CouchSurfing

Couchsurfing was conceived by computer programmer and New Hampshire native Casey Fenton in 1999, when he was 21 years old.[1][19][20] 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.[19] 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.[19][21]

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

The website was launched on 12 June 2004[19] with the cooperation of Dan Hoffer, Sebastien Le Tuan, and Leonardo Silveira.[20]

People behind the magic

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.[19] Collectives took place in Montreal, Vienna, New Zealand, Rotterdam, Costa Rica, Samara, Alaska, Istanbul, and Thailand.[19][22] 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.[23]

In June 2006, problems with the website database resulted in much of it being irrevocably lost.[19][24][23] Founder Casey Fenton posted online asking for help.[25] 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.[19] In 2007, Google search volume for couchsurfing.org overtook the search volume for its major competitor Hospitality Club, after the one of Hospitality Club peaked in 2006.[26]

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.[1][27] After researching alternatives, advice from lawyers, the need for additional financial resources, and competition from Airbnb, management decided that the non profit company would sell its assets to a newly founded for-profit corporation.[27][1]

The New Hampshire non-profit Couchsurfing International Inc. was dissolved on 4 November 2011.[3] Its assets were sold to a private for-profit Delaware C corporation, also called Couchsurfing International, Inc., which was formed on 3 May 2011.[4][28][29]

The company was briefly certified as a B corporation, but that certification was eventually removed.[30][1][31][32]

In the August 24, 2011, blog post announcement Casey Fenton confused a B Corporation (certification) with a Benefit corporation, "As a B (Benefit) Corporation, CouchSurfing will be part of a group of innovative businesses that deliver products and services with a commitment to social and environmental responsibility, transparency, fair work conditions, and doing good for the world... CouchSurfing will never make you pay to host and surf."[33] Couchsurfing was not a Benefit Corporation, and Delaware did not permit incorporation as a Benefit corporation until 2013, yet the error received widespread publication.[34][35]

In August 2011, in conjunction with the reorganization to a for-profit corporation, the company raised $7.6 million in a first-round financing led by Benchmark Capital and Omidyar Network.[36][37][38][39]

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.[28]

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.[1] The conversion to a for-profit corporation was objected to by many members.[23][40][41] Founder Casey Fenton said he received 1,500 emails in the days after announcing the conversion.[1]

In 2012, the company launched mobile apps for iOS and Android.[42] In June 2016, the company added a feature called "hangouts" that enables members to quickly meet with other nearby members.[10][43]

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

Co-founder Dan Hoffer served as CEO from 2011[36] to 2012, Tony Espinoza served as CEO from 2012 to 2013,[37] and Jennifer Billock served as CEO from 2013 to 2015.[44] Casey Fenton is no longer involved in the day-to-day operations of the company.[45]

In May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the company instituted a permanent membership fee in some countries. Members who previously paid for "Lifetime Verification," were granted free access until May 2021.[17][46] The implementation of the membership fee led to "widespread anger" and criticism.[47] In 2012, Tony Espinoza had said in an interview: "Even as the site looks for additional revenue streams, the co-founders promise that hosting and surfing will always remain free."[1]