We have built and continue to expand a platform that works for the whole community. We have talked to a lot of people since the inception of the platform, and put a lot of thought into identifying the main issues with Couchsurfing™. Our goal is to continue to address these issues and create something even better.

We are committed to creating a platform, that is:

• Free for all users forever
• Managed by the community
• Modern and well built, adapting to user needs
• Accessible and safe

We fundamentally believe that a tool like this can enhance the experiences of its users and the communities that use it if we execute and build it correctly.

We are committed on incorporating the best parts from existing hospitality exchange platforms out there. This includes hosting, surfing, messaging, live hangouts, organized events, trip planning, maps, and much more.

Our plan

Here are the core concepts that form the foundation of our platform.

Non-profit structure Governance

We are structured as a non-profit. There is no need for investors. We will explore various revenue models with the community.

Community-first with an improved verification system Governance

We prioritize communities by building them into the foundation of the platform. We open communication channels wherever we can. We have also incorporated an improved verification system to so members can better trust each other.

Member accountability Design

The community is made safer by various accountability measures. When everyone is publicly accountable for their behavior, then the community will be able to filter people detrimental to the community. This is important to make the community safer, especially for women. This is also used to filter freeloaders out of the platform.

An improved review system Design

We want reviews to be more accurate reflections of people, letting members know if others are assets to the community or potentially harmful. In order to make people accountable, negative reviews must be destigmatized. While keeping the system simple, we've introduced features like private feedback and safety sections in our reference flow.

Better host matching Design

We will build a system that encourages a healthy spread of surfers with different hosts in order to make local communities larger and more active. We will also explore methods of pairing surfers and hosts with better personality fits, and give members more flexibility in filtering their searches for other users.

Build it right Technology

Our platform is developer-led, and we prioritize building it well and making it scalable from the start. Having open communication channels with the broader community allows us to prioritize and tackle bugs and other issues.