Misplaced Pages

CouchSurfing: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editContent deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 05:43, 10 December 2008 editLightmouse (talk | contribs)Pending changes reviewers148,333 edits Units/dates/other using AWB← Previous edit Latest revision as of 02:57, 18 December 2024 edit undoWiinterU (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users10,042 edits MOS:OLTag: Visual edit 
Line 1: Line 1:
{{short description|Homestay platform}}
{{Infobox Non-profit
{{other uses|Couch surfing (disambiguation)}}
| Non-profit_name = Couchsurfing
{{pp-move}}
| Non-profit_logo = ]
{{Infobox website
| founded_date = 2003
| name = Couchsurfing International Inc.
| founder = Casey Fenton<ref>http://www.couchsurfing.com/founders.html</ref>
| logo = Stationary envelopes.png
| location = Worldwide
| company_type = ]<ref name=inc />
| area_served = Global
| foundation = 2 April 2003 (New Hampshire ])<ref name=newhampshire/><br>3 May 2011 (Delaware ])<ref name=decorp />
| focus = ], international understanding, ]
| area_served = Global
| method = ]
| founder = Casey Fenton<BR>Daniel Hoffer<BR>Sebastian Le Tuan<BR>Leonardo Bassani da Silveira<ref name=entr/>
| Non-profit_slogan = Participate in Creating a Better World, One Couch at a Time
| key_people = Patrick Dugan (])<BR>Francesco Deparis (Director of Operations)<ref name=sos>{{cite web |url=https://bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov/ |title=bizfile Online |publisher=]}}</ref>
| homepage = http://www.couchsurfing.com/
| products = ]
| services = ]
| language = ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ]<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://apps.apple.com/us/app/couchsurfing-travel-app/id525642917 | title=Couchsurfing Travel App | date=22 August 2023 | publisher=]}}</ref>
| num_employees =
| url = {{Official URL}}
| num_users = 12,000,000 users
| launch_date = {{start date and age|df=yes|2004|06|12}}<ref name=ruin/>
}} }}
{{Homestay service}}
'''CouchSurfing''' is a ] by which users can request free short-term ]s or interact with other people who are interested in ]. It is accessible via a ] and ]. It uses a ], and while hosts are not allowed to charge for lodging, members in some countries must pay a fee to access the platform.<ref name=bug/>


==History==
The '''CouchSurfing''' Project is a free, Internet-based, international ], and it is currently the largest ] network. The project was commenced in 2003 and formally launched on Jan 1, 2004.
===Conception (1999–2004)===
Couchsurfing was conceived by computer programmer and ] native Casey Fenton in 1999, when he was 21 years old.<ref name=inc/><ref name=handbook/><ref name=entr>{{cite news |url=https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/220724 |title=How CouchSurfing Got its Start, and Landed VC Millions |first=Gwen |last=Moran |work=] |date=9 December 2011}}</ref> The idea arose after Fenton found a cheap flight from ] to Iceland but did not have lodging. Fenton hacked into a database of the ] and randomly e-mailed 1,500 students asking for a homestay. He received between 50 and 100 offers and chose to stay at the home of an Icelandic ] singer.<ref name=handbook/> On the return flight to Boston, he came up with the idea to create the website. He registered the couchsurfing.com ] on 12 June 1999.<ref name=handbook/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://whois.domaintools.com/couchsurfing.com |title=Whois Record for CouchSurfing.com}}</ref> Fenton was also inspired by a trip he took 2 years earlier to Egypt, where he was shown around by a local.<ref name=ruin/>


Couchsurfing International Inc. was formed on 2 April 2003 as a ] ],<ref name=newhampshire>{{cite web |url=https://quickstart.sos.nh.gov/online/BusinessInquire/BusinessInformation?businessID=126502 |title=Business Information: COUCHSURFING INTERNATIONAL INC. |publisher=New Hampshire Department of State}}</ref> with plans to apply for ] tax exemption.
As of October 2008, it had more than 780,000 members in 232 ] and ]. According to their own published statistics, 40% of their members are currently offering their couches to host travellers (with another 22% saying "maybe", and others who are travelling at the moment).{{ref|stats}}. According to ] it is currently the most visited hospitality service on the Internet, averaging more than 30 million daily page views in July 2008.{{ref|Alexa}}


The website was launched on 12 June 2004<ref name=handbook /> with the cooperation of ], Sebastien Le Tuan, and Leonardo Silveira.<ref name=entr/>
Members use the website to coordinate contacts and home accommodation (or "surf" others' "couches") with other network members around the world. The website allows the creation of extensive profiles, and uses an optional ] verification system, a personal vouching system, and personal references to increase security and trust between members. The site offers other features such as discussion groups, events and meetings, and ].


===Development of the website by volunteers (2006–2011)===
==History ==
]
=== Casey Fenton ===
The CouchSurfing project was originally conceived by Casey Fenton in 2000. According to Fenton's own account, the idea arose after finding an inexpensive flight from ] to ]. Rather than stay at a hostel, Fenton randomly emailed 1500 students from the ] asking if he could stay. Fenton ultimately received more than fifty offers of accommodation. On the return flight to Boston he began to develop the ideas that would underpin the CouchSurfing project <ref></ref>.


From 2006 until the company raised financing in 2011, development of the website occurred mostly at events called "Couchsurfing Collectives", in which members met to voluntarily improve the website.<ref name=handbook /> Collectives took place in ], ], New Zealand, ], ], ], ], ], and Thailand.<ref name=ruin/><ref name=handbook/><ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fCfrCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA190 |title=Encyclopedia of Social Networks |first=George A. |last=Barnett |publisher=] |date=7 September 2011 | isbn=9781506338255 }}</ref> However, the collectively-coded website was full of ]s and ] were common. Many members believed that the website needed to be redesigned from scratch.<ref name=ruin/> The collectives were also hindered by volunteers who just came to party and by tax laws in each jurisdiction.<ref name=ruin/>
=== Site launch ===
Fenton developed the code intermittently over the next few years, and the site was launched with the cooperation of Dan Hoffer, Sebastien Le Tuan, and Leonardo Silveira <ref> </ref> as a ] in January, 2003. The project became a public website in January of 2004.


In June 2006, problems with the website ] resulted in much of it being irrevocably lost.<ref name=handbook>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vQx4CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA295 |title=Handbook of Research on Global Hospitality and Tourism Management |first=Angelo A. |last=Camillo |publisher=IGI Global |date=17 August 2015|isbn=9781466686076 }}</ref><ref name=techcrunchdelete>{{cite news |url=https://techcrunch.com/2006/06/29/couchsurfing-deletes-itself-shuts-down/ |title=CouchSurfing Deletes Itself, Shuts Down |publisher=] |last=Arrington |first=Michael |date=29 June 2006}}</ref> Founder Casey Fenton posted online asking for help.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://forums.mysql.com/read.php?28,99328,99328#msg-99328 |first=Casey |last=Fenton |title=Help! - Innodb and MyISAM accidental DROP DATABASE – 112 tables gone forever? |website=forums.mysql.com |date=28 June 2006}}</ref> A Couchsurfing Collective was underway in Montreal at the time and those in attendance raised $8,000 in donations and committed to recreate the website.<ref name=handbook/> In 2007, ] for couchsurfing.org overtook the search volume for ].<ref>{{cite conference |doi=10.1109/ICDMW.2015.239 |title=Hospitality Exchange Services as a Source of Spatial and Social Data? |year=2015 |author1=Rustam Tagiew |author2=Dmitry I. Ignatov |author3=Radhakrishnan Delhibabu |conference=(IEEE) International Conference on Data Mining Workshop (ICDMW) |pages=1125–1130 |place=Atlantic City}}</ref>
Initial growth of the site was slow, and by the end of 2004 the site had just over 6000 members. In 2005 growth accelerated and at the end of that year the membership stood at just under 45000<ref name="CouchSurfing.com Statistics"></ref>.


=== 2006 database loss and relaunch === ===Change to a for-profit corporation and financing (2011)===
The company applied for ] tax status as a ] in November 2007 but tax exempt status was rejected by the ] in early 2011.<ref name=inc>{{cite news |url=https://www.inc.com/magazine/201206/issie-lapowsky/couchsurfing-new-profit-model.html |title=Couchsurfing Dilemma: Going for Profit |work=] |first=Issie |last=Lapowesky |date=29 May 2012}}</ref><ref name=smallbusiness>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WyBTCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT684 |title=Small Business Management: Launching & Growing Entrepreneurial Ventures |first1=Justin G. |last1=Longenecker |first2=J. William |last2=Petty |first3=Leslie E. |last3=Palich |first4=Frank |last4=Hoy |publisher=] |date=15 January 2016|isbn=9781305405745 }}</ref> The assets then needed to be acquired from the New Hampshire non-profit, which including legal fees, was to cost $1 million.<ref name=ruin/> In August 2011, a private for-profit ] ], also called Couchsurfing International, Inc., which was formed on 3 May 2011,<ref name=decorp>{{cite web |url=https://icis.corp.delaware.gov/Ecorp/EntitySearch/NameSearch.aspx |title=State of Delaware corporate entity search – enter "couchsurfing"}}</ref><ref name=techcrunchraises15/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicoleperlroth/2011/08/24/non-profit-couchsurfing-raises-millions-in-funding/ |title=Non-Profit CouchSurfing Raises Millions In Funding |work=] |first=Nicole |last=Perlroth |date=24 August 2011}}</ref> raised $7.6 million in a first-round financing led by ] and ] and acquired the assets of the New Hampshire company.<ref name=raises>{{cite press release |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110825005488/en/CouchSurfing-Raises-7.6-Million-Series-Benchmark-Capital |title=CouchSurfing Raises $7.6 Million in Series A From Benchmark Capital and Omidyar Network to Expand Services and Fuel Growth in Cultural Exchange Network |publisher=] |date=25 August 2011}}</ref><ref name=steps/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://venturebeat.com/2011/08/24/benchmark-couchsurfing/ |title=Benchmark plops down $7.6M to make Couchsurfing into a for-profit |first=Dylan |last=Tweney |work=] |date=24 August 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/couchsurfing-just-closed-a-76-million-round-of-funding-2011-8 |title=CouchSurfing Just Closed A $7.6 Million Round Of Funding |first=Matt |last=DeLuca |work=] |date=30 August 2011}}</ref> The New Hampshire non-profit company was dissolved on 4 November 2011.<ref name=newhampshire/>
In June 2006 the project experienced a number of computer problems resulting in much of the ] being irrevocably lost{{ref|databaseloss}}. Due to the volume of critical data that had been lost, Casey Fenton was of the opinion that the project could not be resurrected and on June 29, 2006 he issued an email to the membership announcing that "It is with a heavy heart that I face the truth of this situation. CouchSurfing as we knew it doesn't exist anymore." <ref></ref>.


The conversion to a for-profit corporation was objected to by many members since the guiding principles of the original non profit organisation promised that CouchSurfing operates as a nonprofit, a promise that was broken by Fenton and Hoffer.<ref name=inc /> Founder Casey Fenton said he received 1,500 emails in the days after announcing the conversion.<ref name=inc/>
Fenton's email was met with vocal opposition to the termination of the project and considerable support for its recreation. A CouchSurfing collective was underway in Montreal at the time, and those in attendance committed to fully recreating the original site, with users to re-enter their profile data. "CouchSurfing 2.0" was announced early in July 2006, with the intent to be operational within 10 days. The initial implementation of CouchSurfing 2.0 actually launched after only four days<ref></ref>. The current CouchSurfing slogan ''"Participate in Creating a Better World, One Couch At A Time"'' was launched concurrently.


The company was briefly certified as a ] (mistakenly labeled as a ] in a blog post by Casey Fenton),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://blog.couchsurfing.com/a-new-era-for-couchsurfing/|title=A New Era For Couchsurfing|date=24 August 2011 |publisher=Couchsurfing}}</ref> but that certification was eventually removed.<ref name="mythsandfacts">{{cite web|date=14 September 2011|title=Myths and Facts: Couchsurfing's conversion to a B Corp|url=https://blog.couchsurfing.com/myths-and-facts-couchsurfings-conversion-to-a-b-corp/|publisher=Couchsurfing}}</ref><ref name=inc/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/sbo/2012/01/couchsurfing-becomes-a-b-corp.html |title=CouchSurfing becomes a B Corp. |work=] |date=January 27, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2011/aug/26/couchsurfing-investment-budget-travel |title=Not-for-profit Couchsurfing becomes a company (with a conscience) |first=Vicky |last=Baker |work=] |date=August 26, 2011}}</ref>
Since the relaunch the project has received international media coverage<ref></ref>, and has grown to in excess of 700,000 members. In August 2008 the membership grew by over 48,000<ref name="CouchSurfing.com Statistics"/>.


In August 2012, Couchsurfing received an additional $15 million in funding from an investor group led by ], with participation by ], as well as existing investors ] and ]. The additional funding brought the company's total funding raised to $22.6 million.<ref name=techcrunchraises15>{{cite web |title=CouchSurfing Raises $15 Million Series B From General Catalyst Partners, Menlo Ventures, Others |url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/08/22/couchsurfing-raises-15-million-series-b-from-general-catalyst-partners-others/ |first=Billy |last=Gallagher |publisher=] |date=22 August 2012}}</ref> That year, the company launched mobile apps for ] and ].<ref name=freeplace>{{cite news |title=Couchsurfing your way to a free place to stay |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/talkingtech/2013/10/12/talking-tech-couchsurfing/2959867/ |first=Jefferson |last=Graham |work=] |date=12 October 2013}}</ref>
== Organization ==
=== Status ===
CouchSurfing International Inc. is a ] incorporated in the U.S. state of ]{{ref|NH-nonprofit}} CouchSurfing is listed as a registered charity in New Hampshire {{ref|NH-charities}}


=== Mission === ===Management turnover (2012–2015)===
Tony Espinoza, previously vice president and general manager of ]s at ], was CEO from April 2012 to October 2013.<ref name=ruin/><ref name=steps>{{cite news |title=CouchSurfing CEO steps down amid layoffs, uncertainty |url=https://www.phocuswire.com/CouchSurfing-CEO-steps-down-amid-layoffs-uncertainty |work=Phocuswire |first=Nick |last=Vivion |date=11 October 2013}}</ref> Under his leadership, driven by an aggressive advertising campaign, membership doubled; however, new users were less interested in hosting other travelers and in the "]" spirit of other members.<ref name=ruin/> Tensions between Fenton and Espinoza led to Fenton being fired from the company he founded, although at that time, he kept his seat on the board of directors.<ref name=ruin/> The company rented office space in San Francisco.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.cnbc.com/2016/02/12/couchsurfings-awesome-sf-workspace.html | title=Office Envy: Inside CouchSurfing's San Francisco workspace | work=] | date=February 12, 2016}}</ref> By the end of Espinoza's tenure, the company had depleted half of its financing and laid off 40% of its staff.<ref name=ruin/>
The mission statement of CouchSurfing is ''Participate in Creating a Better World, One Couch at a Time'' {{ref|mission}}:
"CouchSurfing seeks to internationally network people and places, create educational exchanges, raise collective consciousness, spread tolerance and facilitate cultural understanding.
As a community we strive to do our individual and collective parts to create a better world, and we believe that the surfing of couches is a means to accomplish this goal.
CouchSurfing is not about the furniture, not just about finding free accommodations around the world; it's about making connections worldwide. We make the world a better place by opening our homes, our hearts, and our lives. We open our minds and welcome the knowledge that cultural exchange makes available. We create deep and meaningful connections that cross oceans, continents and cultures. CouchSurfing wants to change not only the way we travel, but how we relate to the world!" {{ref|mission}}


]
=== Websites ===
Jennifer Billock, who had been head of product marketing, then took over as CEO.<ref name=ruin/><ref name=tony>{{cite news | url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/10/10/tony-espinoza-steps-down-as-ceo-of-couchsurfing-jen-billock-steps-up-as-interim-as-startup-lays-off-staff-doubles-down-on-mobile/ |title=Tony Espinoza Steps Down As CEO Of Couchsurfing, Jennifer Billock Steps Up As Interim As Startup Lays Off Staff, "Doubles Down" On Mobile | first=Ingrid | last=Lunden |publisher=] | date=10 October 2013}}</ref>
<tt>Couchsurfing.com</tt> is registered by Casey Fenton Consulting, though the Board of Directors includes co-founders Daniel Hoffer (Chairman) and Seb Letuan. CouchSurfing.org points to the same website as CouchSurfing.com, though there are some other websites using similar addresses, such as <tt>couchsurfing.net</tt>, the German <tt>couchsurfing.de</tt>, and <tt>couchsurfing.info</tt> (which on ]).


==How it works== ===New investment (2015)===
In 2015, Couchsurfing required additional funding but did not have the metrics to raise a ]. Instead, the company received funding from Dugan Katragadda, a branch of Valencia Street Capital,<ref>{{cite news | url=https://sec.report/CIK/0001648249 | title=Dugan Katragadda, L.P. | publisher=] | date=10 October 2020}}</ref> led by Patrick Dugan (born 1980), who previously worked for ], ], ] and Practice Fusion, an electronic medical records company.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://pitchbook.com/profiles/person/45266-59P#overview |title=Patrick Dugan Overview | publisher=]}}</ref> Dugan's investment was large enough to reconstitute the ].<ref name=ruin/> Casey Fenton was removed from the board of directors due to differences with management and has since no longer been involved in the day-to-day operations of the company.<ref name=ruin>{{cite news | url=https://www.inputmag.com/features/rise-and-ruin-of-couchsurfing |title=Paradise lost: The rise and ruin of Couchsurfing.com | first=Andrew | last=Fedorov |work=Input | publisher=] | date=September 15, 2021}}</ref>
Membership in the organization is free, simply requiring online registration. The core activity of the organization is exchange of accommodation, or "surfing". Acting as a host, a member offers the possibility of accommodation at his or her leisure; it is not required, but is obviously encouraged. Acting as a "surfer" (guest), a traveller may search for and request accommodation at his or her destination.


In June 2016, the company added a feature to its mobile app called "hangouts" that enables members to quickly meet with other nearby members.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thejakartapost.com/travel/2016/06/23/couchsurfing-to-introduce-new-hangout-feature.html |title=Couchsurfing to introduce new "hangout" feature | first=NI NYOMAN |last=WIRA |work=] |date=23 June 2016}}</ref>
This exchange is entirely consensual between the host and surfer, and the duration, nature, and terms of the surfer's stay are generally worked out in advance to the convenience of both parties. It is also expected to be free; no monetary exchange takes place except under certain circumstances (e.g. the surfer may compensate the host for food).


===Change to subscription business model (2020)===
=== Security verification ===
In May 2020, during the ], the company switched to a ] requiring users in some countries to pay a fee to access the platform.<ref name="bug">{{cite news |last=Ferrarese |first=Marco |date=24 June 2020 |title=Pandemic hits 'couchsurfing' travel bug |work=] |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s-Picks/Tea-Leaves/Pandemic-hits-couchsurfing-travel-bug}}</ref>
There are three methods to ensure security and trust, which are all visible on member profiles for potential hosts and surfers to see prior to arranging anything with each other:
# Personal references, which hosts and surfers could leave for each other at their option after having used the service.
# An optional ] verification system, which allowed members to "lock in" their name and address by making a credit card payment and entering a code that CouchSurfing mails to the billing address. This also allows CS to recuperate some costs by requiring a fee for verification. For fairness the verification fee is based on a sliding scale, taking into account the ] and ] of the country of residence.{{ref|verification-fee-scale}}
# A personal vouching system, whereby a member that had been vouched for &mdash; originally starting with the founders of the site &mdash; might in turn vouch for any number of other members he or she knew or had met through CouchSurfing, and trusts.


==See also==
=== CouchSurfing Collectives ===
* ]
Since June 2006, the website has been run in large part by CouchSurfing Collectives: events which may last days or weeks, bringing groups of CouchSurfers together in a chosen city, to develop and improve CouchSurfing. Previous Collectives took place in ], ], ] and ], with the latest one held in ] from June to August 2008.
* ]

* ]
Members who wish to volunteer for various tasks on the site and help spread the word about CouchSurfing in general may become '']s''. Ambassadors must be verified and actively promote the CouchSurfing spirit among members and to the public. In addition to promoting use of the site, they greet new members, help with questions and perform other administrative tasks, all on a volunteer basis.
* ]
* ]


==References== ==References==
{{Reflist}}
#Heesakkers, P.J.A (2008). The CouchSurfing Project; Participate in Creating a Better World, One Couch at a time. An Explorative Study on the Phenomenon of CouchSurfing. NHTV Breda, University of Applied Sciences
#{{note|stats}}
#{{note|Alexa}}
#{{note|databaseloss}}
#{{note|NH-nonprofit}} , also
#{{note|board_policy}}
#{{note|NH-charities}}
#{{note|US-charities}}
#{{note|wanderlust_5}}
#{{note|whois}} at ].
#{{note|sosnh}}
#{{note|mission}}
#{{note|donate}}
#{{note|finances}}
#{{note|founders}}
#{{note|collectives}}
#{{note|nonprofit}}
#{{note|rebuild}}
#{{note|verification-fee-scale}}
#
{{reflist}}


==External links== ==External links==
{{Wiktionary|couch surf}}
*
* {{Commons category-inline}}
*
{{Commons category|Couchsurfing}}
*
* {{Official website|https://www.couchsurfing.com/}}

{{Sharing economy}}
{{Hospitality_service}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}

]
]


]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]

Latest revision as of 02:57, 18 December 2024

Homestay platform For other uses, see Couch surfing (disambiguation).
Couchsurfing International Inc.
Type of businessC corporation
Available inEnglish, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese and Spanish
Founded2 April 2003 (New Hampshire nonprofit organization)
3 May 2011 (Delaware for-profit corporation)
Area servedGlobal
Founder(s)Casey Fenton
Daniel Hoffer
Sebastian Le Tuan
Leonardo Bassani da Silveira
Key peoplePatrick Dugan (CEO)
Francesco Deparis (Director of Operations)
ProductsHomestay
ServicesSocial networking service
URLwww.couchsurfing.com Edit this at Wikidata
Users12,000,000 users
Launched12 June 2004; 20 years ago (2004-06-12)
Part of a series on
Homestays
Hospitality exchange services
Hospitality for work
Hospitality for money
Home exchange and others

CouchSurfing is a hospitality exchange service by which users can request free short-term homestays or interact with other people who are interested in travel. It is accessible via a website and mobile app. It uses a subscription business model, and while hosts are not allowed to charge for lodging, members in some countries must pay a fee to access the platform.

History

Conception (1999–2004)

Couchsurfing was conceived by computer programmer and New Hampshire native Casey Fenton in 1999, when he was 21 years old. The idea arose after Fenton found a cheap flight from Boston to Iceland but did not have lodging. Fenton hacked into a database of the University of Iceland and randomly e-mailed 1,500 students asking for a homestay. He received between 50 and 100 offers and chose to stay at the home of an Icelandic rhythm and blues singer. On the return flight to Boston, he came up with the idea to create the website. He registered the couchsurfing.com domain name on 12 June 1999. Fenton was also inspired by a trip he took 2 years earlier to Egypt, where he was shown around by a local.

Couchsurfing International Inc. was formed on 2 April 2003 as a New Hampshire nonprofit corporation, with plans to apply for 501(c)(3) tax exemption.

The website was launched on 12 June 2004 with the cooperation of Dan Hoffer, Sebastien Le Tuan, and Leonardo Silveira.

Development of the website by volunteers (2006–2011)

Lunch at former headquarters in San Francisco

From 2006 until the company raised financing in 2011, development of the website occurred mostly at events called "Couchsurfing Collectives", in which members met to voluntarily improve the website. Collectives took place in Montreal, Vienna, New Zealand, Rotterdam, Costa Rica, Samara, Alaska, Istanbul, and Thailand. However, the collectively-coded website was full of software bugs and crashes were common. Many members believed that the website needed to be redesigned from scratch. The collectives were also hindered by volunteers who just came to party and by tax laws in each jurisdiction.

In June 2006, problems with the website database resulted in much of it being irrevocably lost. Founder Casey Fenton posted online asking for help. A Couchsurfing Collective was underway in Montreal at the time and those in attendance raised $8,000 in donations and committed to recreate the website. In 2007, Google search volume for couchsurfing.org overtook the search volume for Hospitality Club.

Change to a for-profit corporation and financing (2011)

The company applied for 501(c)(3) tax status as a nonprofit organization in November 2007 but tax exempt status was rejected by the Internal Revenue Service in early 2011. The assets then needed to be acquired from the New Hampshire non-profit, which including legal fees, was to cost $1 million. In August 2011, a private for-profit Delaware C corporation, also called Couchsurfing International, Inc., which was formed on 3 May 2011, raised $7.6 million in a first-round financing led by Benchmark Capital and Omidyar Network and acquired the assets of the New Hampshire company. The New Hampshire non-profit company was dissolved on 4 November 2011.

The conversion to a for-profit corporation was objected to by many members since the guiding principles of the original non profit organisation promised that CouchSurfing operates as a nonprofit, a promise that was broken by Fenton and Hoffer. Founder Casey Fenton said he received 1,500 emails in the days after announcing the conversion.

The company was briefly certified as a B corporation (mistakenly labeled as a Benefit corporation in a blog post by Casey Fenton), but that certification was eventually removed.

In August 2012, Couchsurfing received an additional $15 million in funding from an investor group led by General Catalyst Partners, with participation by Menlo Ventures, as well as existing investors Benchmark Capital and Omidyar Network. The additional funding brought the company's total funding raised to $22.6 million. That year, the company launched mobile apps for iOS and Android.

Management turnover (2012–2015)

Tony Espinoza, previously vice president and general manager of social-network games at MTV, was CEO from April 2012 to October 2013. Under his leadership, driven by an aggressive advertising campaign, membership doubled; however, new users were less interested in hosting other travelers and in the "pay it forward" spirit of other members. Tensions between Fenton and Espinoza led to Fenton being fired from the company he founded, although at that time, he kept his seat on the board of directors. The company rented office space in San Francisco. By the end of Espinoza's tenure, the company had depleted half of its financing and laid off 40% of its staff.

Jennifer Billock, CEO of CouchSurfing from October 2013 to October 2015

Jennifer Billock, who had been head of product marketing, then took over as CEO.

New investment (2015)

In 2015, Couchsurfing required additional funding but did not have the metrics to raise a Series C round. Instead, the company received funding from Dugan Katragadda, a branch of Valencia Street Capital, led by Patrick Dugan (born 1980), who previously worked for NetSuite, Piper Jaffray, Palantir Technologies and Practice Fusion, an electronic medical records company. Dugan's investment was large enough to reconstitute the board of directors. Casey Fenton was removed from the board of directors due to differences with management and has since no longer been involved in the day-to-day operations of the company.

In June 2016, the company added a feature to its mobile app called "hangouts" that enables members to quickly meet with other nearby members.

Change to subscription business model (2020)

In May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the company switched to a subscription business model requiring users in some countries to pay a fee to access the platform.

See also

References

  1. ^ Lapowesky, Issie (29 May 2012). "Couchsurfing Dilemma: Going for Profit". Inc.
  2. "Couchsurfing Travel App". App Store (iOS/iPadOS). 22 August 2023.
  3. ^ "Business Information: COUCHSURFING INTERNATIONAL INC". New Hampshire Department of State.
  4. ^ "State of Delaware corporate entity search – enter "couchsurfing"".
  5. ^ Moran, Gwen (9 December 2011). "How CouchSurfing Got its Start, and Landed VC Millions". Entrepreneur.
  6. "bizfile Online". California Secretary of State.
  7. ^ Fedorov, Andrew (15 September 2021). "Paradise lost: The rise and ruin of Couchsurfing.com". Input. Bryan Goldberg.
  8. ^ Ferrarese, Marco (24 June 2020). "Pandemic hits 'couchsurfing' travel bug". Nikkei Asian Review.
  9. ^ Camillo, Angelo A. (17 August 2015). Handbook of Research on Global Hospitality and Tourism Management. IGI Global. ISBN 9781466686076.
  10. "Whois Record for CouchSurfing.com".
  11. Barnett, George A. (7 September 2011). Encyclopedia of Social Networks. SAGE Publications. ISBN 9781506338255.
  12. Arrington, Michael (29 June 2006). "CouchSurfing Deletes Itself, Shuts Down". TechCrunch.
  13. Fenton, Casey (28 June 2006). "Help! - Innodb and MyISAM accidental DROP DATABASE – 112 tables gone forever?". forums.mysql.com.
  14. Rustam Tagiew; Dmitry I. Ignatov; Radhakrishnan Delhibabu (2015). Hospitality Exchange Services as a Source of Spatial and Social Data?. (IEEE) International Conference on Data Mining Workshop (ICDMW). Atlantic City. pp. 1125–1130. doi:10.1109/ICDMW.2015.239.
  15. Longenecker, Justin G.; Petty, J. William; Palich, Leslie E.; Hoy, Frank (15 January 2016). Small Business Management: Launching & Growing Entrepreneurial Ventures. Cengage. ISBN 9781305405745.
  16. ^ Gallagher, Billy (22 August 2012). "CouchSurfing Raises $15 Million Series B From General Catalyst Partners, Menlo Ventures, Others". TechCrunch.
  17. Perlroth, Nicole (24 August 2011). "Non-Profit CouchSurfing Raises Millions In Funding". Forbes.
  18. "CouchSurfing Raises $7.6 Million in Series A From Benchmark Capital and Omidyar Network to Expand Services and Fuel Growth in Cultural Exchange Network" (Press release). PR Newswire. 25 August 2011.
  19. ^ Vivion, Nick (11 October 2013). "CouchSurfing CEO steps down amid layoffs, uncertainty". Phocuswire.
  20. Tweney, Dylan (24 August 2011). "Benchmark plops down $7.6M to make Couchsurfing into a for-profit". VentureBeat.
  21. DeLuca, Matt (30 August 2011). "CouchSurfing Just Closed A $7.6 Million Round Of Funding". Business Insider.
  22. "A New Era For Couchsurfing". Couchsurfing. 24 August 2011.
  23. "Myths and Facts: Couchsurfing's conversion to a B Corp". Couchsurfing. 14 September 2011.
  24. "CouchSurfing becomes a B Corp". American City Business Journals. 27 January 2012.
  25. Baker, Vicky (26 August 2011). "Not-for-profit Couchsurfing becomes a company (with a conscience)". The Guardian.
  26. Graham, Jefferson (12 October 2013). "Couchsurfing your way to a free place to stay". USA Today.
  27. "Office Envy: Inside CouchSurfing's San Francisco workspace". CNBC. 12 February 2016.
  28. Lunden, Ingrid (10 October 2013). "Tony Espinoza Steps Down As CEO Of Couchsurfing, Jennifer Billock Steps Up As Interim As Startup Lays Off Staff, "Doubles Down" On Mobile". TechCrunch.
  29. "Dugan Katragadda, L.P." U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 10 October 2020.
  30. "Patrick Dugan Overview". Morningstar, Inc.
  31. WIRA, NI NYOMAN (23 June 2016). "Couchsurfing to introduce new "hangout" feature". The Jakarta Post.

External links

Sharing economy
Concepts
Social peer-to-peer processes
Companies
Transportation
Hospitality exchange services
Swap and renting

Categories: