"Couchsurfing" Travel Takes Off On the Web

mikesd81 writes "The Associated Press writes about a growing network of people online who've gone a step beyond hotels, hostels and even apartment swapping in their travel planning: They sleep on each others' couches. A number of Web sites have sprung up to help pair travelers searching for a place to crash and hosts with a spare couch. Sites like hospitalityclub.org, couchsurfing.com, globalfreeloaders.com and place2stay.net are often free, serving only as middlemen and offering tips on how to find successful matches. The sites are largely the creations of 20-somethings bitten with wanderlust and the hope of helping to bring together people from different cultures. They often depend on volunteer administrators to help manage the Web operations."

Comments

Check for freshly turned dirt in the yard

[Harmonious Botch]

...and leave an itinerary with someone at home, including names and addresses.

None of these sites, TTBOMK, asks for or checks references. And the liability assumed thereunder would be huge if they did, so they probably never will.

99+% of the people in this world are decent folk, but some nutcase is going to take advantage of the situation. Young, often naive travellers who nobody will miss for weeks... Slurp! Yum!

Less horrifying but more likely is the following scenario: you are low on cash, you only speak 10 words of the local language, it is late in the evening, and the weather is turning bad. The couch owner says put out or get out.

Please pardon me for being cynical. I hope these optimists can turn the world into a place of love, brotherhood, and cheap lodging. We tried in the 60s with mixed results.

First-hand experience

[cos(0)]

My only experience with Couchsurfing has been excellent.

I'm a Texan who recently went to the Ohio LinuxFest 2006 with three others. We've found a great male couple on Couchsurfing, exchanged some emails, and they seemed normal. We visited them, and they took us into their home for two nights as if we were their long-lost relatives. They were incredibly hospitable, made us a temporary code in their electronic entry lock, and were in general fantastic. And, they did not expect a dime from us.

After we returned to Texas, we bought them Woot Wine as a surprise thank-you gift, and they sent a grateful email after receiving it.

This kind of behavior from your fellow human beings really lifts the spirit and encourages similar kindness from oneself. Although I am certain there are some nuts on sites like this, it always is and always will be "caveat emptor". But if you find a good host, you will forever remember the experience.

Back in my day, we had another word for this.

[AEton]

We used to call these "hobos".