CouchSurfing is an arrangement where people offer up their spare bed or couch to would-be globe trotters. The idea is to save money while building friendships between people across the world and adding a personal touch to travel.
Who CouchSurfs?
A wide range of people couch-surf from honeymooners to business travellers, backpackers to academic researchers. Mostly people are visiting different countries but sometimes people are just looking to see more of their own country. There really isn’t a stereotypical CouchSurfer, although what most tend to share in common is a sociable personality and a few good travel stories.
What Constitutes a ‘Couch’?
Technically a couch is anybody’s spare sofa, although it can also be a mattress on the floor or, for the lucky, an actual spare bedroom. Facilities will vary from house to house, country to country. Couch surfers in Africa may have limited water and a bucket bath, but in Western Europe they will probably have a hot shower and a refrigerator.
How Safe is Couch Surfing?
One of the biggest question both hosts and surfers tend to ask is "how safe is it"? There are a number of safety features the CouchSurfing website has introduced to help make things as safe as they can be:
- Correspondences between potential surfers and hosts through the website are all archived.
- Surfers and hosts have to have a profile on the site where couchsurfers and hosts can check out before making a request or accepting one.
- Hosts and surfers can comment on previous visits providing character references.
- Hosts have a security rating.
The security rating for hosts goes from 1 (unverified) meaning that someone has just got a profile with CouchSurfing and is offering somewhere to stay, right up to top-level three verification which means that CouchSurfing has sent them a security code to verify their postal address and has also verified their bank account. If you are worried about CouchSurfing it is best to look for level three hosts.
There is also a CS community forum whereby people across the world can chat and ask questions, this way you can get to know somebody a little better before going to stay with them or accepting them into your home.
What’s the Etiquette of Couchsurfing?
You make CouchSurfing requests through the CS website. It’s usually best to try and include:
- When you plan to arrive
- How long you wish to stay
- What your visit is about: business, travel, research
Rather than saying, "Hello, I’d like to surf your couch". This lets the host decide whether the timing is good for them.
If a host can’t provide a couch, the surfer shouldn't take it personally - the host may get several requests a week and, unlike backpackers, they also probably have a full-time job to hold down. Many hosts especially in developing countries may have limited access to the internet so it’s best to contact them as far in advance as possible – if they say yes, also send them a reminder nearer the time just to re-confirm.
Above all, agree the length of stay and arrival date before leaving unless the host doesn’t mind. Surfers should respect the host's time and money. Surfers should plan to be independent and self-sufficient. If the host can take time out and is happy to show the surfer around, it’s a nice idea to buy them a meal or a small ‘thank you’ gift before leaving.
CouchSurfing can result in friendships that last a lifetime and even reciprocal visits. It’s a great way to reduce travel costs and get to the "real life" side of any destination.
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