Jul 11, 2008 5:04 pm US/Pacific
Couch Surfing: The New Trend In Travel
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ―
Here's one way to minimize the cost of travel, although it might not be for everyone. It's called "Couch-Surfing," and it's available in more than 44,000 cities across the world.
Most of us have probably had a friend crash on your couch before, or done it yourself. But what about waking up, walking into your living room and finding someone on your sofa who you don't even know?
Call it crashing, or hopping, or couch surfing. If there's a city you can dream of, there's likely a couch in that city for you to dream on.
"It's kind of an international hospitality network of people sharing cultures," says one couch surfer.
The couch-surfing community, where sofa-sleepers are offered a spot to snooze in a strange city, has more than 600,000 members in 231 countries around the world and more than a hundred here in Sacramento.
You can host or visit. You can share meals or just a roof. There's no cost, just the hope that you'll reciprocate for someone else when they want to stay on "your" couch, or hammock, or spare branch.
So what's the etiquette?
- You can bring a gift, but you don't have to. Or," We went and dumpster-dived a bunch of food for her," says a couch surfer.
- You should respect the host's area. You should try to find someone whose style is in sync with your own.
But who exactly is staying in your home? Through
couchsurfing.com, you can find reviews of fellow couch surfers. And you can answer the question: do they have vouches for the couches they've stayed on?
"The only way you get vouched for is to have three people vouch for you. And that means you're vouched," say couch surfers.
Most couch surfers report good experiences for the most part, except for the occasional guest who overstays their welcome.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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