"Why Would You Host?"— a note about Couchsurfing

My regular readers are probably tired of hearing me rave about the wonders of couchsurfing. The skeptics still worry whether or not it’s safe, and saner people wonder why I don’t just save up for a hotel. After surfing with Zach through the Southwest, I believe in this project more deeply than ever before.

The West is a very big place, and we barely had enough for gas money, so it was couchsurfing to the rescue again! We had two hosts: Brent in Flagstaff and Vanessa in Albuquerque. Both were above and beyond incredible. Brent fed us supper, fixed us hot chocolate, then let us toast marshmallows over his buckstove and make s’mores. Vanessa gave us each a huge bag of candy (“I don’t like Snickers but I got some for my birthday,” she said), and let us raid her fridge for a breakfast of eggs and turkey bacon before we headed out. I’m used to hosts being hospitable, but their generosity was overwhelming.

It’s easy to see how couchsurfing benefits the surfer, but more than one person has asked me, “Why would someone want to be a host?” There are dozens of answers to that question, but two stand out. The first is a general view that it’s nice to do good things, and that you should “pay forward” the good that you have received in order to make the world a better place. The second is that individuals are valuable: each one has a background, a culture, a worldview that can enrich you, just as your own story can enrich that person. 

I certainly don’t think that everyone should be a couchsurfing host— I am not currently, although I plan to be in the future. However, there is something extremely valuable in opening your home to a stranger, no matter what form it takes. Invite a friend to bring a friend to your house. Welcome a new person into your social group. Get to know the people on the fringes of your life. Learn to make cookies (even if you just use a frozen tube of dough) and share them.

If you are a Christian, welcoming strangers has deep spiritual significance (the Bible makes it clear that this is a major part of hospitality). If you are not a Christian, it is still an act of kindness that can, little by little, change the world. If we truly believe it’s more blessed to give than to receive, a great place to start is giving of ourselves.

“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”

~~~