Surf Bloomington

Most travelers follow a set formula for every trip: Take a plane or car, pay around $100 or more a night for a decent hotel room, then proceed to wander around your new exciting destination with a guidebook in hand.

But for the more than 700,000 users of the international networking site CouchSurfing.com – including more than 200 in Bloomington – the experience is entirely different. When “couch surfers” decide they want to experience the wonders of a new travel spot, instead of flipping through the phone book for hotels, they search the CouchSurfing Web site for listings of local couches available in the area of their destination. Using an online directory, Surfers find a number of hosts in the area with whom they can stay, free of charge, during their trip.

Hosts are usually fellow couch surfers who are willing to offer their couch to any surfers who are traveling to the area and looking for a place to stay through the course of their travels. Hosts are often far more than someone with an open door: They are ambassadors of their homes to visitors.

Hosts not only open their homes to surfers, they also often provide rides from the airport, show their guest around the destination, and help the surfer get a genuine taste of the local culture instead of the tourist-style experience one would have using a guidebook or a travel agency.

“It’s really a culture of people who are like-minded,” said graduate student Brad Blankenship. “Even if they tell you they can’t host you, they’re really friendly.”
“The type of people you meet on there are so much cooler than the normal people you would meet while traveling,” she said. “This is a great way to get in on the ground floor.”

Surfers will often meet up for coffee or a meal, he said. Blankenship himself recently took a fellow surfer from Brazil to a friend’s cabin on Lake Griffey for a camp-out.
“He said that it was a really great American experience because he had never roasted a hot dog over a campfire or made s’mores before,” he said.

“I was a little nervous, but it works out,” Blankenship said of his first surfing experience, in England. “It was so random, but you have instant friends in situations that can be difficult when you travel.”

One of the best advantages of couch surfing is the flexibility. Surfers can crash on couches ranging in distance anywhere from different continents to only a city or two away. From Australia to Argentina or Anderson, Ind., couch surfers are likely to be able to find a host located anywhere they would care to visit.

Of course, the natural question to ask about staying at random people’s houses is, “Is it safe?” Have no fear: CouchSurfing.com has taken several precautionary measures to protect surfers and hosts alike.

Blankenship said that, first of all, guests watch their own safety by preferring hosts who offer plenty of information about themselves.
“I’ve found that the more info you have on your profile, the more likely you are to get people,” Blankenship said.

To ensure the safety of the surfing community, CouchSurfing.com features what is known as a “verification system.” To become verified, a host’s name and address must be confirmed. Also, hosts can be “vouched for” by trusted surfers (those who have been vouched for themselves at least three times), said graduate student Eric Morales, a long-time surfer who has four vouches.

“There are a lot of safeguards,” Morales said. “Whenever something happens, it’s news instantaneously.”

Any surfer can post references, good or bad, on their host’s profile that the host is unable to delete, which Ph.D. student Ira Allen finds reassuring.

“You’re getting a picture of their interactions with other people,” he said.
Hosts also have the choice of whether or not they want to open their home to any surfer. They are free to choose which surfers can stay and which ones will pass right by.

“I checked out a couple Web sites like this and they didn’t have very good systems for making sure people are who they say they are,” Willy said.

Every user of the site creates a profile upon first joining the community that they can edit at any time that includes a picture and various information that helps hosts and surfers connect and decide how compatible a host/surfer pair will be.

“You can find people who share your interests and lifestyle,” Blankenship said.
The site began as an experiment by founder Casey Fenton in January 2004 , but when Version 1.0 crashed, losing the majority of the site’s profiles, Morales said creators were tempted to give up. However, they received so much support from members, the site was rebuilt into the current 2.0 version.

“The people motivated it to continue on,” Morales said.

For Allen, the broad spectrum of people on the site is a definite plus.

“It’s not just a bunch of young adults ... there’s a real sense of this being a broader phenomenon,” he said, recalling a French man he stayed with in San Diego this summer. “He taught me how to make cheese ... I’m so excited; I’m going to start making my own cheese here at home.”

He is also intrigued by the core principle of a social-networking site that isn’t based on a principle of “What can these people do for me?”

“This is kind of a counter-discourse to global capitalization,” Allen said. “The concept is that all networking can be monetized ... this is kind of the opposite of that.”
The next time you decide to see the world, it might be worth giving couch surfing a shot.