The “Couchsurfing”, as Carlos Castresana explaines in his blog Diario Nómada, is a system of exchanging your room “couch” with other unknown people in a free way, launched in 2004 by Casey Fenton, Daniel Hoffer, Sebastian Le Tuan and Leonardo Bassani da Silveira. As in the main web page is mentioned, the idea arose from these travellers who tried to find free accommodation during their trip to Iceland. Later in 2011, the company was sold to the private for-profit corporation Better World Through Travel. Reached 3,6 million members in January 2012, the figure of people who wanted to join this page did not cease to rise, reaching more than 6 million nowadays.
The main objective of this company is to provide hosts all around the world in order to get first-hand knowledge about the country that you are visiting. This intercultural exchange helps both the guest and the host because apart from arranging a bed or a couch, the host is also in charge of lending a hand to the visitor so as he or she can interiorize the culture and also can practice the language. Among the values of this practice, sharing one’s life, creating connections, offering kindness and staying curious are found. However, not only it provides an accommodation, you can also find many events in every part of the world and join them in order to meet new people, even in your hometown.
“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” Augustine of Hippo.
“We envision a world made better by travel and travel made richer by connection. Couchsurfers share their lives with the people they encounter, fostering cultural exchange and mutual respect.” Couchsurfing.
The blog previously mentioned, written by Juan Carlos Castresana, can be helpful for you if you want to know how the webpage works out and which are the steps that should be followed if you want to become part of the community. It is explained that there are three basic areas: the profile of the member, the community of couchsurfers and the system of exchanging the couch. The first step is highly important in order to provide to others information about you, about the way you live and about your hobbies. You can also choose if you want to be just a guest or if you are interested in rendering accommodation. The second step is about organizing activities in order to meet new couchsurfers close to your residence. Anyone can join them and it is fantastic! The third step concerns the system of exchanging. If you are travelling to another country, there are plenty of opportunities of accommodation so you just have to choose the one that fits your expectations better.
Through this video, you can find many records about what people think of this amazing system of exchange:
I hope you all have enjoyed the post and do not hesitate to join it!
References:
- Juan Carlos Castresana, “Qué es y cómo funciona el couchsurfing”, Diario Nómada posted on July 1, 2011. Retrieved from Diario Nómada, on January 31, 2014:http://www.diarionomada.com/consejos/que-es-y-como-funciona-el-couchsurfing-guia-completa
- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Couchsurfing. Modified on 30 January 2014 and retrieved on the 31th January, 2014:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CouchSurfing
- Coachsurfing main webpage, unkwnown data, retrieved from the main webpage on 31 January, 2014:https://www.couchsurfing.org
