Guiding Principles

These principles are affirmations of our shared values as volunteers and employees of CouchSurfing. They help to shape the culture of organization, and they provide a compass as we make decisions and confront new situations.

Our efforts to achieve CouchSurfing's vision begins with ourselves.
In order to create opportunities for other people to explore, create meaningful connections, and appreciate diversity, we must first bring these values into our own lives. Achieving our vision begins with our own growth experiences. Whether we are surfing, hosting, interacting with team members, or living our daily lives, we accept that conflicting opinions and attitudes may at times make reaching understanding a challenge. We accept this challenge as an opportunity.

We practice teamwork with respect for personal freedom.
Building community and reaching shared goals requires teamwork and compromise. In our practice of teamwork, as staff members and as community members, we must also respect the needs and desires of the individual. We recognize that teamwork helps us get things done faster and with less effort. We also recognize that personal freedom gives birth to exploration, diversity, and new approaches. We strive for balance between these two ideals.

We seek to unify people through honest and empathetic communication.
The goal of communication is unity through mutual understanding. To reach that goal we must speak with honesty, expressing our needs and emotions. To an equal degree, we must also listen with empathy and the desire to understand. When differences arise and emotions run high, we understand that divisive language is often easier but is destructive. We patiently choose language that unifies.

We conscientiously preserve diversity, within and without the organization.
Diversity is the prerequisite to the world we envision: a world where everyone can respond to diversity with curiosity, appreciation and respect. Within CouchSurfing's team, a culturally and ideologically diverse environment leads to fresh ideas and respect for personal freedom. When opposing views create conflicts, we rely on our other guiding principles to resolve them. We practice teamwork and unifying communication.

We seek continuous personal development for ourselves and others.
CouchSurfing's Mission is to create inspiring experiences that lead to growth and understanding, for both its members and its staff. As staff members, we must encourage each other to share knowledge, provide each other with exciting challenges, and continuously strive to take best advantage of these opportunities for personal growth.

We reflect on our challenges as opportunities.
Challenges arise naturally from the exchange of ideas within a team. They are often unexpected and inconvenient. In face of this, we choose to reflect on each challenge as an opportunity for knowledge and personal growth. We accept the difficulty of our objectives with gratitude, and we use an understanding of opposing perspectives to help us succeed.

We practice gratitude towards everyone.
We believe in actively practicing gratitude. We are grateful to all people: those who assist us, those who challenge us, those who contribute to the world's diversity, and those who assert their freedom of self. We hold a special gratitude for our teammates, who contribute alongside us with a common mission. No act is too small or too commonplace to deserve thanks. (Thank you!)

We keep the fun in everything we do.
Our mission is to create inspiring experiences — experiences that are fun and challenge us to grow at the same time. Having fun is the reward that encourages us to face future challenges. Our mission is carried out by individuals around the world who are motivated by the joy of exploration and connection. As staff members, we recognize the unique power that enjoyment and laughter have to stimulate productivity and inspire us to reach our goals.

We value interpersonal connections within our teams.
We envision a world where everyone can create meaningful interpersonal connections. This vision encompasses both members and staff. We strive to create a culture that encourages friendship and social interaction, for the well-being of our staff and the success of our mission.

We operate as a socially responsible B Corporation in order to best serve CouchSurfing's vision.
We believe in CouchSurfing’s vision of a world where everyone can explore and connect. Our structure as a B Corporation keeps us responsible to our community, our staff, and our vision and our mission.

We understand that CouchSurfing can only endorse ideologies that further its vision.
CouchSurfing is a common ground where people of all ideologies can come together and experience new points of view. If CouchSurfing as an organization endorses any ideals not related to its own goals of diversity and cultural understanding, it risks alienating members with opposing ideologies. In order for individual CouchSurfing members to have the freedom to explain their own cultures and perspectives to the people they encounter, the organization must preserve its neutrality.