Traveling by couch

By Jillian Joyce, staff writer

The rising trend of couch surfing allows travelers to crash on stranger’s furniture for free.

Graduation rolls around, bringing with it the golden promises of the world is your oyster, or perhaps your future is at your fingertips, travel now while you can. While traveling the world sounds like a great plan, you have ramen noodles to purchase and student loans to pay. Can you finance traveling?

The answer combines frugality with an adventurous spirit in two words: couch surfing.

According to www.couchsurfing.org, the site is “an international non-profit network that connects travelers with locals in over 230 countries and territories around the world.” The site allows travelers to connect with hosts around the globe who can provide a spare room, a couch to crash on, or simply a friend to hang out with. The great news for your wallet is that couch surfing is free.

Azusa Pacific University alumnus Adriel Oka had his first couch surfing experience in Cairns, Australia. Oka studied abroad in Sydney in the spring of 2008 and traveled to Cairns after classes ended.

“I was backpacking up the east coast,” Oka said. “I didn’t know anyone in Cairns. I just wanted a local to show me around.”
Oka got connected with a woman using www.couchsurfing.org. She showed him the city, took him hiking, and invited him to a concert.

In 2010, Oka had another opportunity to go couch surfing in London. He was in England to watch his sister graduate from Cambridge University, but traveled to London a week earlier for the World Cup Finals. When he got off the plane he didn’t have anywhere to stay.

He used the website to connect with a man named John, who also hosting two other couch surfers. One was a journalist. The other was a veteran couch surfer, a man who had couch surfed every capital city in Europe. Oka said getting to know people he wouldn’t normally meet is one of his favorite parts about couch surfing.

“If I had my own place I would definitely host,” Oka said. “The best part is you meet really cool people. It’s free accommodation, great stories, and great adventures. I’d definitely do it again.”

APU alumnus Steven Wright said hosting couch surfing is also an option. Wright and his roommates use the guest room of their home to accommodate such travelers. Their first couch surfer was a woman from UC Davis.

Wright said she was working on her PhD and needed to do research in Pasadena. She stayed with Wright while she worked on her thesis.

Wright’s favorite couch surfers were a couple from Connecticut who visited California for a wedding. They immediately bonded with Wright and his roommates. Wright’s roommate even let the couple use his car to see a concert.

When couch surfers come to stay, Wright and his roommates normally point them in the direction of fine dining, art galleries, concert venues and public transportation sites.

While Wright has not yet gone couch surfing, he’d like to in the future. Since hosting, he now has connections to places to stay.

“The whole premise is, ‘I’ll let people stay with me so then when I travel, I stay with them for free,’” Wright said. “It’s a pay-it-forward kind of thing.”

While Wright and Oka have both had positive experiences, they warn it is important for a couch surfer to use common sense and practice safety.

“Everyone’s concern is, ‘How do you know the person you’re staying with isn’t going to murder you?’” Wright said. “You leave reviews on people’s pages after you host/stay with them. There is a recommendation system built in.”

With couch surfing, there is no obligation to stay if an uncomfortable situation arises.

“Use your common sense, and be careful about things. If you feel weird, just leave,” Wright said. “It’s better to stay in a hotel than put yourself at risk.”

The website uses references, vouching between members, and a verification system to help ensure safety for both travelers and hosts.

The site relies on members to share positive and negative experiences with online viewers.

Because of this open information, the site describes meeting people through couch surfing as meeting a friend through a friend, rather than staying with a complete stranger.

On the website, the promise stands: “You have a full profile’s worth of information about their interests and perspectives. You can see who their friends are and how they know them. You have the ability to correspond with them as much as you want before you meet them.”

Jamie McDowell, a junior biology major, said her experience couch surfing in New Zealand was different than expected.
McDowell was traveling to New Zealand with a friend after the two studied abroad in Australia. McDowell and her friend, Natalie, stayed with a man named Chris. Chris responded promptly and even agreed to drive them to the airport the next day.

While Chris was thoughtful, McDowell said he was socially uncomfortable.

“He cooked us dinner, gave us the Wi-Fi password, and watched a movie with us,” McDowell said. “But he was socially awkward and socially deprived. I didn’t think he would spend so much time with us and that he would be so awkward. His only friends are the people who stay with him, so he didn’t know how to interact with people.”

McDowell said she felt safe couch surfing because they stayed in Chris’ guest room, which had a door lock. Chris was also hosting another couch surfer from Germany, who the girls became friends with.

Despite her less-than-perfect experience, McDowell would be willing couch surf again.

“Even though it was weird, it was still a great story. It was unique and different,” McDowell said. “I would go again. I wouldn’t do it any differently because the unknown of who we would stay with is what made it such a crazy adventure and a good time.”

To begin couch surfing, members need to go to www.couchsurfing.org and create a profile. Members can list general information, their interests, the places they have traveled, and whether or not they have a way to accommodate other couch surfers.

Those interested in traveling to a specific destination can search for hosts by location. According to the website, the top five couch surfed cities are Paris, London, Berlin, Istanbul, and Montreal. Over 73 percent of couch surfers speak English, and almost 38 percent of couch surfers are between the ages of 18 and 24. The average couch surfing age is 28.

Adriel Oka said the most challenging part was getting up the nerve to go on his first couch surfing venture.

“The hardest part is doing the first couch surf. I haven’t had a bad experience, but the worst part is the unknown,” Oka said. “If you get over that fear, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”