Couch-crashing across the globe

By OLIVIA KOERNIG / Whitefish Pilot

Whitefish local Sabine Brigette balks at the notion that travel is only for those with deep pockets. And she's in good company.

"I really like the idea of being able to travel without being punished with a huge credit card bill," she said. "It doesn't have to feel like this daunting thing."

Couchsurfing.com, an international Web-based social community, flies in the face of traditional hotel-bound globetrotting, proving that world travel is no longer only for the wealthy. Started in 2003, the site today connects more than 500,000 members hailing from 226 nations all over the world. The site allows members to crash at strangers' homes and to open up their own homes to travelers.

"I read about it in Good magazine in January," Brigette said. "It sounded amazing to me. I love to travel, and it sounded like a great way to do it."

A yoga instructor at The Wave, Brigette was headed to a training in Seattle later that month. So she created a profile, shelled out $20 to become a "verified" user and began seeking a suitable couch to surf.

"I found a couple that seemed safe and stayed with them for three nights," she said. "It takes some trust."

Indeed. The Website's tagline, "Participate in creating a better world, one couch at a time," aptly summarizes the philosophy of the average couchsurfer. The idea is that opening one's home and fold-out bed to a complete stranger may involve a bit of opening up one's heart as well — all of which open up the world by bringing people together.

"It's similar to staying with family or going to a hostel," she said. "The point is to really interact."

In February, Brigette welcomed three couchsurfers to sleep on her "couch," which is actually a mattress on the floor of her living room. Her home, a two-bedroom, one-bathroom house, is what Realtors would refer to as "cozy." She shares the home with her seven-year-old daughter Naya, her partner Jay and two dogs. But in spite of "tight quarters," they've managed to find space for the right travelers.

A man from France and a man and a woman from Germany were all guests in Brigette' s home on separate occasions this winter. This summer, she'll host a couple and their infant traveling from Colorado as well as a single woman from San Francisco. But that doesn't mean everyone's welcome.

"I turned down a woman from Virginia," Brigette said. "She didn't seem very friendly."

Brigette's selection criteria includes age, education, interests and other more subtle cues, like how well someone articulates themself.

The Website also provides a rating system comprised of personal vouching and references and a credit card verification process that designates verified members with a green padlock icon, meaning their name and addressed have been confirmed.

"I only chose people with a lot of references," Brigette said. "You have to be responsible for your own safety."

Beyond safety, comfort levels are also to be considered. Since Brigette had already spent time in hostels, couchsurfing seemed a natural progression. Plus, the idea of staying with a local family jibed with Brigette's particular brand of exploring a culture.

"In the past when I traveled, I'd look up at houses and wonder what was going on inside them, and I wanted to be there, too," Sabine said. "When I'm in Italy, I really want to be in Italy, not in a hotel."

Still, while being in homes in Italy provided an authentic experience for Brigette and Naya during their month abroad, they found certain quarters a little too close for comfort. When Brigette found a single mom with a seven-year-old in Bologna, Italy, it seemed like a perfect fit. But the sleeping arrangement left much to be desired. She and Naya slept on the top bunk of the Italian family's only bed in their only bedroom, literally sleeping on top of them.

"I'm pretty flexible, so it was fine," Brigette said. "But it wasn't our favorite."

While in Europe, Brigette and Naya spent 18 of 30 nights couchsurfing during their travels to Austria, Germany, France and Italy. When they did stay in hotels, costs averaged around $100 a night. In addition to saving nearly $2,000, Brigette was able to practice her language skills with their hosts, who even prepared elaborate native cuisine for them.

In Germany, Brigette, a vegetarian for the past 15 years, chose not to offend her hosts and ate the meat-laden dinners they prepared two nights in a row. A third night would have undoubtedly included another compromising meal, had it not been for Naya's assertiveness.

The second night during dinner, Naya blurted out, "My mom doesn't eat meat and she cries sometimes for the animals." Brigette remembers that night as funny and embarrassing, but the next evening's meal was cheese spaetzle.

For Brigette, the encounter epitomizes couchsurfing.

"This sums up what couchsurfing is to me…the interaction and experiencing a bit of someone else's angle on the world," Brigette said. "I think traveling is about opening doors to different perspectives and being humbled a bit."