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Interview with Dan, Couchsurfing Founder

September 28th, 2008 Posted in Interview

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QUICK poll:

Who’s heard of Couchsurfing?

Who hasn’t?!

Couchsurfing’s one of those terms that I casually namedrop into conversation the way “lol” percolates through the internet. “You’re coming over to crash at my place? Sure couchsurf away!.”

Well we had the chance to chat with one of the founders of Couch Surfing, Dan Hoffer, and here are a few choice words he had to share about their organization. 

Eric: Your formal title is Agent: Dan on the web site. So what do you do?

Dan: Agent Dan? Who told you that?

Eric: Uh… your web site?

Dan: Oh yeah! You can call me that. I also have a corporate title – Chairman and COO.

Eric: Awesome – very official sounding. So Couchsurfing first launched in 2004. How have things changed for the founders and the site since then?

Dan: Couchsurfing’s changed a lot since 2004. The defining moment for modern Couchsurfing came in 2006. We had a hardware failure and we lost all our data in the crash. But the community rallied behind us and helped us recover what we lost so we were able to re-emerge better and stronger!

Eric: Wow – that’s crazy! How did the community help?

Dan: Something like over 2000 people offered their services, including engineers and other technical folk to help us with data recovery. Other people re-entered their profile information. There was a huge outpouring of user support. It was really cool to see.

Eric: Well that says a lot about the loyalty of the Couchsurfing user base! From one fuzzy moment to another – what’s been your best Couchsurfing moment to date, if you can think of one?

Dan: Yeah, I think that would have to be the time I was travelling with my girlfriend in Sicily a few years ago, and we were invited over New Year’s Eve to go dancing on a cruise ship just off the coast of Sicily. It just ended up being one of those perfect nights, and I know that if it weren’t for my Couchsurfing host, I would never have found out about this event or been able to track down tickets.

By default Couchsurfers are a hospitable bunch and they work hard to provide a positive experience for their guest.

Eric: I take it you still Couchsurf. How often do you travel these days?

For business a lot. Couchsurfing I stayed on a couch in Dallas just a month ago.

Eric: So given a choice: Hostels, Hotels, or Couchsurfing?

Dan: Definitely Couchsurfing.

Eric: What no hostels?

Dan: Definitely not. You are meeting travellers, not locals.

Eric: Any idea what’s the longest someone has Couchsurfed without interruption?

Dan: Oh easily several months.

Eric: You say you’ve Couchsurfed in the remote jungles of Borneo. Where are the most remote couches located?

Dan: Oh we have couches all around the world. We even have some in Antarctica.

Eric: We’re convinced as more people travel and the world grows smaller, more people will be interested in reaching out and helping other nations. Do you know if any cool initiatives that were somehow sparked or helped out by Couchsurfing?

Dan: Actually Couchsurfing is launching a program this fall that addresses that. Specifically we are going to connect displaced refuges from natural disasters to temporary accommodations.

Eric: Wow that’s great! Stay tuned guys for this early next year!

Let’s talk about you now. Tell us a random fact about you that you’d like to share

Dan: I was once a tour guide in the Australian Outback.

Eric: How did that happen?

Dan: I was there. I was travelling by myself at the time and found out they needed someone who spoke French. I speak a little French. So I ended up doing guided tours to wealthy French people.

Eric: Well Agent Dan, thanks for taking the time to chat with us!

 

 

 

 

 Not your usual couch!

 Check out couchsurfing.com!

 

 

  

 

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