fingers.) Nearly every populated community of several thousand or more has hosts who are willing to meet and allow selected travelers a place to stay– guaranteeing that during this entire Walk Across America– only in some of the more rural and remote areas will I occasionally not be certain of where I’ll be staying on a given night.
Today, Saturday, December 12, I will arrive at the Scott’s Valley home of the hospitable Couchsurfing hosts Peter and Jana Thomsen, who have offered to give me a ride from town to their off-the-route home, saving me unnecessary miles on foot. They’ve invited me to join them on a Christmas Party night; they’ve alerted local friends of my impending arrival, and some would like to walk a ways with me as I leave Sunday for Santa Cruz; I’m told that some neighborhood kids will join. One of their friends has even offered to make me some healthy snacks for the road. Ian has offered to host me in Santa Cruz, Sharon in Salinas, and Robert in Carmel…
It’s my hope that Couchsurfing.org, the world’s greatest travel secret, continues to blossom wildly, spreading far and wide, to all unfilled corners of the globe. (This is my effort to help expose it from its secrecy!) Far beyond being the hands-down most economical way to travel, your experience of the brightest side of people will quickly strengthen (or restore) your faith in humanity as you savor some of the world’s greatest and most personable hospitality from complete “strangers…”
I can’t wait till I have the chance to host!