CouchSurfing (Abbreviation: CS) is an international hospitality social network where travelers can communicate with each other in a practical way and get support for accommodation. Turkish equivalent of CouchSurfing, It is Couchsurfing. It is a global social network for travelers.

CouchSurfing is a non-profit organization. It started its first activity as a completely free platform. Additionally, members cannot charge fees to other members for meeting their accommodation needs. Due to the requirements of the service, it now provides service with a paid subscription. CS charges monthly subscription fees that vary depending on the countries in which it operates.

The CouchSurfing service explains its purpose as “to make CouchSurfers’ travels better and to increase cultural interaction.”

The CouchSurfing network, available on web, iOS, and Android, provides members couch surfer (couchsurfing or CSers) and surfer (surfers) is named. For members who host CouchSurfing members at their homes:homeowner (host)” name is used. CouchSurfing members help each other with both accommodation and information during their national or international trips.

CouchSurfing has members from 200 thousand cities around the world. However, CouchSurfing, which does not have Turkish language support, has English, French, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, German, Polish and Chinese language support.

CouchSurfing history

The first foundations of CouchSurfing were laid in 1999. It emerged as a result of a trip to Iceland by computer programmer Casey Fenton. In order to solve the accommodation problem before his trip from the USA to Iceland, Fenton reached the database of a university in Iceland and asked all students. mail sent. Thanks to the e-mails he sent, he became a guest at the home of an Icelandic student during his trip to Iceland. This trip created an idea for a solution to accommodation, which is a serious problem for travelers. When he returned to the USA, he used the domain “couchsurfing.com” (domain) he bought.

In April 2003, CouchSurfing International INC. It was incorporated as a “non-profit” organization in accordance with the US tax system. A year later, he launched the social networking service with the help of Leonardo Silva, Le Tuan and Dan Hoffer.

CouchSurfing, which became widespread in 2006, met the financing it needed during this period from the activities of social network members called “CouchSurfing Collectives”. The organization struggled with various problems, especially financing, until 2011, and its request for a non-profit formation was not approved by the Internal Revenue Service. Following this development, Fenton terminated CouchSurfing International Inc in November 2011. All assets were sold to a company called Delaware C.

CouchSurfing, which underwent restructuring in the same year, obtained a financing of $7.6 million thanks to many financing institutions, especially “Omidyar Network” and “Benchmark Capital”. In 2012, it received an additional financing of $15 million.

CouchSurfing, which served on the web until 2012, developed its first iOS and Android applications. Additionally, in 2016, the CouchSurfing app was named “Hangouts” feature has also been added.

In 2020, CouchSurfing switched to a paid subscription system. However, this development was not welcomed by many of its members.

How does CouchSurfing work?

Traveling with CouchSurfing or to host travelers coming to the city, a personal profile must first be created. A new CouchSurfing profile can be created for membership or Facebook You can connect with your account.

To create a CouchSurfing profile;

· First Name (Your Name),

· Last Name,

· E-mail,

· Password,

The information should be filled in and the “Join” option should be clicked.

On the profile information screen;

· Birthday,

· Gender

· City,

To approve the user agreement by entering your information, it is necessary to check the “I agree” box and perform “reCaptcha” verification. Finally, the “Create Account” option should be clicked.

As of May 2020, membership has switched to a paid format due to increased needs arising from the COVID-19 process. Therefore, to complete the membership and create the profile, a monthly payment must be made, varying depending on the city. CouchSurfing services can be used by creating a membership after completing the payment process.

How to request a CouchSurfing accommodation?

CouchSurfing members can send “Couchrequests” to other members in the cities they will travel to. To do this, you should search for the city you will travel to and contact the “host” members who provide hospitality through their advertisement/profile information.

How to create a CouchSurfing hospitality ad?

Users who want to share their spare room/seat at home with other CouchSurfing members through CouchSurfing must update the “Couch Status (Seat Information)” section in their profiles.

Members who cannot host travelers at their home but want to communicate with travelers coming to their city must fill in the “Not Right Now, but I can hang out” section.