origins
Back in 1999, a young computer programmer, Casey Fenton, aged 25, booked a cheap flight to Iceland, but had no place to stay!
Refusing to rely on ordinary accommodation, he emailed over 1500 Icelandic students in Reykjavik asking them if they would host him on one of their couches! Lucky man, he got many answers and, those locals were not just offering him a couch, but also the chance to be shown around and see Reykjavik's best areas.
A few years later he managed to transfer his amazing experience both into a non-profit organization and a website, creating one of the most famous examples of the sharing economy!
How and Why are CS Members attracted to the MicroCulture?
Couchsurfers share their happiness with the people they encounter, fostering cultural exchange and mutual respect.
At the end of the customer journey they leave a reference, rating their experience and the WOM word of mouth process starts...
Let's discover 10 main reasons why they do so...why they decide to try and be part of this International MicroCulture:
- OPEN YOUR MIND It makes you question your own choices and leads you to understand that not many things are either good or bad, ok or not, in this world: it's just a matter of perspective!
- SAVE A LOT OF TRAVEL MONEY It is a very convenient system when you travel on a budget. Sleeping costs are typically the biggest expense for travelers!
- DISCOVER MORE than just typical tourist sights!
- MEET THE LOCALS Talking with your hosts, getting to know them will teach you more about the country you traveled to than any tour you might join!
- MAKE NEW FRIENDS EVERYWHERE
- GETTING OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE We are not just talking about sleeping in uncomfortable conditions, but we mean about communicating with someone who doesn’t speak the same language as you!
- TASTE GREAT LOCAL FOOD You will discover more recipes, spices and flavors during your journey than in your entire life before!
- CAPTURE EVERYDAY LIFE ABROAD is priceless and has an unique value; you will be amazed by the diversity of our world and its people. Even in one single country, you can see how there are tons of different lifestyles!
- FORGET ABOUT YOUR MISCONCEPTIONS Getting to know people who live a different lifestyle than yours will also make you question what is generally known, about their country, as conventional wisdom!
- GET THE MEMORIES OF A LIFETIME it's an intense experience!
As of December 2020, 12.015.978 people were registered on the website. 50% of the total subscribers is a man, 44% a women and 6% others. The ratio between the representatives of both genders is given below: 6.007.989 Males, 5.287.030 Females, 720.959 Others! (Fig. 1)
The average age of Couchsurfers is 28 years. The most popular Couchsurfing is among young people aged 18 to 34 – 38 % of the total. People over 50 make up about 2 %. This proves that Couchsurfing is a type of tourism mainly for the younger generation! (Fig. 2)
The largest share of Couchsurfers (71 %) has Higher education (bachelor and master degrees)! (Fig.3)
The Top Couchsurfing destinations are the most famous tourist cities: Paris, London, Berlin, Vienna are in the top ranking. The popularity of the European region among Couchsurfers is due to: favorable geographical location; high level of socio-economic development; political stability; common currency; different types of tourism combination (cognitive, wellness, mountain-skiing and others); accumulation of tourist sites; education, kindness, openness of the hosts, and their willingness to provide everything necessary for a quality rest of their guests! (Fig.4)
Unfortunately the Covid19 Pandemic affected the world economy and in particular CS business (hospitality & travels); things dramatically changed! How does CS makes money and how their marketing strategy looks like today?
Today more than ever CS marketing strategy developed some innovative solutions to stay alive. It's no more only based on Verification Ads, WOM and Buzz Marketing. CS top management came up with 3 interesting marketing campaigns: the Brand Ambassador Program has been refined, the CouchSurfing Store has a new branded sustainable product line, in some countries a Membership Fee is now required and many more Thematic Events are coming up!
MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
I realized that I had just lived in about thirty households, in more than ten countries, over the past 3 years (before Covid19 time). It's an everyday challenge but each one of the individuals I met through CouchSurfing was unique, and so was my stay with any of them. I remember riding motorbikes with my hosts in Spain, Portugal and Greece; cooking for them in Ireland, England and Germany; discovering their favorite spots in Malta or Croatia and talking for hours with them in Mexico and Florida. I believe strongly in the fact that you can learn something from every person you meet along the way. CouchSurfing just speed up this process tremendously, sometimes in the most unexpected ways and that makes me feel incredibly lucky.
I rate Couchsurfing as a 5 stars experience and the perceived quality around me was very high.
One of the best international events I have ever been...
WHAT A CREW ... A TEAM... A DREAM
DELICIOUS LOCAL FOOD MEMORIES
What's next? Future Challenges and New business Projects
WHAT DID I LEARN THAT I DID NOT KNOW BEFORE? The safety and trust focus of this community that -despite Covid19 crisis- is still alive, stronger than ever, making donations and supporting each others. Then, I was surprised by the long term smart vision of his founder that never stopped dreaming big. Persistence and Innovation are the key to be successful!
All of us who are members of CouchSurfing believe in something greater than money, possessions, and status!
REFERENCES:
- https://www.couchsurfing.com/ - Blog
- https://www.travelettes.net/ - Blog and Personal Stories
- https://www.e3s-conferences.org/ - Secondary data and Quantitative data
- https://www.ted.com/ - Marketing concepts
- https://seths.blog/storyoftheweek/ - Popular posts section
Credits:
Created with images by rawpixel.com - "Posting to social stories" • Kittiphan - "Travel and vacation accessories on wooden background" • Tierney - "Statistics with aerial view of city skylines at night"