Media FAQ
Dept: PR: CS Media FAQ
This FAQ is designed to assist the media with the most common questions asked about CouchSurfing as well as provide the answers to members who are being interviewed.
- What is the CouchSurfing Mission?
- "CouchSurfing seeks to internationally network people and places, create educational exchanges, raise collective consciousness, spread tolerance, and facilitate cultural understanding."
- The CouchSurfing community strives to do individual and collective parts to make the world a better place, and believe that the surfing of couches is a means to accomplish this goal. CouchSurfing isn't about the furniture- it's not just about finding free accommodations around the world - it's about participating in creating a better world.
- Who are the founders and how did they come up with the idea for CouchSurfing?
- Three of the four co-founders, Casey Fenton, Daniel Hoffer, and
Sebastien LeTuan, became close friends while working together at a dot
com Daniel founded in 1999. Several years later, the idea for
CouchSurfing solidified when Casey bought a cheap ticket to Iceland for
a long weekend one April. He came up with the 'brilliant' idea of
e-mailing over 1500 Icelandic students in Reykjavik and asking them if
he could crash on one of their couches. Exchanging emails with many of
the students, he then had several groups of friends offer to show him
'their' Reykjavik. After spending an amazing, crazy weekend just south
of the Arctic Circle, Casey decided he would never again get trapped in
a hotel and tourist marathon while traveling. Casey then invited Dan,
Seb, and another friend and colleague of his, Leonardo Silveira, to
co-found CouchSurfing.com with him. Casey has remained the most
committed to CouchSurfing, working full-time to build the organization
since the beginning, with the other founders contributing according to
availability. Casey focuses on "vision" and programming, Seb and Leo on
usability and design, and Dan on everything operations and
business-related. Many years later, the partnership is still strong -
and the rest, as they say, is history!
- Who runs Couchsurfing.com? If I have questions, do members answer them?
- The global CouchSurfing community is what keeps CouchSurfing.com going. The site is a completely member supported and driven community. Hundreds of dedicated volunteers work constantly to improve the site and spread the mission.
- CS Ambassadors are a group of committed members dedicated to making their CS community better by increasing participation in the site. This includes planning meetings and helping out fellow Surfers in a variety of ways.
- CouchSurfing’s board of directors and leadership board guide volunteers to uphold the mission, help shape the organization’s ongoing vision, and are responsible for some essential business functions such as taxes and legal matter
4. How can you provide for the safety of your members?
- CouchSurfing has implemented several precautionary measures for the benefit of its surfers, hosts, and community. Every user is linked to the other users in the system through a network of references and friend links. In addition to the solid network with friend link-strength indicators and testimonials, there are vouching and verification systems.
- Members can only become vouched for by an already vouched for CouchSurfing.com member. Essentially, it's a trust circle that has trickled down from member to member to help ensure the safety of the members.
- The verification process checks to make sure the member's name and address are correct and valid. Once the process is completed (through using a credit card to verify the users name & a letter mailed to the member, a members profile identifies them as a level 3 verified member. For some people, verification may not be important. For others, it is crucial.
5. Tell me more about being a non-profit organization.
- CouchSurfing's mission is to facilitate high quality experiences for people exploring the world and giving back to humanity. The objective is to make diverse cultures of the world more connected, making the world a smaller, more peaceful place. The site networks travelers and locals on every continent, creating friendships and strengthening cross-cultural understanding. The goal of CouchSurfing has never been to help people save money. In order to reach as many members and cultures as possible, the site will always be free to all members and will be supported through donations, grants, and member contributions.
6. Why is your site a ".com" instead of an ".org"?
- There's a common misconception that ".com" signifies only a for-profit company, but in actuality any organization can use ".com." CouchSurfing is also accessible through a ".org." For example, CouchSurfing.com has been blocked in the U.A.E. Thanks to the .org; members there can still access CS. The site is also registered as a .com for credibility; usually, a .com is recognized as the "first player" in the market, and shows up first in search engines. CouchSurfing.com was first to this web "space" and is therefore seen as the originator/innovator.
7. Is Couch Surfing free? Do the hosts expect anything in return for me staying with them?
- CouchSurfing is a non-profit organization dedicated to the global community. CouchSurfing was created specifically so that everyone can travel the world and partake in cultural exchange. Staying with a host is also always free; it is contrary to the values of CouchSurfing and against the terms of use to charge someone to surf a couch. Many surfers like to bring their hosts gifts or treat them to a meal as a "Thank you," but this is not a requirement. There are infinite ways to reciprocate goodwill.
- CouchSurfing considers "hosting" and "surfing" to be of equal value because both are necessary for cultural exchange. Therefore, members are not required to "earn points" by hosting in order to surf. Members are free to enjoy either or both aspects of the service as they choose.
8. Is CouchSurfing just based in the United States?
- CouchSurfing's members are located all over the globe! Each region has ambassadors, and the network grows by thousands per week. To learn more about who is on CS, just visit the statistics page. A visual representation of where members live is shown on the World Map. The site is also translated into several different languages.
9. Lets say I am unable to host, and unable to travel or can't accept that many requests. Is there another way to participate?
- Yes! There is a page specifically for planning and organizing meetings with other CouchSurfers (examples: drinks with the local surfers, barbecue, house party, birthday party)
- Please use the Couchsurf feature to find a couch or someone to meet.
- Members pick and choose who to host. You can meet people for coffee or a drink, and you can even list your couch as completely unavailable. Offering a couch is all about increasing the number of interesting people and possibilities in your life. Members can easily decline surfing requests; there is never any pressure to host.
10. What is the Thai Collective?
- This is CouchSurfing’s next big exciting event! In December of 2007 a team of volunteers will be traveling to Thailand to participate in CouchSurfing’s fifth major Collective.
- Collectives are an opportunity for CouchSurfing volunteers to get together in an exciting location and bring members together so they can work on CS more productively.
11. Can you describe the typical CouchSurfing experience?
- You decide to spend two weeks traveling around Europe.
- You log on to CouchSurfing.com and do a search for members within a few of the cities on your itinerary.
- You contact interesting prospects from the list and outline your travel plans. Use the "Request to CouchSurf with..." button to include specific details.
- Several people accept your couch request. You adjust your plan to spend a few days in each city.
- You confirm with your hosts, adjust travel plans, and excitedly fly off to experience CouchSurfing for the first time.
- You arrive back home and are so excited about CouchSurfing you log online immediately. You click on the participate tab and start helping the community advance the mission of the project!
If you have any further questions, feel free to contact us at http://www.couchsurfing.com/contact.html.
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