Servas vs. Couchsurfing: Key Differences

The more I look into Servas, the organization I posted about earlier, the more I like it and the more I see what a good fit this would be for us on our trip. We have now made our application to become members and our interview is Monday evening (June 1st). We'll let you know how it goes.

Here is an article printed from the Servas Canada website. This does an excellent job of explaining some key differences between Servas and The Couchsurfing Project. Our hope is that staying with locals all over the world during our year away will go far in opening the eyes, minds and hearts of our two boys. Speaking for myself, I look forward to a day, way in the future, when I will be retired and jetting all over the world to visit my wanderlust kids. I think that would be great. Anyway, here is the article. Read and enjoy . . .

Paul and Sandi Caplan own and operate a fascinating store, 'Novacks', in London, Ont, selling outdoor, outfitter and travel-related merchandise. Although not (yet) members of Servas, Paul has submitted an article to the Free Press summarizing the differences between Servas and CouchSurfers, a distinction many ‘outsiders’ fail to make. We reproduce most of it here for the reader’s interest and information.

"This article deals with a response to a previous article about "free" accommodation. The local coordinators for Servas were concerned with my statement that the CouchSurfing project was similar to Servas. While there are similarities, both having as their mandate the promotion of tolerance and cultural understanding, it is the differences that distinguish the two.

Servas was founded in 1949 by Bob Luitweiler as a peace movement. It is the desire and intention of Servas to promote peace and understanding between people by providing opportunities for a deeper more personal contact between different cultures. Servas is primarily concerned with the promotion of peace among nations and to this extent Servas International has consultative status as a non-governmental organization with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, with representation at many of the UN’s hubs of activity. The opportunity to host and be hosted is the vehicle used to further the original goal of Servas as a peace movement.

(…) On the other hand CouchSurfing was founded "when Casey Fenton got a cheap ticket to Iceland for a long weekend. With his ticket in hand, there was one problem: he had no place to stay and no desire to book into a hotel for the weekend. So, he came up with the 'brilliant' idea of spamming over 1500 Icelandic students in Reykjavik and asking them if he could crash on one of their couches. After exchanging emails with many of the students, he had several groups of friends offer to show him 'their' Reykjavik. From that point onward, it was all about crashing on exotic couches and cultural exchange. And, thus, the CouchSurfing Project was born."

Initially founded in 2003 to provide "free" accommodation, Couchsurfing has evolved. Its mission statement reads as follows: "CouchSurfing seeks to internationally network people and places, create educational exchanges, raise collective consciousness, spread tolerance, and facilitate cultural understanding." The CouchSurfing website, however, is merely a venue for users to learn about one another and, if they wish, arrange stays with one another. There is no actual membership approved by CouchSurfing. It is a network rather than an organization and as such is not involved in the actual contact between users and therefore, has no control over the conduct of the users.

(To summarize,) the initial intent of Servas and CouchSurfing differs. Servas was founded as a peace movement and that still remains central to the organization. CouchSurfing began when someone wanted an alternative to a hotel and grew to recognize the benefits of cultural openness. Servas, as an organization, takes responsibility for their members by thoroughly interviewing and approving membership. CouchSurfing, as stated, is only a venue for those searching for a "couch" and takes no responsibility for their users. As the oldest hospitality exchange organization, Servas stands on its reputation while the reputation of CouchSurfing is evolving.”

So there you have it. I'm glad I stumbled upon the Servas site in my Internet digging. Should be interesting!

Couchsurfing

A new verb has been born: couchsurfing. When I first heard of this phenomenon last year, I was intrigued. When I tell others about it, they are skeptical at best and repulsed at worst. Couchsurfing is the verb coined to describe a network of people who share free accommodations internationally. The main website is couchsurfing.com. When you peruse this site, you will read somewhat lofty explanations of their mission. The founders discuss ideals of their "Couchsurfing Project" such as creating educational exchanges, raising collective consciousness, spreading tolerance and facilitating cultural understanding. But for the majority of people, I suspect it's mostly about getting free accommodations.

It works like this: you register as a member on the site, offer some level of hospitality to other travellers (ranging from meeting for coffee or to show visitors around, all the way to offering up a room in your home to various vagabonding strangers). And then when you are the traveller in a strange land, you too can search for an available "couch" and make those international connections. I actually like the idea in theory. I think most people would have a far better and more memorable experience of a new country if staying with locals. The biggest stumbling block most people have, including my dear husband, is of course the issue of safety.

Not surprisingly, the site cautions people to use common sense, especially women travelling alone. The Couchsurfing Project has instituted some measures to help reassure people. For instance, members can be "vouched for" as well as "verified". Verification simply means the member has paid a small fee to have their physical address verified. Vouching refers to a testimonial by another couchsurfer who has met you face-to-face and deems you trustworthy.

As of today, the site reports that over 800,000 people from 230 countries are participating in couchsurfing. There are also sub-groups within the couchsurfing community and this is where it gets very interesting. I checked out the "Family Welcome Group" naturally since I reasoned one could probably feel relatively safe if staying with another family. The "RTW" group also caught my eye. But the sub-groups get incredibly specific and bizarre. For example, you can search for a free couch among "vampire lovers', "chocolate lovers", "Calvin & Hobbes" afficiandos, "Harry Potter fans", "vegan raw foodies", "people who don't need drugs or alcohol to have fun", "50+ travellers", "the David Hasselhof appreciation group", "barefooters", "SpongeBob fanatics", "single parents of many children" or how about the "people who enjoy silence" group. Better not mix those last groups together. I'm being a bit facetious. There are also plenty of perfectly normal groups like "engineers without borders" or people wanting to practice a specific language.

When I floated the idea to Ted (in truth I went a bit further and actually created a profile for us), he reacted with something close to horror. No way, no how. Oh well. That's what the delete button is for, right? Still I do hope we are able to connect with families who are native to the countries we'll be visiting, and not just other tourists. I also think it would be good for our kids to have the chance to meet international visitors staying here in our own home from time to time. And a free place to stay once in a while on our trip wouldn't hurt either . . .