Instead of hotel beds, travelers can now choose to sleep on the couches in local residents' apartments. It's called couch surfing, and there are online networks that list locals who are willing to let strangers sleep in their apartments for free. But such arrangements should be reciprocated, and those who use the service should offer their hosts free accommodations if they visit their cities. Couch surfing was created by an American named Casey Fenton on January 1st, 2003. This new way of traveling started in China in 2009 and has become increasingly popular.