Crashing on a buddy’s couch for the night is a time-honored tradition among young people. After a night of drunken revelry, when it’s late and driving home is simply not an option, a friend’s sofa can make a wonderful temporary sanctuary.

It can also come in handy when banned from the house by a significant other after a particularly nasty spat or if a surprise eviction has occurred and the search for a new apartment is proving fruitless.

One drawback of the couch-riding experience, however, is that a person’s core circle of friends often tends to be based locally. That means couch options can be limited to a single area.

But imagine if there was a way to expand the couch network to an international scale, allowing people places to crash all over the world without paying a dime. Sofas in Maui, Tahiti and Athens could become available for guests to live the Kato Kaelin lifestyle in paradise.

Freeloaders all over the world can rejoice, because there is a website that makes this dream a reality.

CouchSurfing.com was founded by Casey Fenton in 2003. The website’s stated goal is “to create a better world by opening our homes, our hearts and our lives.” It provides a network of hosts worldwide who are willing to provide free accommodation to travelers needing a place to stay. “Surfers” (the site’s term for guests) can perform a search on the site, based on whichever region they will be visiting, and determine which hosts in the area appear to be the most suitable for them.

Membership to the site is free. Both hosts and surfers create profiles on the site to provide personal information, as well as to set the terms they require prior to entering into an arrangement with another party.

The website’s users are encouraged to post their prior experiences with CouchSurfing on their profiles. There is a feedback area where users can rate and comment upon those whom they have either stayed with or hosted.

A significant draw of the CouchSurfing experience is the chance to meet new people and make connections.

“They’re almost all interesting in unexpected ways,” Matthew Brauer said, a CouchSurfing veteran from San Francisco who has hosted around 30 surfers so far. “I’ve had a couple of guests who were uninterested in conversation, and that’s boring. But the rest have been fascinating and kindhearted people. CouchSurfing seems to attract that type.”

Some potential hosts might feel some initial apprehension at inviting complete strangers into their homes, and may wish to meet surfers publicly beforehand to get a feel for them.

“The first two or three times, I told my surfers that we should meet at a coffee shop first. Then we could see from that if we trusted each other,” Brauer said.

Brauer’s trepidation was short-lived, and he no longer requires preliminary meetings. “I figured that it wouldn’t be very practical for a criminal to use the website as a way to rob or mug people.”

Still, the site does offer a handful of safety tips for both hosts and surfers. These include carefully examining profiles for anything vague or suspicious, asking for identification to verify that the person is who he or she claims to be, or Emailing a photo of the person to a friend prior to the arrangement.

Many hosts, such as Brauer, enjoy playing the role of tour guide for their surfers. “About 50 percent of the surfers want an experience that they can’t find in a guide book,” Brauer said. “They don’t want the typical tourist experience, but (want) to live as a local lives.”

Dave Smith, a host from Sacramento, enjoys including surfers in activities with his friends. “I work in a movie theater, so my CouchSurfing guests can see free movies,” Smith said. “I took one surfer out with some friends to float down the American River.”

Hosts can determine the level of access surfers will have within their homes. While some hosts will keep a watchful eye on their guests, others, such as Jared Zimmerman of San Francisco, will offer a fair amount of freedom and amenities.

“I tend to give them my house keys, and we usually cook dinner together,” Zimmerman said. “Sometimes I buy the food, sometimes they do.”

While the CouchSurfing experience might not be suited for everyone, many who have shared in it have found it rewarding and view it as a bonding experience with their fellow man.

“I can say that CouchSurfing has made me deeply grateful for my life and very optimistic about human potential,” Brauer said. Brandon Wolfe can be reached at [email protected]