Trustroots Wiki - User contributions [en]

BeWelcome

2011-09-04T18:39:03Z

Robino:

[[Image:BeWelcome_Logo.jpg‎|thumb|The logo of BeWelcome|300px]]

'''Be Welcome''' is a project aiming to connect people from all over the world through [[hospitality exchange]] and to allow them to learn about other cultures, countries and traditions. It was founded in 2006 by volunteers of [[Hospitality Club]] who experienced the limits of decision making, transparency and legal structure within the management of HC.
Thus an official NGO was founded in July 2006. First called HCvol it's final name is BeVolunteer.org.

The first beta website of the project BeWelcome was launched in February 2007. A second upgrade was carried through at the end of June 2007, the third and actual Version was introduced in the beginning of December 2007. In 2007 various volunteers of [[CouchSurfing]], spreading "Open CS" also joined the volunteers network.

Check http://www.bewelcome.org

== Why use BeWelcome? ==

BeWelcome has a few nice things to point out:
* A good reply rate to accomodation requests (afaik)
* A quite responsive community of volunteers
* Openness for ideas from the community.
* If you like the interface, that's one more point. If you don't, well, then not.

Why would someone not use BeWelcome?
* not as many members as some other networks. You don't get that many requests, and you don't have that much choice in small places.

==History==
See [[History of BeWelcome]]

== Philosophy ==
See [[Philosophy of BeWelcome]]

== Promotion kit ==
* an A4-BeWelcome poster to put to the walls ([[Media:Bwpromo4.jpg|pdf]])

==References==

The Software which runs BeWelcome[http://sourceforge.net/projects/bw-rox/]

Article on BeWelcome [http://www.idealist.org/en/org/166947-211]

Wikitravel about BeWelcome [http://wikitravel.org/en/Hospitality_exchange#BeWelcome]

Canvi article about BeWelcome (Catalan) [http://www.cambio16.info/canvi/pdf/107.pdf]

Indymedia article about Media and BeWelcome [http://de.indymedia.org/2007/11/198280.shtml]

more ?

----
:''From http://www.hospitalityguide.net/hg/wiki/index.php?title=BeWelcome&action=edit&oldid=5616''
{{Hospitality service}}

[[Category:Bewelcome]]

Category:Couchsurfing

2011-09-04T18:38:43Z

Robino: Created page with 'Category:Hospitality_exchange_networks'

[[Category:Hospitality_exchange_networks]]

Couchsurfing

2011-09-04T18:38:09Z

Robino:

As of 2009 '''CouchSurfing''' is the biggest [[hospitality exchange]] network.

== Data backup ==

* [http://wiki.couchsurfing.org/en/File:Backup_messages.sh backup_messages.sh]: UNIX shell script for making a backup of a user's CouchSurfing messages. See the top of the script for usage instructions.

==B Corp==
August 25th 2011 it was announced CS turned into a B-corp. Some more info:

* [[faq-cs-bcorp]]

{{stub}}
[[Category:Hospitality exchange networks]]
[[category:Couchsurfing]]

FAQ about CS B corporation

2011-09-04T18:37:34Z

Robino: Category:Couchsurfing

==“CS belongs to Casey, he can do whatever he wants with it!”==

If you are saying this it’s probably because you don’t know the history of CS. Yes, it was Casey’s idea (but not an original one, since “hospitality exchange” organizations existed long before he was born), but the execution of this idea is due to hundreds of volunteers who developed the code, who were always suggesting and adding new features, who were translating texts, etc. So, in fact, the CS site is what it is today thanks to volunteers and their work. And the fact is that they willingly contributed trusting they were donating their time and work to the community, to a non-profit organization which was a registered charity in the state of New Hampshire, and which had applied for official charity status with the USA tax authorities; and these volunteers were people like you, who used the site, who hosted people, attended meeting, made many friends, etc., not a kind of staff team who worked and was paid as employees. So it’s not true that the structure of CS belongs to Casey, actually, we believe that the structure belongs to the community which created and developed it.

==“OK, but nothing has changed until now, why don’t you wait and see what will happen? Maybe the site will continue to be totally free and get even better!”==

Though we think this is very implausible, the matter is that even if this were true and the site continued to be totally free, got better, etc, we still wouldn’t regret not being here anymore. Because the problem is that we don’t think that what has been done is ethical. So, we don’t want to be part of it anymore, we don’t want to support people we can no longer trust, people who fooled us, pretending to build a non-profit project and turning it into a corporation to make money out of it. Actually, even if for us, members of CS, there was (for the moment) no great change in the everyday practice, a lot have changed ideologically: now, instead of being a true community, we are all customers/consumers of a service sold by “Couch Surfing International, Inc.”
Like one said: “when it comes to corporate social networks, if you're not paying for something, you're not the customer; you're the product being sold.” And we don’t want it, and that’s why we are no longer offering our couches and hospitality so that a for-profit organization can sell them to customers for verification fees and as premium services, pocketing the bulk of the money and graciously donating a miniscule part to look “socially responsible”. We don’t want people making profits from the generosity of hosts and travelers. Especially, not these people in charge of CS now, people who appropriated the work of hundreds, thousands, of volunteers to themselves. Something which is not only ethically incorrect, but maybe even illegal, since one cannot appropriate the goods of a non-profit organization.

So the problem is not that we are against people getting rich or against corporations in general (even if for some of us that is true), but to the way that CS became a for-profit corporation, namely, stealing the goods of a non-profit organization.

==“But there was no other option other” or “becoming a B-corporation was the best option.”==

Well, the first sentence is not true. There were many options: shutting down CS in New Hampshire and reopening it in another place or country being the most obvious one, and that doesn’t even imply that the CS staff would need to be relocated, moving the legal structure would be enough (more about this “we did our best, there was no other alternative, we were forced to do it etc., in the item 5). The second sentence involves a question of value, and so it’s not absolute: best for whom? Best to achieve which goals? Certainly, it was not the best solution COMPATIBLE with the old CS principles (what is clear, since it forced CS to change its nature, from a non-profit organization to a real corporation).

==“OK, but Casey said that if CS quit New Hampshire, the state would reclaim 1 million dollars”==

Casey is not telling the whole story, so we have to speculate: first of all, it’s not true that a non-profit organization needs to pay to close. What they have to do is give their assets to another charity or to the government. So, this statement would only be true if CS had 1 million dollars in assets, which is unlikely especially because Casey had taken the precaution not to list the member database among the assets when he incorporated CouchSurfing International Inc. in 2003. Another possibility is that this 1 million dollars is how much money CS was owing to the government in taxes. For when it was denied the federal non-profit status (the now famous 501c3), it had to pay retroactively the taxes of the past years. But this debt is not dependent on what happens to the organization.

==“But they tried to continue to be a non-profit organization, but the US government didn’t approve it!”==

In fact what the US government denied was the tax exemption, CS could continue to be a non-profit organization, though it would need to pay taxes. But more important, there are also many doubts if Casey really wanted to obtain this status, since doing it would mean passing the point of no return, that is, if this status was obtained, CS couldn't t be sold anymore. Casey also said that CS was something that was too revolutionary, and use this an excuse of the refusal by the US government, but at the same time [[Servas]], another hospitality service obtained this status (and its complete application is public by law, and can consulted by anyone). And too many mistakes were made throughout the application and review period, which makes us suspicious. But, in order to be sure of this matter, we would need:

*to see the refusal letter from the IRS (the U.S. government agency responsible for approving or denying the non-profit status at the federal level) which states the motives of the refusal. But we know for example that one cannot be at the same time president and CEO of the organization (as was Casey) to obtain the 501c3 status.
*to know why every year the tax returns were filed late, which isn’t helpful in obtaining a favorable decision from the IRS.
*why the proportion of spending on what could be considered programs in line with the claimed charitable cause was so low.

We can see that there are some indications that he didn’t try too hard to obtain this status, what makes us think if that was really his goal, and not only to have more time to make CS grow and sell it for a higher price.

[[Category:Couchsurfing]]

FAQ about CS B corporation

2011-09-04T18:33:48Z

Robino: Created page with '==“CS belongs to Casey, he can do whatever he wants with it!”== If you are saying this it’s probably because you don’t know the history of CS. Yes, it was Casey’s idea…'

Couchsurfing

2011-09-04T18:32:26Z

Robino:

Veit Response CS Goes Corporate

2011-08-26T21:30:23Z

Robino: Created page with 'The following is a message send by Veit from Hospitality Club to the worldwide community to explain his relationship with and thoughts about Casey. It was published …'

The following is a message send by [[Veit]] from [[Hospitality Club]] to the worldwide community to explain his relationship with and thoughts about [[Casey]].

It was published at the Hospitality Club wiki [http://volunteerwiki.hospitalityclub.org/couchsurfing-for-profit-business-now here] on the 26th of August 2011 and reposted here for our [[collective memory]].

==CS becoming a for-profit business: A message from Hospitality Club Founder Veit==

With yesterday's news of CouchSurfing raising $7.6 Million from venture capitalists, one of the worst nightmares of many people who love the idea of hospitality exchange has come true. The network with most members now is a business corporation that wants to profit from hosts opening their homes and welcoming people. This is not what my dream was about.

When in 2000 I had the idea for a hospitality network on the internet with profiles, photos, comments, message systems which became Hospitality Club, I dreamt of a future where millions of people would exchange hospitality, make friends all over the world, enhance intercultural understanding and in the long run make the world more peaceful. Even though I studied at Germany's best business school with a very strong history of doing startups and making money with them, it was clear for me that HC would never be about money. I wanted to spread the idea and build a community without introducing any money-making ideas. It was never about the money for us (I have received offers to sell HC, but this was always out of the question). It's just not right to encourage people to open their homes to strangers and then try to become rich doing so. If people start seeing the wonderful concept of hospitality exchange as a business, the idea will die a long, nasty, painful death.

===Hospitality Club will never become a for-profit business===

We will not let this happen. So here is my vow for you: Hospitality Club will never become a for-profit business. It was never planned and after today's feeling of getting sick to the stomach, this feeling is even stronger. We will continue to build on the strengths of our community of selfless giving, without ever trying to exploit it (contrary to CS who have ripped off especially new inexperienced members with their verification scam for years).

And the time has come for some clear words. So here are some of my personal thoughts and experiences with CS. When I first discovered the site in 2004 I was intrigued - the design was funny (surfboards) but good, the name silly (or so I thought…it's not about the couch, you know). I contacted Casey (CS Founder) and proposed we work together on one global project rather than building competing ones. He had skills I didnt have (he is a programmer!), and I thought I had a better feeling for the hospitality exchange community, having been active in it for 8 years already at that time and having built the largest organization (we were until 3 years ago).

===CS was never about intercultural understanding and peace===

An interesting email exchange developed. In the end Casey didn't want to join forces because he claimed that our “goals” didn't align - for him it was NOT, and I repeat this, it was NOT about intercultural understanding and peace. In fact, Casey specifically quoted these goals from our front page and said that we differed there. I have never published these emails, and probably never will because they were a private exchange. But with yesterday's news of CS trying to make a business out of hospitality exchange it's imperative for the community to know how this could happen. This is important. So again: from the very beginning, CouchSurfing was NOT about intercultural understanding and peace. Only in later years would they copy some of our ideas, start claiming to “make the world a better place one couch at a time”, change their domain from .com to .org, when they realized that in our idealistic community it IS important why we do this. I would not have spent 14 years of my life building a hospitality exchange organization if I didn't believe in this idea, most volunteers would not help out just to get others a free place to crash, and they certainly don't want to do this to make someone rich. We share a common belief. Casey does not have this belief.

Soon people started using Hospitality Club to promote the new cool site. We had always filtered messages between members for spam, out of the fear that spam could kill all trust in the network and started treating CS promotion messages as spam. A decision that haunts us to this day, since this was seen by some in the community as censorship. I also was wrong about the name - it IS catchy and especially the media loved it, giving CS an advantage over our a bit clumsy Hospitality Club ;-)

===First betrayal of the community: the “crash”===

In 2005 I met Casey when he showed up at one of our Hospitality Club Camps. We had some nice chats, smoked a clove cigarette or two together. He is a smooth talker. We kept in touch a bit over the next year, and then in 2006 Casey decided to shut down CS after a database crash. Here's a quote from his famous goodbye message: “I have devoted the last three years of my life to CouchSurfing. I have literally poured every cent I have into the site. I've sacrificed my health, my time, and my own ability to travel and meet people. In many ways I've put my life and wanderlust on hold to build this network. I'm not complaining; it's been a fantastic ride. As devastating as it is to consider, it looks like the ride is over. ”

What struck me as very odd quickly was the fact that there was no outcry from the most involved CS volunteers (“ambassadors”), many of whom I had been in touch with. I knew that if I had done the same thing and said: “oh, I want to travel again, so I'll shut HC down”, I would have had to hide quickly, so that our awesome volunteers who had dedicated so much time to the project would not find and lynch me. This didn't happen on CS - there was an outcry from the community, yes, but not from the inner circle. To us, they just shrugged their shoulders and basically said: “well, if Casey feels that way, it's his choice”. This just didnt make sense, and to this date doesn't - the crash was used so members would start donating (the database drop most likely happened, and Casey then saw it as a golden opportunity to bring attention and money to the site). CS' marketing has always been better than ours.

Thousands of Couchsurfers were stranded, so we immediately kicked into high gear, trying to help them out, finding them hosts through HC or getting them in touch with their original hosts and quickly set up mailing lists. But one of the worst actions I have ever seen in the hospitality exchange scene came after CS changed their front page from the sobbing goodbye-message to something claiming to help their stranded members: they gave them a couple of emergency links. Not to Hospitality Club, where a lot of them could have found actual help and the hosts they were looking for. No. To hotels.com and hostels.com. This was the breaking point for me. If I had ever shut down Hospitality Club for whatever reason, I would OF COURSE have sent all our members with a personal message over to CouchSurfing. No matter how big the differences or little quabbles between friendly competitors were, this would have been the only thing to do. I was shocked that CS didn't do that - it showed that they didn't give a rat's ass about the idea of hospitality exchange.

I also had a chat with Casey a few days later after they started to regroup, which I'd love to publish because it's rather disgusting. After that I had not much interest in talking to him anymore - I had learned my lesson. Casey Fenton is not an honest person.

Everything that happened in later years can be read up on plenty of other websites, the juggling around with the non-profit status, and lots of other issues with CS, no need for me to add something else here. What pisses me off personally is that they still put “1999-2011” in the footer of every page, so on an almost constant basis I have to answer the question who is older - CS (which actually went live in 2004) or HC (2000). Sigh.

===Big plans for HC: going Open Source===

Which leads us over to HC: yes, we screwed up. We should have moved faster, addressed criticism more head on, and most important of all, improved the site. We got entangled in internal struggles commonly found in volunteer-only organizations, and we were lazy. Also, I'm not a programmer. However, we never died, HC has always been alive, the basic functionality is working, even if it's not as flashy as on CS. And we have big plans…

Already in 2007 we decided to go open source and release our code. The project stalled until late last year, because our programmers had decided to patch the current code and then release it - something that unfortunately never happened (understandably, the code apparently is a mess now, and it's very difficult to try to improve or change things for new programmers).

Late last year we finally took the decision to abandon those efforts and concentrate on developing an entirely new site based on new open source code. By chance I was hosted by Ariel in Buenos Aires in January, he had been offering his help for the last 8 years, and he took up the idea of our new open source site and started coding our new site. We are starting to involve other programmers in the effort now - if you would like to help, please get in touch with me: veit@hospitalityclub.org. We plan to release the new site this year and then together with you will build the best hospitality exchange website this planet has ever seen.

There is so much wrong with the decision CS took. They essentially did not have the moral right to sell (part of) the site to venture capitalists. It was built on many volunteer shoulders, who rightfully feel deceived now. I might not be the best leader of a volunteer project, but this is something that would not have occured to me in my dreams. It's disgusting. Venture capitalists don't invest into something because they are nice people - they want to get this money back, from you, the community! CS already made millions with the verification scam, what is next?

===Do you still believe in hospitality exchange?===

We welcome any couchsurfers who still believe in the idea of hospitality exchange as one global community and not as a big business. You will feel at home in HC, I'm sure - even if the site is not up to par at the moment (I have personally always hosted couchsurfers and will continue to do so until I can't bear the thought anymore that I'll be supporting a company that has turned our wonderful hospitality exchange world into a business). And to all loyal Hospitality Club members: thank you for sticking around, we are sorry that we let you wait for so long for improvements, please help us get back on track. Together we CAN build something that all the venture capital in the world can't buy.

And most importantly: keep hosting and visiting members, make friends! It's not about the couch.

Warm Greetings from Dresden, Germany,

Veit

SHE

2011-03-25T12:32:11Z

Robino: /* Background */

'''She''' stands for a concept called Sustainable Hospitality Exchange.

* SHE is an idea that is shared by many. It is not just about hospitality exchange but also about how it is facilitated, both on a personal, a communal and on a network level. At the core of SHE is the praxis of sharing. Keywords are: trust, interconnectivity, caring, sharing, passion, meaning.
* SHE is also a concept. Its idea is to help making hospitality exchange sustainable, i.e. it is generated by itself. It is a concept to help foster debate about the meaning of hospitality exchange.
* SHE is also Open Space Conference to share experiences, knowledge and ideas about Sustainable Hospitality Exchange. Open Space meetings create time and space for participants to engage deeply and creatively around issues that concern them. The agenda is set by the participants who bring forward topics they would like to learn more about or discuss.

A She conference [http://www.bevolunteer.org/wiki/Category:SHE took place] in June 2008 in Amsterdam. A second She meeting [http://sharewiki.org/en/she_goes_mad takes place] in Berlin, November 2009.

==Background==
SHE is a concept. Its idea is to help making hospitality exchange sustainable, i.e. it is generated by itself, through the conditions it shapes.

Hospitality Exchange is the process of interaction between host and guest, possibly facilitated by transparent trust networks. How can these networks best be implemented to facilitate sharing nicely among 'strangers'. Plus, how sustainable are these networks?

What do we mean with sustainability? Sustainable can mean different things. First of all the concept of endurance, future existence and continuity. It also includes respect towards surroundings, environment, members, society etc.

One of the methods to discuss the concept of She is to create an [[Open Space]] conference to share experiences, knowledge and ideas about sustainable hospitality exchange. Open Space technology meetings create time and space for people to engage deeply and creatively around issues that concern them. The agenda is set by the participants who bring forward topics they would like to learn more about or discuss.

==See also==
* http://sharewiki.org/en/she

SHE

2011-03-25T12:31:46Z

Robino:

'''She''' stands for a concept called Sustainable Hospitality Exchange.

* SHE is an idea that is shared by many. It is not just about hospitality exchange but also about how it is facilitated, both on a personal, a communal and on a network level. At the core of SHE is the praxis of sharing. Keywords are: trust, interconnectivity, caring, sharing, passion, meaning.
* SHE is also a concept. Its idea is to help making hospitality exchange sustainable, i.e. it is generated by itself. It is a concept to help foster debate about the meaning of hospitality exchange.
* SHE is also Open Space Conference to share experiences, knowledge and ideas about Sustainable Hospitality Exchange. Open Space meetings create time and space for participants to engage deeply and creatively around issues that concern them. The agenda is set by the participants who bring forward topics they would like to learn more about or discuss.

A She conference [http://www.bevolunteer.org/wiki/Category:SHE took place] in June 2008 in Amsterdam. A second She meeting [http://sharewiki.org/en/she_goes_mad takes place] in Berlin, November 2009.

==Background==
SHE is a concept. Its idea is to help making hospitality exchange sustainable, i.e. it is generated by itself, through the conditions it shapes.

Hospitality Exchange is the process of interaction between host and guest, possibly facilitated by transparent trust networks. How can these networks best be implemented to facilitate sharing nicely among 'strangers'. Plus, how sustainable are these networks?

What do we mean with sustainability? Sustainable can mean different things. First of all the concept of endurance, future existence and continuity. It also includes respect towards surroundings, environment, members, society etc. (read more).

One of the methods to discuss the concept of She is to create an Open Space conference to share experiences, knowledge and ideas about sustainable hospitality exchange. Open Space technology meetings create time and space for people to engage deeply and creatively around issues that concern them. The agenda is set by the participants who bring forward topics they would like to learn more about or discuss.

==See also==
* http://sharewiki.org/en/she

File:Casa Couch.jpg

2010-07-05T11:47:32Z

Robino:

Casa Merode

2010-07-05T11:46:49Z

Robino: updated

== Casa Merode ==
Casa Merode is a student house in the south center of [[Tilburg]], in the [[Netherlands]]. Since September 2009 there it has 5 inhabitants, all of them CouchSurfers. This makes the house 100% CouchSurf-friendly.
It's easily accessible on foot or public transport from the city center and main railroad station and even has lots of parking space around.

== CouchSurfing at Casa Merode ==
[[File:Casa_Couch.jpg|left|160px|official (public) couch of Casa Merode]]Casa Merode has it's own [http://www.couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=22894 CS-group], as a subgroup of the [http://www.couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=5526 Tilburg-group].
You could either request by writing a request to one of the house members (which are all addressed as 'moderator' in the Casa Merode group) or simply join the CS-group and write an (open) request.

Casa Merode has approximately 10 'couches' open to surf. In the communal living room there are two mattresses and the blue couch. In the other (private) rooms more mattresses or sleeping-space can be found. If necessary the garden provides enough space for a small tent.

So far Casa Merode had visitors from the following countries:
* Austria
* Belgium
* Canada
* England
* Estonia
* Finland
* France
* Germany
* Greece
* Italy
* Norway
* Poland
* Russia
* Spain
* Sweden
* Turkey
* United States

== Values ==
In Casa Merode there are some values which are highly appreciated.
=== Love ===
The members of Casa Merode think that love is one of the most important things in life. You can love anyone at any time, and as much as you want.

=== Vegetarianism ===
Most members of Casa Merode don't eat meat, some eat meat rarely. Casa Merode only cooks communal dinners without meat. There are many different reasons for not eating meat. However, it does not mean that you can't come if you're a carnivore.

=== Sustainability ===
The world is creating many problems for the future. The most effective remedy is sustainability.
Casa Merode tries to focus on sustainability. Some examples:
* Green energy (electricity is generated in the Netherlands via sun, wind and water)
* Composting barrel in the backyard
* Vegetables in the backyard
* Use of biodegradable cleaning and washing products
* Organic and vegetarian dinners
* Lots of second hand stuff

=== Tolerance and respect ===
Casa Merode is a highly tolerant house. People are never being judged on who they are or what ideas they have, though some actions (like violence) are not being tolerated.

=== Coffee ===
Well, not much of a value, but the fact is that Casa Merode drinks around 750 grams of coffee a week!
The house can make coffee in at least 4 different ways, and there is a manual grinder to grind the beans. Fresh coffee, always!

== Events ==
* Regular game evenings
* Merode cinema (great documentaries and movies)
* (CS-)Parties

== In the media ==
5th of November 2009: Casa Merode was subject of an article[http://www.uvt.nl/univers/nieuws/0910/09/onderdak.html] about student houses in Univers[http://www.uvt.nl/univers], the weekly newspaper of the University of Tilburg[http://www.uvt.nl]. CouchSurfing was one of the issues in the interview.

28th of February 2010: Casa Merode hosted two TV journalists of Campus in Beeld[http://campusinbeeld.ruhosting.nl/]. They reported about CouchSurfing and interviewed the members of Casa Merode. The video[http://www.youtube.com/user/campusinbeeld#p/a/u/1/V8jCyE3aBsw] they made was broadcasted on 'Nijmegen1'[http://www.nijmegen1.nu/] and online. (english subtitled version[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4aqRyTeNy8])

13th of April 2010: Subject in the Dutch CS Newsletter[http://www.csnewsletter.nl] in an article[http://www.csnewsletter.nl/?id=cshouse] about CS-houses

CS newsletter for the Netherlands

2010-07-05T11:38:04Z

Robino: /* Grote zomermeetings in Europa */ updated info on hitchgathering

Old newsletters:

[[CS Newsletter for the Netherlands 2010.1]]

[[CS Newsletter for the Netherlands 2010.2]]

Draft 3nd newsletter

=Heading=

=CouchSurfers meeting up=

==Grote zomermeetings in Europa==

More and more CouchSurfing communities are organising couchsurfing events this summer. Wherever you go, you can meetup with local couchsurfers.

Below is a selection of interesting events:

July 16th - July 18th: Oostende, Belgium: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=62713 CS Beach Weekend]

July 16th - July 18th: Champ-du-Boult, France: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=53351 Normandy Summer camp]

July 16th - July 21th: Brussels, Belgium: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=72244 Brussels CS summer event]

July 23th - July 25th: Dundee, Scotland: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=74886 Dundee Calling]

July 23th - July 26th: Paris, France: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=71291 Paris Rendez Vous]

July 28th - August 1st: Pescosolido, Italy: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=48567 Italy summer camp]

July 30th - August 2nd: Aberdeen, Scotland: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=66899 a summer camp on the stunning balmedie beach]

August 2nd - August 8th: Tokaj, Hungaria: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=56737 Canoe tour]

August 6th - August 8th: Spychowo, Poland: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=72666 II CS International Family Weekend (IFW)]

August 1st: Barcelona, Spain: [http://hitchgathering.org/barcelona Pre Gathering for the 3rd European Hitchhiking Gathering]

August 6th: Sines, Portugal: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=69794 3rd European Hitchhiking Gathering]

August 27th - August 29th: Karisilla, Estonia: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=74663 Summer camp in Setumaa]

September 2nd - September 5th: Milano, Italy: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=57923 This is FO(u)R MI!]

September 3rd - September 5th: Lille, France: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=72089 The Braderie de Lille]

September 10th - September 12th: Prague, Czech Republic: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=58166 Cz3echsurfing]

==overzicht van regular meetings==

In more and more Dutch cities CouchSurf-meetings are being held on a regular basis. If you want to know when to go where, you can check this [http://couchwiki.org/en/Netherlands#Regular_meetings list].

==[http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=60151 Castlefest] - Festival of Light==
6, 7, 8, August, Lisse, The Netherlands

People from all over the world come to visit this, I would call it...
Medieval, hippy, folk, family, fantasy festival.

International world, pagan, celtic & folk music, encampment of medieval Re-enactors, a medieval & fantasy market. Art, theatre, visitors dressed up in most beautiful clothing.
All sort of things to do: Balfolk, Sword fighting, painting, poi. Food is all Biological!!

It's a festival of enjoyment, relax & amazement. And I love it...would be awesome to have a CouchSurf meeting here!

Place to be:
Every year there is a Wickerman burning on Saturday. A hugh wooden construction, filled with the wishes, dreams and gifts from all visitors. You can put your own dreams as an offer inside. The perfect spot to meet!

I’m working as a volunteer (coordinator backstage) on this festival ever since the beginning and I love to show you people around. The most fun part is to explore the festival your self, so I suggest we meet Friday, Saturday and Sunday 14:00 hours for a drink in front of the Wickerbeast, and share our adventures of couchsurfing! After a drink, I can take the people who are interested for a short backstage tour.

Relax & hope to see you there!
Chantel

More info: http://www.castlefest.com

==The best way to spend a Kruidvat train ticket: 18 hours of train travelling in NL==

“Would it be possible?”
“Hmm. If we start early and do some smart planning, yes, why not?”
“Let’s do this!”
I imagine the initiators of the idea came to the idea like this. The idea of the 24-hour train race project. The ambitious idea to visit all 12 provincial capitals of The Netherlands in just one day. Probably one of the few countries where such a thing is possible.
Many CS members, armed with a special Kruidvat train ticket to be able to travel for the whole day, would accomplish this mission on the 22nd of May. First train: 6:10am from Amsterdam, on to Haarlem and The Hague.
The fun started right from the beginning: the Dutch Railways (NS) decided that not our train, but the one 150 meters down the platform, would be the train that leaves.
And that’s how you create a delay: we started the journey with already 10 minutes off-schedule. “Off to a good start”!
Fortunately we caught up pretty quick, and, frankly, practically didn’t experience any delays for the rest of the day! Thank you, NS! There, I said it, something positive about the NS. They deserved it for once.
People were encouraged to join us during the journey whenever they wanted. And boy they did! “Are you guys from the 24-hour train race?” et voila: we had once again a bigger group of train travellers on a mission.
A few hardcore people made it all the way to the last stop: Lelystad. 0:18am the train arrived at the station! To make the last miles less painful we sang songs and people were already dreaming about their bed out loud... The other passengers thought we were gone nuts, I’m sure.
Once on the platform, we started praising the station signs and kissed the ground in true Pope style.
Relieved, proud and tired as hell, we could finally say we visited all 12 provincial capitals. Not only that, but we did it in one day!

Fotolinks:

http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/1X9GA8A/7869872_l_d4aa32afa3c87006c610c513658f1e5f.jpg

http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/1X9GA8A/7770295_l_671ade1bfeaaa2ea00c51695fefbaf1b.jpg

http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/1X9GA8A/7770316_l_22883d7bfb73dd66771e51bf5046575e.jpg

http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/1X9GA8A/7770213_l_8603c1f3667916c4116bd86b6bf63f50.jpg

===The Netherlands today, Europe tomorrow!===
For me personally, the 24-hour train race was a learning experience as well, because I’m involved in a project that is a bit bigger than just The Netherlands. The project is called The Unity Express, and is about a journey across as many as 24 European countries in a single, privately chartered train, with stops in major cities along the way, for a period of four weeks in the summer of 2011.
The train has room for more than 400 people on board simultaneously. When traveling, people literally live in the train: eating, sleeping, partying, laughing, learning, discussing... It all happens there.
The main goal of this project is to create unity among as much European citizens as possible. By bringing all those people together, on the train and in cities we attend, we create a better understanding for each other, so we can live more peacefully with each other.
This project will launch in mid July on CouchSurfing and with its own website, www.unityexpress.eu. Want to help? This project cannot exist without your help! We need every profession you can think of: paramedics, chefs, security, writers, programmers, entertainers, DJ’s, organizers, thinkers, planners and many more! Go to the website or do a quick search on CouchSurfing to find the working group where you can get involved!
Want more information about the project before the launch? Send an E-mail to coen@unityexpress.eu with your questions and I’ll be happy to answer them!

Cheers,
[http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/riddergraniet Coen]

=News from CS Netherlands=

==New Ambassador program==

THe ambassador program has been put on hold for about half a year now. We cannot give any clear details yet, but soon it will be possible again to apply for becoming an city- nomadic- or familyambassador. You can find more info about what it means to be an ambassador on CouchSurfing on the [http://www.couchsurfing.org/amb_levels.html CouchSurfing website.

Are you interested?

Contact any of your [http://www.couchsurfing.org/ambassador_list local ambassadors] for more info!

=Nomadic adventures=

Do you have a nice travelstory? Tell us!

==Dodging bullets in Syria==

Somewhere on the edge of Europe lies an invisible line. Many people on the European side are afraid to go across this line. But those adventurers who do dare to risk their lives by passing this invisible line will be rewarded with their own weight in gold. Beyond this line, most media based presumptions which try to tie you up in your own state, turn out to be foolish. One of the random people I told about my upcoming visit to Syria and Jordan answered with a serious tone, that he preferred to visit places where less bullets were flying around. That was before I told him I would go there hitch-hiking.

Xenophobia; I stumble upon it a lot, during my travels as well as at home. Mostly the xenophobia is directed at the neighboring country. Sometimes even on fellow inhabitants of ones' own country. In Turkey, on my way from the Netherlands to Syria, I was soaked with warnings about how often I would get killed once I would reach Eastern Turkey. They almost scared me, but assuming it would still be human beings living there, I went nonetheless. Now, two months later, I can tell you that the Eastern-Turkish people are just as hospitable as the people who warn you for them. I've got too many examples to offer, like this man who spontaneously took me home in the middle of the night, sparing me a long night in my tent at the outskirts of Antakya. Next day, wandering through the dark streets of an unknown village in Northern Syria, the first man I say 'good evening' to, interrupts his walk to the mosque and let's his son take care of me. The whole evening they've been treating me with tea, food, stories and Internet, inviting me the next day to come back any time I like. I didn't even get a chance to return to them the next evening; on my way to their village a man on a motorcycle persuades me to stay at his place instead.

Syrians compete for their guests, doing everything to prevent you from visiting someone else. That's what I call hospitality. They're just amazing. Though even they, who should be aware of the Middle Eastern generosity, will warn you for their neighbors. Obviously they aren't afraid for their visitors; no xenophobia in that sense, yet they are for the strangers just over the horizon. I believe that CouchSurfing, or simply traveling, is the way to decrease this. Say 'no' to xenophobia!

[http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/chiel/ Chiel]
(read more about Chiel's travels on his [http://www.manvandewereld.blogspot.com blog])

=Exotic couches=

Do you have a nice hosting story? Tell us!

==Interview with Urbian Fritz-James==

1 How did you find out about CouchSurfing?

In 2005 I went to Krakow. I wanted to meet local people in Krakow so i start to google "meet local people". First I ran into to the site virtual tourist and than this guy said to me to go to couchsurfing.com and contact this lady in Krakow. So i decided to contact her. ( I really dont know her name and she is not on cs anymore) Well I contacted her but finally we didnt meet because she was busy. But I liked the idea of hosting people, so when I came back to Holland i immediately started hosting people and now I have been a member since 2005.

2 What makes your couch special?

Well lets start with me and my girlfriend. People make the difference and being our guest, we really want to make people feel like they are at home. You can drink and eat whatever we have in our home (except for the champagne). Further we have a separate bedroom with AAA quality mattresses, so a goodnight rest is guaranteed. And on top of everything we have a jacuzzi on our rooftop. Furthermore we live on a island just in the middle of Rotterdam which make it just perfect for your stay in Rotterdam.

We don't accept everyone. We have a preference for ladies and couples. I also have assignments written down in my profile so I know for sure that people have written my profile carefully instead of hitting the ctrl+c and ctrl+v button.

3 Tell about a special person you hosted?

Well we hosted a lot of special persons since 2005. But Leila Messaoudi was one of the most special persons we hosted. The first time she came to my place she planned to stay for 3 days but it ended up for 2 weeks. Spending christmas together. We also went to a cs meeting in Paris were we had a lovely time. Leila became my little sister and i adopted her. She visited our place again for 4 times.

4 What place near your couch would you recommend everybody to visit?

Go to Kinderdijk (windmills) to get some of that nostalgic feeling of Holland

5 What do you like to see in a good CouchSurf request?

I would like to see some humor in it and please amaze me with something original and wicked. And when you write me a request you should at least have the words "qwerty", "smoke" and "jacuzzi" in your request. That is because of the assignments I have in my profile.

6 Which sort of guests do you prefer?

We prefer couples and ladies. For the rest you will have to be able to speak english and dont be shy.

7 Which host should we interview in the next newsletter?

[http://www.couchsurfing.org/profile.html?id=CI8LAF Pieter Ter berg]

=traveltip=

{{IsIn|CS Organisation Netherlands}}
[[category:CS Newsletters]]

List of hospitality exchange networks

2010-02-10T21:39:52Z

Robino: members warmshowers, 10.000+ active currently

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center; font-size: 85%; width: 100%; table-layout: fixed;"
|-
! Network
! Founder
! Date created
! Number of members
! Legal form
! Income
! Software
|-
! [[Amigost]]
| ???
| 2006
| ???
| ???
| ???
| Proprietary
|-
! [[Belodged]]
| ???
| 2007
| 8100
| Corporation (PanUnique AG)
| ???
| Proprietary
|-
! [[BeWelcome]]
| [[BeVolunteer]]
| 2007
| 7948
| Non Profit
| Donations
| GPL
|-
! [[Comitas Inter Gentes]]
| [[Sascha Bretag]]
| 2007
| ???
| ???
| ???
| Joomla
|-
! [[CouchSurfing]]
| [[Casey Fenton]]
| 2004
| 1,580,490
| Non Profit?
| Donations / Verification fee
| Proprietary
|-
! [[couchsurfing.net - traveller's community for international connections|Couchsurfing.net]]
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
! [[Friendship Force]]
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
! [[GlobalFreeLoaders]]
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
! [[Hospitality Club]]
| [[Veit Kühne]]
| 2000
| 330,000?
| Private website
| GoogleAdds
| Proprietary
|-
! [[HOSPEX]]
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
! [[Lesbian & Gay Hospitality Exchange International]]
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
! [[MeetURplanet]]
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
! [[Pasporta Servo]]
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
! [[Place2Stay]]
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
! [[Schlafbuch der Erdenbürger]]
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
! [[Servas]]
| [[Bob Luitweiler]]
| 1949
| 14,000
| NGO
| Annual fee
| Paper based
|-
! [[Stay4Free]]
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
! [[Teachers Travel Web]]
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
! [[Tripping]]
| [[Jen O'Neal]]
| 2009
| 700
| social entrepreneurship company / profit reinvested into site
| ???
| ???
|-
! [[Warm Showers List]]
| ???
| 2005
| 10.000
| Limited Liability Corporation
| Donations
| Drupal
|-
! [[Welcome Traveller Network]]
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|-
! [[Women Welcome Women World Wide]]
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
| ???
|}

[[Category:Hospitality Networks]]

Warm Showers

2009-12-29T23:59:45Z

Robino:

{{stub}}
http://www.warmshowers.org/

==Free Software==
Warm Showers is based on a Drupal installation.

==Donation & Volunteer Based==
Warm Showers is donation based. All the registration and technical work is done by volunteers. Costs in 2009/2010 are about $600/year for hosting. Warm Showers received US$464 in donations in 2009 [http://www.warmshowers.org/content/happy-new-year-all-warmshowers-members].

SHE

2009-11-15T23:54:47Z

Robino: Created page with ''''She''' stands for a concept called Sustainable Hospitality Exchange. * SHE is an idea that is shared by many. It is not just about hospitality exchange but also about how it …'

User:Robino

2009-10-23T21:38:18Z

Robino: Created page with 'Find more about me here: * http://robokow.net * http://casarobino.org/users/robino'

Find more about me here:
* http://robokow.net
* http://casarobino.org/users/robino

Nomadbase

2009-10-23T21:33:44Z

Robino: Created page with 'A '''nomadbase''' is a house for long-term travelers where you can teach-learn-share. In the end of November there is a [http://sharewiki.org/en/she conference] that takes plac…'

A '''nomadbase''' is a house for long-term travelers where you can teach-learn-share.

In the end of November there is a [http://sharewiki.org/en/she conference] that takes place in Berlin around Nomadbases and (neo)nomadic culture.

{{stub}}