CouchSurfing, which recently converted to a “B Corporation”, has chosen to use videos in order to showcase thediversity of its community.

Published: 28 Sep 2011

CouchSurfing, which recently converted to a “B Corporation”, has chosen to use videos in order to showcase the diversity of its community.

The company stresses that CouchSurfing is not just about finding free accommodations around the world but it’s about participating in creating a better world. The company says anyone who’s ever tried to explain CouchSurfing to a non-member knows how hard it can be to get the right message across with just a few words. So in order to combat this, the company is working on new videos focused on hosting, surfing, and safety. And these videos, just like the welcome video, will feature real “CouchSurfers” only.

The company says its video crew will be filming in these cities on the following dates:

• Chiang Mai, Thailand. October 15 – 16

• Sydney, Australia. November 5 – 6

• Istanbul, Turkey. November 19 – 20

B Corporation

From 2004 to mid-2011, CouchSurfing operated as a non-profit organisation.

The company says it is now certified as a B Corporation – B is for benefit. This is a new segment of the economy dedicated to “creating good”. “As a B Corporation, we are legally responsible for advancing our vision of a better world,” explained the company recently.

“We tried hard for many years to be certified as a 501c(3) non-profit, but ultimately the US government didn’t accept that hosting and surfing are charitable activities. We needed to evolve to meet that reality, and B Corp is a model that accomplishes the same support for our mission that we wanted from non-profit status,” wrote CouchSurfing Co-Founder Casey Fenton’s on the company’s site.

“Previously we earned this money through member donations, but as a B Corporation we can no longer accept these,” he shared. “…we will need to find an alternative way of earning money to keep CouchSurfing going….”

(Myths and Facts: CouchSurfing’s conversion to a B Corp).

In one of its reports today, Travelmole.com, referring to the differences between Airbnb.com and Couchsurfing.com, says if one is looking for the lowest cost, back packer type of accommodation, Couchsurfiing.com has it in far greater abundance than Airbnb.com. Free accommodation is another difference.