Couch surfing is travelling on a budget, using a broad network of contacts in order to get overnight accommodation for free, or at as little cost as possible. Participants, dubbed couch surfers, join dedicated websites, providing as much information about themselves as possible in order to make others feel comfortable hosting them, or using them as a host. Various safety features are generally available in such online networks, like verification of names and addresses, personal references, and 'vouching for' a particular member as a reliable host or guest。