Couch surfing: the new wave of travel

;University students

are traveling more than ever.

The number of study-abroad students has

more than doubled since 1998, according to Learning

Abroad Center statistics.

As travel becomes more commonplace among the

collegiate set, students are looking for unique ways

to widen their horizons without squashing their bank

accounts.

Enter CouchSurfing.com. It's a nonprofit organization

and online network of more than a quarter of a million

people across the globe. Its members are either

traveling and need a place to stay, or have a couch and

will let those travelers crash on it for free.

But CouchSurfing's mission statement emphasizes

a larger purpose than thrifty travel. The organization

seeks to "create educational exchanges, raise collective

consciousness, spread tolerance and facilitate cultural

understanding."

Co-founder Dan Hoffer called it "a potentially

superior and more fulfilling means of travel."

Potentially superior to some, potentially unsafe to

others. Learning Abroad Center director Al Balkcum

said even if travelers trust those they're staying with,

there are other safety concerns. Is the house or

apartment up to fire and health codes? Is it in a safe

part of town?

Nevertheless, new members join the site every day.

"Some people refer to us as a social movement,"

Hoffer said. "We embrace that definition."

The Surfers

Whether CouchSurfing is a social movement is

arguable. It's not the first network of its kind. But the

sheer number of hardcore couch surfers is undeniable.

Public policy graduate student Genko Genov has

been a couch surfer for two years. He's had about 20

CouchSurfing experiences and said none of them have

been bad.

"The most amazing thing is that you can really get to

know people," Genov said. "And when you visit a place,

it's not that you remember the place, you remember the

people."

CouchSurfing gives users the option of joining, but

only to meet fellow travelers and show them around, not

necessarily to host them.

Genov has used CouchSur fing for both

reasons. Originally from Bulgaria, he has traveled to

18 countries.

Whether staying at someone's house or meeting fellow

surfers for a night on the town, Genov acknowledged he

doesn't always know what to expect.

When a couch surfer canceled on him at the last

minute in Barcelona, Genov called another surfer in the

city.

When he got to the friendly Spaniard's apartment,

Genov said it was packed with 14 surfers. The host was

lending out spots on his apartment floor and keeping

track with an Excel spreadsheet.

The next day, the host took all the surfers to a

neighborhood celebration where they had traditional

local food. It was an experience he never could have

gotten as a tourist, Genov said.

"Some people would say … this was horrible. Other

people would say this was great," Genov said. "It very

much depends on your expectations - if you're flexible

and you're open to people."

Minneapolis residents Justin and Vonny Kleinman

have been members since 2005 and are the city's

CouchSurfing ambassadors. They communicate with

CouchSurfing administration and support the local

CouchSurfing community.

They said they've hosted surfers 20 to 30 times,

often hosting more than one surfer at once.

"You meet like-minded people," Vonny Kleinman said.

"They want to meet someone new, and you're someone

new."

Surfers are generally respectful, she said, and they

genuinely appreciate their hosts.

Top Five Countries

UNITED STATES - 68,913

CANADA - 19,612

GERMANY - 18,736

FRANCE - 18,220

UNITED KINGDOM - 14,342

The Kleinmans said surfers have thanked them in

small ways like washing the dishes or sending a postcard

from their next destinations.

One brought them cheese from Italy and another

even helped tear down their bathroom.

Diane Emerson, a longtime Twin Cities

resident and University alumna, thought the

project was so cool she worked for it in

2006 when she traveled

to New Zealand.

At 53, she'd left a

successful business career to

travel the world and volunteer.

The Organization

Co-founder Casey Fenton started

developing the New Hampshire-based

organization in 2003 after a trip to Iceland.

As the story is told on CouchSurfing.com, Fenton had bought his ticket to Reykjavik

but had nowhere to stay. So he spammed more

than 1,500 students there, asking if he could stay

with them. The response he got and the experience

he had - exploring the city with residents rather than

guidebooks - inspired him to set up CouchSurfing.com.

Fenton and Hoffer are part of the 15-member

leadership team that runs the organization, said

Eric Lesage, media coordinator and leadership team

member.

TOP FIVE CITIES

MONTREAL - 4,924

LONDON - 4,565

PARIS - 4,338

BERLIN - 2,578

VIENnA - 2,286

The leadership team and other volunteers hold

routine meetings called collectives to discuss running

the organization. The last one was a technical collective

in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

"We are the people more or less defining the project,

but we're also very closely listening to what the members

have to say," Lesage said. "It's their project too."

That's why about 95 percent of the organization's

work is done by volunteers, Lesage said. The goal is to

keep the Web site free for users.

"Part of the CouchSurfing mission is to make the

world a better place. To do that, you need to flatten

differences … between people from all over the world,"

Lesage said. A small amount of money in one country

can equal a month's pay in another, he said.

CouchSurfing is growing every day and tracks

growth on its Web site. More than 5,000 new members

joined over the weekend.

TOP FIVE U.S. CITIES

NEW YORK - 2,136

SAN FRANCISCO - 2,041

SEATTLE - 1,711

LOS ANGELES - 1,679

CHICAGO - 1,490

"Our challenge is to figure out how to manage that

growth," Hoffer said. "It would be easy for us to run ads

and make money that way but our members don't want

that."

All CouchSurfing's money comes from donations

and verifications, Hoffer said.

The Safety

Verifications are one of CouchSurfing's several

safety measures.

Members can get verified by paying a $25 fee with

a credit card.

"Only if the address we have matches the address

your card has, will the transaction go through," Lesage

said. "Basically we're piggybacking on the bank's

information on you."

Emerson said she finds it a reliable way to pick

trustworthy hosts.

"If you're concerned about who you want to stay

with … all you've got to do is … look at their profile and

see they're verified and vouched for," Emerson said.

If a member has

been vouched for, an icon will

show up on his or her profile.

Members can only vouch for

other members, though, once they've been vouched for

three times.

WHO ARE THESE

Couchsurfers?

There are 266,346 couchsurfers worldwide. They

represent 218 countries, 27,873 cities and speak

1,077 languages. Their average age is 26.

Minneapolis has 648 surfers and ranks 11th

among U.S. cities. 46 percent of all surfers are

in Europe but 84 percent speak English. Males make

up 52 percent of the couchsurfing community while 38

percent are females.*

*The rest are unknown, or are profiles belonging to several people.

For more statistics or informations, go to: www.couchsurfing.com

Surfers are also encouraged to leave references,

which are essentially reviews of their experience, on the

profiles of other surfers they've stayed with.

"We can't prevent anything from happening to

(couch surfers)," Lesage said. "What we can do, though,

is provide tools for them to ensure their own safety."

Lesage said there have been a few instances of

people stealing small items or trying to con other

surfers. Site members were alerted immediately and the

situations were remedied, he said.

Neither Genov, the Kleinmans nor Emerson said

they've had a bad experience.

Vonny Kleinman pointed out that whether hosting

or traveling, "they're trusting you as much as you're

trusting them.

"Personalities can clash. But if you really don't feel

comfortable with someone, you don't have to stay there

or host them," she said. "And really, no one's going to

travel from France to steal my TV."

The Movement

Though CouchSurfing is an online network, the idea

of global understanding through hospitality started long

before the Internet.

Emerson was a member of Servas International

before she heard of CouchSurfing. Servas is similar to

CouchSurfing but started in the 1940s. It has stricter

requirements to become a member and is recognized

by the United Nations as an accredited NGO.

"This kind of travel is not a flash-in-the-pan thing,"

Emerson said. "This idea has been around."

CouchSurfing lists other online hospitality networks

on its Web site, but Genov and Justin Kleinman said they

find CouchSurfing to be the most user-friendly.

All four CouchSurfing members said they understand

skeptics' concerns, but the benefits of this form of travel

outweigh the downsides.

"Once you discover, in any aspect of your life, that

you can trust strangers, it opens up the world to you,"

Emerson said. "The world becomes a much safer,

warmer place."