I have been checking out new ideas for travel and cutting travel costs.  I have to admit this one makes me a little nervous.  The name of the site is CouchSurfing.com.  The premise is you sign up for the service and then you are then able to surf for a couch at someone’s home in places all over the world or have people stay at your home.  How much does it cost?  NOTHING!! That’s right it is FREE (my favorite word).  It is recommended that you bring a gift, buy your host dinner, or do some work around the house in exchange for their hospitality.

The site does have some measures to calm the nerves with security.  They have a verification system that proves you live where you say you live via a credit card or bank reference.  This puts you into a “verified level 3 status”.   The site is very focused on social networking and has formed its second form of security from that template.  You can get your verification and then people can vouch for you.  So if someone is a vouched for verified member they are more likely to be trustworthy.  You can only become vouched for by another vouched for member.  The site explains it as a “trust circle”.  This makes a lot of sense and the service has been around for over five years now.  So far there has been only one minor incident in that time frame and there has been one verified child born as a result of a CouchSurfing connection.

This looks like a great idea and the stories around the net are very positive.  If I were still in college I would definitely give this a try and I am tempted to give it a trial run now.  I have a feeling that my wife would not be so adventurous and would sit this one out.