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词条 CouchSurfing
释义

  1. History

     Conception (1999–2004)   Development of the website by volunteers (2006–2011)    Change to a for-profit corporation and financing (2011)    Criticism from members of the conversion to a for-profit corporation    Launch and development of mobile apps    Management    Membership statistics  

  2. References

  3. External links

{{short description|American hospitality corporation}}{{about|the company|the word|wikt:couch surf{{!}}Wiktionary}}{{Infobox dot-com company
| name = Couchsurfing International Inc.
| logo = Stationary envelopes.png
| company_type = C corporation[1]
| foundation = 2 April 2003 (New Hampshire nonprofit organization)[2]
3 May 2011 (Delaware for-profit corporation)[3][4]
| area_served = Global
| founder = Casey Fenton
Daniel Hoffer
| key_people = Patrick Dugan, CEO & CFO[5]
Matt Cohler, Investor
Casey Fenton, Chairman
| products = Homestay
| services = Hospitality service
Social networking service
| num_employees = 11-50[1]
| url = {{Official URL}}
| alexa = 4,245 ({{as of|2019|03|06}})[2]
| num_users = 15,000,000 users[8]
4,000,000 surfers/year[8]
400,000 active hosts[8]
| launch_date = {{start date and age|2004|06|12}}[3]
}}CouchSurfing is a hospitality and social networking service accessible via a website and mobile app. Members can use the service to arrange homestays, offer lodging and hospitality, and join events such as "Couch Crashes".[4][5]

The platform is a gift economy; hosts are not allowed to charge for lodging.[6] Members set up an online identity, and after leaving comments on their experiences with other members, develop a reputation.[7][8][9] Members can either directly request lodging from other members or post their travel plans publicly and receive offers from other members.[10] However, unless members go through a verification process, which includes a one-time US$60 charge[11] (waived for members who host 4 times per year[12]), they are only able to send messages to 10 other members per week.[13]

History

Conception (1999–2004)

Couchsurfing was conceived by computer programmer and New Hampshire native Casey Fenton in 1999, when he was 21 years old.[1][23][14] 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.[23] 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.[23][15]

Couchsurfing International Inc. was formed on 2 April 2003 as a New Hampshire nonprofit organization.[16]

The website was launched on June 12, 2004[23] with the cooperation of Dan Hoffer, Sebastien Le Tuan, and Leonardo Silveira.[14]

Development of the website by volunteers (2006–2011)

From 2006 until the company raised financing in 2011, development of the website occurred mostly at events called "Couchsurfing Collectives", in which members came together to voluntarily improve the website.[23] Collectives took place in Montreal, Vienna, New Zealand, Rotterdam, Costa Rica, Samara, Alaska, Istanbul, and Thailand.[23][17] However, the collectively-coded website, which was full of software bugs, could not handle the rapid increases in traffic and crashes were common. Many members believed that the website needed to be redesigned from scratch.[18]

In June 2006, problems with the website database resulted in much of it being irrevocably lost.[19][20][18] Founder Casey Fenton posted online asking for help.[21] 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]

Change to a for-profit corporation and financing (2011)

The company applied for status as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in November 2007 but was rejected by the Internal Revenue Service in early 2011.[22][41] Hoffer, in charge of strategic development, then believed that non-profit status was an obstacle to innovation due to the audit and regulatory requirements and that a for-profit corporation was the best structure for the company.[41]

The New Hampshire entity Couchsurfing International Inc. was dissolved on 4 November 2011.[16] Its assets were sold to a for-profit Delaware corporation, also called Couchsurfing International, Inc., which was formed on 3 May 2011.[23][24][46][25]

At first, the company was a certified B Corporation;[22][26] however, it is no longer listed as such.[27]

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.[28][52][29][30]

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.[31]

The company has a burn rate of $2-3 million per year.[56] However, it has been as high as $800,000 per month.[57]

Criticism from members of the conversion to a for-profit corporation

The conversion to a for-profit corporation was objected to by many members.[18][32][33] Founder Casey Fenton said he received 1,500 emails in the days after announcing the conversion.[22] Even though the founders did not receive any cash from the financing,[34] members were opposed to the founders having a valuable ownership interest in an organization that was financed by donations and built using volunteer work.[18][52] The company spent more than $10,000 on a public relations firm to educate its directors on how to respond to the press about the conversion to a for-profit entity. A 3-page letter was sent to over 1,000 volunteers.[22]

Launch and development of mobile apps

In 2012, the company launched mobile apps for iOS and Android.[35] In 2016, the company added a feature called "hangouts" that enables members to quickly meet with other nearby members.[36][37]

Management

Since August 5, 2016, Patrick Dugan has been the CEO, CFO, and Secretary of Couchsurfing International, Inc. As of November 2018, William Francesco Deparis was the Director of Operations.[38] Casey Fenton is no longer involved in the day-to-day operations of the company.[39]

Co-founder Dan Hoffer served as CEO from 2011[28] to 2012, Tony Espinoza served as CEO from 2012 to 2013,[40] and Jennifer Billock served as CEO from 2013 to 2015.[41]

The board of directors of the company includes founder and Chairman Casey Fenton as well as venture capital investors Matt Cohler of Benchmark, Todor Tashev of Omidyar Technology Ventures, and Jonathan Teo of Binary Capital.[42]

Membership statistics

DateMembersRef
June 2004 0 (Launch)
June 2005 6,000 [43]
June 2006 90,000 [20]
March 2007 173,000 [44]
July 2007 240,000 [45]
August 2007 285,000 [46]
September 2007 300,000 [47]
August 2008 600,000 [48]
December 2008 790,000 [49]
March 2009 1,000,000 [50]
August 2009 1,300,000 [51]
January 2011 2,500,000 [52]
August 2011 3,000,000 [32]
April 2012 3,965,492 [8]
October 2013 6,000,000 [35]
October 2014 9,000,000 [53][54]
October 2015 10,000,000 [55]
February 2016 11,000,000 [56]
January 2018 15,000,000, including 400,000 active hosts [57]

In 2017, Dan Fultz, head of support and safety, stated that "Couchsurfing activity certainly dipped between the ‘heyday’ and today".[58]

References

1. ^{{cite web | url=https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/couchsurfing-international | title=Crunchbase: Couchsurfing.com | publisher=TechCrunch}}
2. ^{{cite web | url=https://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/couchsurfing.com | title=Alexa Internet: Couchsurfing.com | publisher=Alexa Internet}}
3. ^{{cite web | url=https://blog.couchsurfing.com/where-are-you-celebrating-international-couchsurfing-day-on-june-12/ | title=Where are you celebrating International Couchsurfing Day on June 12? | date=2 June 2016}}
4. ^{{cite web | url=https://blog.couchsurfing.com/calendar/ | title=Global Couchsurfing Event Calendar | work=Couchsurfing}}
5. ^{{cite web | url=https://support.couchsurfing.org/hc/en-us/articles/200639760-How-do-I-join-an-event- | title=How do I join an event? | work=Couchsurfing}}
6. ^{{cite web | url=https://support.couchsurfing.org/hc/en-us/articles/200639420-I-heard-of-someone-charging-for-a-couch-Is-that-OK- | title=I heard of someone charging for a couch. Is that OK? | work=Couchsurfing}}
7. ^{{cite news | title=Adventures in Couch Surfing: One Sojourner's Truth | url=http://content.time.com/time/travel/article/0,31542,2045092,00.html | first=Cody | last=Kittle | work=Time | date=15 February 2011}}
8. ^1 {{cite news | url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/04/16/youre-welcome | title=You're Welcome | work=The New Yorker | last=Marx | first=Patricia | date=16 April 2012}}
9. ^{{cite news | title=I’ve been couchsurfing nonstop for two months, here’s what I’ve learned about human nature | url=https://matadornetwork.com/life/ive-couchsurfing-nonstop-two-months-heres-ive-learned-human-nature/ | last=Da Costa | first=Celinne | work=Matador Network | date=5 August 2016}}
10. ^{{cite web | url=https://support.couchsurfing.org/hc/en-us/articles/203512760-How-do-I-Create-or-Delete-a-Public-Trip- | title=How do I Create or Delete a Public Trip? | work=Couchsurfing}}
11. ^{{cite web | url=https://support.couchsurfing.org/hc/en-us/articles/214633027-Verification-Payment-Questions | title=Verification Payment Questions | work=Couchsurfing}}
12. ^{{cite web | url=https://support.couchsurfing.org/hc/en-us/articles/231749507-How-can-Hosts-earn-Verified-Membership- | title=How can Hosts earn Verified Membership? | work=Couchsurfing}}
13. ^{{cite web | url=https://blog.couchsurfing.com/product-update-limited-introductions/ | title=Limited Introductions | work=Couchsurfing | date=3 February 2017}}
14. ^1 {{cite news | url=https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/220724 | title=How CouchSurfing Got its Start, and Landed VC Millions | first=Gwen | last=Moran | work=Entrepreneur | date=9 December 2011}}
15. ^{{cite web | url=http://whois.domaintools.com/couchsurfing.com | title=Whois Record for CouchSurfing.com}}
16. ^1 2 {{cite web | url=https://quickstart.sos.nh.gov/online/BusinessInquire/BusinessInformation?businessID=126502 | title=Business Information: COUCHSURFING INTERNATIONAL INC. | publisher=New Hampshire Department of State}}
17. ^{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fCfrCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA190 | title=Encyclopedia of Social Networks | first=George A. | last=Barnett | publisher=SAGE Publications | date=7 September 2011}}
18. ^1 2 3 {{cite news | url=https://gigaom.com/2015/01/10/how-couchsurfing-became-the-friendster-of-the-sharing-economy/ | title=How Couchsurfing became the Friendster of the sharing economy | work=GigaOm | last=DeAmicis | first=Carmel | date=10 January 2015}}
19. ^1 2 3 4 5 6 7 {{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vQx4CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA295 | title=Handbook of Research on Global Hospitality and Tourism Management | first=Angelo A. | last=Camillo | publisher=IGI Global | date=17 August 2015}}
20. ^1 {{cite news | url=https://techcrunch.com/2006/06/29/couchsurfing-deletes-itself-shuts-down/ | title=CouchSurfing Deletes Itself, Shuts Down | work=TechCrunch | last=Arrington | first=Michael | date=29 June 2006}}
21. ^{{cite web | url=https://forums.mysql.com/read.php?28,99328,99328#msg-99328 | first=Casey | last=Fenton | authorlink=Casey Fenton | title=Help! - Innodb and MyISAM accidental DROP DATABASE – 112 tables gone forever? | website=forums.mysql.com | date=28 June 2006}}
22. ^1 2 3 4 5 {{cite news | url=https://www.inc.com/magazine/201206/issie-lapowsky/couchsurfing-new-profit-model.html | title=Couchsurfing Dilemma: Going for Profit | work=Inc. | first=Issie | last=Lapowesky | date=29 May 2012}}
23. ^1 {{cite web | url=https://icis.corp.delaware.gov/Ecorp/EntitySearch/NameSearch.aspx | title=State of Delaware corporate entity search – enter "couchsurfing"}}
24. ^1 {{cite web | url=https://www.bizapedia.com/de/couchsurfing-international-inc.html | title=Bizapedia: Couchsurfing International Inc.}}
25. ^{{cite web | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicoleperlroth/2011/08/24/non-profit-couchsurfing-raises-millions-in-funding/ | title=Non-Profit CouchSurfing Raises Millions In Funding | work=Forbes | first=Nicole | last=Perlroth | date=24 August 2011}}
26. ^{{cite news | url=https://quickbooks.intuit.com/r/money/couchsurfing-ceo-daniel-hoffer-on-become-a-b-corporation/ | title=CouchSurfing CEO Daniel Hoffer on Becoming a B Corporation | work=Intuit | first=Vanessa | last=Richardson}}
27. ^{{cite web | url=https://www.bcorporation.net/ | title=B Corporation}}
28. ^1 {{cite press release | url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110825005488/en/CouchSurfing-Raises-7.6-Million-Series-Benchmark-Capital | title=CouchSurfing Raises $7.6 Million in Series A From Benchmark Capital and Omidyar Network to Expand Services and Fuel Growth in Cultural Exchange Network | publisher=PRNewswire | date=25 August 2011}}
29. ^{{cite news | url=https://venturebeat.com/2011/08/24/benchmark-couchsurfing/ | title=Benchmark plops down $7.6M to make Couchsurfing into a for-profit | first=Dylan | last=Tweney | work=VentureBeat | date=24 August 2011}}
30. ^{{cite news | url=https://www.businessinsider.com/couchsurfing-just-closed-a-76-million-round-of-funding-2011-8 | title=CouchSurfing Just Closed A $7.6 Million Round Of Funding | first=Matt | last=DeLuca | work=Business Insider | date=30 August 2011}}
31. ^1 {{cite web | title=CouchSurfing Raises $15 Million Series B From General Catalyst Partners, Menlo Ventures, Others | url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/08/22/couchsurfing-raises-15-million-series-b-from-general-catalyst-partners-others/ | first=Billy | last=Gallagher | work=TechCrunch | date=22 August 2012}}
32. ^1 {{cite news | url=https://gigaom.com/2011/09/01/after-going-for-profit-couchsurfing-faces-user-revolt/ | title=After going for-profit, CouchSurfing faces user revolt | first=Bobbie | last=Johnson | work=GigaOm | date=1 September 2011}}
33. ^{{cite news | url=http://techpresident.com/news/24498/couchsurfing2 | title=How to Lose Funds and Infuriate Users: Couchsurfing, a Cautionary Tale From the Sharing Economy | first=Sam | last=Roudman | work=techPresident | date=7 November 2013}}
34. ^{{cite web | title=Myths and Facts: Couchsurfing’s conversion to a B Corp | url=https://blog.couchsurfing.com/myths-and-facts-couchsurfings-conversion-to-a-b-corp/ | work=Couchsurfing | date=14 September 2011}}
35. ^1 {{cite news | title=Couchsurfing your way to a free place to stay | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/talkingtech/2013/10/12/talking-tech-couchsurfing/2959867/ | first=Jefferson | last=Graham | work=USA Today | date=12 October 2013}}
36. ^{{cite web | url=https://blog.couchsurfing.com/product-update-make-a-new-friend-with-couchsurfing-hangouts/ | title=Product Update: Make a new friend with Couchsurfing Hangouts! | work=Couchsurfing | date=28 June 2016}}
37. ^{{cite news | title=A little-known travel app that is Airbnb-meets-Tinder helped me have the wildest night in Tokyo partying until sunrise | url=https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-use-couchsurfing-app-to-meet-locals-traveling-2018-1/ | first=Harrison | last=Jacobs | work=Business Insider | date=17 January 2018}}
38. ^1 {{cite web | url=https://businesssearch.sos.ca.gov/CBS/SearchResults?SearchType=CORP&SearchCriteria=couchsurfing&SearchSubType=Keyword | title=Business Search – Results | publisher=California Secretary of State}}
39. ^1 {{cite news | url=https://foundr.com/casey-fenton/ | title=112: The Crazy Origin Story of Sharing Economy Pioneer Couchsurfing.com with Casey Fenton | first=Nathan | last=Chan | work=Foundr | date=15 May 2018}}
40. ^1 2 {{cite news | title=CouchSurfing CEO steps down amid layoffs, uncertainty | url=https://www.tnooz.com/article/couchsurfing-ceo-steps-amid-layoffs-uncertainty/ | work=Tnooz | first=Nick | last=Vivion | date=11 October 2013}}
41. ^1 {{cite news | url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/10/10/tony-espinoza-steps-down-as-ceo-of-couchsurfing-jen-billock-steps-up-as-interim-as-startup-lays-off-staff-doubles-down-on-mobile/ | title=Tony Espinoza Steps Down As CEO Of Couchsurfing, Jennifer Billock Steps Up As Interim As Startup Lays Off Staff, "Doubles Down" On Mobile | first=Ingrid | last=Lunden | work=TechCrunch | date=10 October 2013}}
42. ^{{cite web | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/board.asp?privcapId=117862592 | title=Company Overview of CouchSurfing International Inc. | publisher=Bloomberg L.P.}}
43. ^1 2 {{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WyBTCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT684 | title=Small Business Management: Launching & Growing Entrepreneurial Ventures | first1=Justin G. | last1=Longenecker | first2=J. William | last2=Petty | first3=Leslie E. | last3=Palich | first4=Frank | last4=Hoy | publisher=Cengage | date=January 15, 2016}}
44. ^{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/09/AR2007030900715.html | title=Divan Intervention | first=Terry | last=Ward | work=The Washington Post | date=11 March 2007}}
45. ^{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/737870/Couch-surfing-around-the-world.html | title=Couch surfing around the world | work=The Daily Telegraph | date=30 July 2007}}
46. ^{{cite news | url=http://archive.boston.com/yourlife/articles/2007/08/22/take_the_couch/ | title=Take the couch | first=Jeff | last=Miranda | work=The Boston Globe | date=22 August 2007}}
47. ^{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/20/garden/20couch.html | title=Surfing the World Wide Couch | first=Penelope | last=Green | work=The New York Times | date=20 September 2007}}{{subscription required}}
48. ^{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/hubs/gapyear/2551532/Couch-surfing-going-it-alone.html | title=Couch-surfing: going it alone | first=Daniel | last=Thomas | work=The Daily Telegraph | date=14 August 2008}}
49. ^{{cite news | url=https://www.nj.com/insidejersey/2008/12/catch_a_wave.html | title=Catch a Wave: Giving CouchSurfing a Chance | first=Jennifer | last=Weiss | work=NJ.com | date=19 December 2008}}
50. ^{{cite news | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E0DC123DF931A25757C0A96F9C8B63 | title=FRUGAL TRAVELER; 3 Cushions, a Million Guests | first=Matt | last=Gross | work=The New York Times | date=12 April 2009}}
51. ^{{cite news | url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/news/story/2009/aug/01/couch-surfing-the-usa/229074/ | title=Couch surfing the USA | first=Brittney | last=McKenna | work=Chattanooga Times Free Press | date=1 August 2009}}
52. ^{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2011/jan/22/budget-travel-stay-with-locals | title=How to stay with a local | first=Vicky | last=Baker | work=The Guardian | date=22 January 2011}}
53. ^{{cite news | url=https://www.bizjournals.com/bizwomen/news/profiles-strategies/2014/10/shes-trying-to-turn-couchsurfing-into-a-profitable.html?page=all | title=She's trying to turn Couchsurfing into a profitable business. And she's got her hands full | first=Hilary | last=Burns | work=American City Business Journals | date=22 October 2014}}
54. ^{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/Couchsurfing-would-you-sleep-with-a-stranger/ | title=Couchsurfing: would you sleep with a stranger? | first=Harriet | last=Line | work=The Daily Telegraph | date=21 August 2014}}
55. ^{{cite news | url=https://www.businessinsider.com/best-apps-for-traveling-and-working-around-the-world-2015-10 | title=Best traveling-and-working apps | first=Nathan | last=McAlone | work=Business Insider | date=13 October 2015}}
56. ^{{cite news | url=https://www.cnbc.com/2016/02/12/couchsurfings-awesome-sf-workspace.html | title=Office Envy: Inside CouchSurfing's San Francisco workspace | first=Uptin | last=Saiidi | work=CNBC | date=12 February 2016}}
57. ^1 2 3 {{cite news | url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/money/deal-watch-budget-travel-bjvh3nhgq | title=Deal watch: budget travel | first=Isabel | last=van Brugen | work=The Times | date=13 January 2018}}
58. ^{{cite news | url=https://www.dailydot.com/debug/new-couchsurfing/ | title=Why hasn’t there been a new Couchsurfing? | first=Nithin | last=Coca | work=The Daily Dot | date=13 October 2017}}

External links

{{Wiktionary|couch surf}}
  • {{Commons category-inline}}
{{Commons category|Couchsurfing}}
  • {{Official website|https://www.couchsurfing.com/}}
{{Sharing economy}}{{Hospitality service}}{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2011}}

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