Couch surfing again?

Published Aug 22 2007, 04:16 PM by Caitlin E. Curran

On the front page of today's Globe, there's a piece about CouchSurfing.com, a site that allows travelers to a) network, and b) find free places to crash (that's not a bus station floor or a park bench) in a plethora of cities and countries. From the article:

"Hosts offer the use of their couches, bathrooms, kitchens, and spare beds. They sometimes provide meals and even the use of their cars. They give their guests tips about local attractions and often show them around. Still, CouchSurfers end up doing much exploring on their own, since most hosts have jobs and other commitments.

CouchSurfing.com tracks the number of registered users and how many cities are represented, but it also follows the connections and friendships that have been forged. According to its website, nearly 240,000 friendships have been created so far among more than 285,000 registered users. At the end of each stay, surfers and hosts are asked to evaluate their experiences. Jesse Fenton's brother Casey, a New Hampshire resident who founded CouchSurfing.com with three friends in 2004, said 98.8 percent of users have rated their experience a positive one."

Sounds pretty cool, right? But wait a minute, this article feels kinda déjà vu-ish. If the site was founded in 2004, as the article says, why did the Globe wait so long to cover it? Well, they didn't. From a 2005 Travel section piece:

"In April, I was planning a six-day stopover in Iceland on a budget so tight I could have lost my money belt between the pages of my Rough Guide. The youth hostel in Reykjavik was booked solid. To avoid a pricey hotel room, I decided to try free accommodation through a hospitality exchange club like Couchsurfing.com.

Here's how it works: Anyone can create a free online profile that describes themselves, where they live, and whether they have a couch to offer other surfers. Travelers can search for hosts in the places they want to visit. E-mails are exchanged and plans are made, as long as both parties -- host and surfer -- are comfortable with the arrangement.

'Ultimately, couch surfing is becoming a brokerage for adventure,' says Couchsurfing.com founder Casey Fenton, from Conway, N.H., where Couchsurfing is based. 'We're not just a place to stay for the night. We're here to create memories, have cultural exchanges, perhaps make friends and stories to tell your grandkids.'"

Rehashed couch surfing coverage? What's up with that?