Page 8: Get more travellers

From SI Exco News

Want more travellers?

• Hosts: Tonight, Sleep in your own Guestroom!

Yes, we are in Servas to see PEOPLE, but if guests don't sleep well, how can they enjoy you or travelling? Some Servas beds are torture racks and some guestrooms haven’t been cleaned in a year. Before you say: “Well, my guestroom is okay.” I challenge you to spend ONE night there. Pack a suitcase with clothes, towel, toothbrush, etc. and go to your own guestroom or pullout couch. Is there any privacy? A clean place to put your bag? Did you find a spot in the bathroom to leave your things? And where does a guest hang a coat, shirts or a wet towel? Did you have to move a pile of things on the bed just to get in? Where do you put this stuff? And in the morning, how is your back? One host’s son asked me, “How could you SLEEP on that awful bed?”

I tried MY guestroom last night and today I’m adding another towel rack. If the main complaint by hosts is “not enough travellers”, this might help. Try it tonight.

• Michael Johnson, Canada

At the other extreme, Servas travellers are sometimes embarrassed by the royal treatment they receive. My hosts in Estonia had a two-room flat, and gave me the bedroom. That evening, family arrived from out of town, but they wouldn’t allow me to trade places. The four adults with small child took turns on the sofa and floor, while I had a double bed to myself. A Romanian traveller on her first Servas journey was puzzled by some hosts (not me) stating ‘sleeping bag necessary’. “But you don’t let your guest sleep on the floor! You give the guest your bed!”

• Sharon Belden, Amsterdam

How to increase membership

For three years now, my youngest son has brought his two children over to my house whenever he was able so they could meet and spend time with my Servas travellers. I always take photos of them with my guests. He WANTS his children to have this experience because he is unable to host at this time, but he fully realizes the importance of the experience for his children.

The first thing the children do is bring out the globe and have the traveller show them where their country is and teach them how to say a few things in their language. Then they talk and talk, and of course accompany them on our excursions, holding their hands and just assuming that they are part of our family. To meet a person from another part of the world is not a strange experience. It's just a normal part of their life.

Yesterday, my 9-year-old granddaughter got out my Servas guest book and started going through it, talking about each traveller, looking at the photos, remembering her experiences, and finally asked if she could take my bulging book to school for Show and Tell! She wanted to share her experiences with her class and teacher. She's only nine years old but an "old hand" at hosting since she was six. What do you think her chances are of being a traveller/and/or host within the next ten years? She already has her own Servas Memory photo album of the Servas travellers she met and shared time with.

The point of this e-mail is to encourage Servas parents and grandparents to make each Servas visit an opportunity for their children and grandchildren to learn more about the world. If my grandchildren are any indication of the importance of this, diversity is to be looked forward to and cherished; all people accepted for themselves as individuals; everyone a future friend. That is the attitude that my grandchildren have and it was learned through experience, not actively taught. Servas has barely skimmed the surface of its potential.

• In the hope of a bright future,

Gail Anerine motherearth83@hotmail.com 7375 SW 104th Street, Pinecrest, Florida 33156 USA

10 Tips to Get Travellers Calling

While Servas hosts in the major cities have many travellers, those in the outer suburbs or out of the way places get hardly any. If you want more travellers, fill out your form with the following tips in mind.

• Make it easy to contact you. The Internet is fast becoming the most popular way for travellers to contact prospective hosts, making arrangements as they travel, instead of before they leave home. If you don't have a computer, but are willing to have an e-mail address and check it at least once a week (with friends, the library or an internet café), it will increase your visitors. I use Yahoo, which is free, can be accessed from any computer, anywhere in the world, and has a built-in virus checker. To sign up, go to www.yahoo.com. Be sure to list your e-mail address in your hosting form.

• Allow people to leave messages when they call. Consider leaving your message in two languages. List your work and mobile phone number.
• Make it Easy to Get to You. Most travellers use public transportation. If you are willing to pick people up from town, mention it in your listing.
• Include NPNR in your listing. (No Prior Notice Required) None of my 50 or so travellers has abused it by just showing up at the door.
• Include lots of interests. The more interests you list, and the more countries you have been to, the more likely it is that travellers will contact you.
• Mention "Longer Stays Possible".. Decide after the first night if you will allow your travellers to stay longer. You make the offer. Otherwise, they will make other arrangements.
• Welcome Travellers in Your Country. This is especially useful if you are far off the beaten path and only travellers with their own transportation come to you.
• Allow Smoking Outside. "Smoking Outside" instead of “non-smokers”.
• Mention Internet Access. I always let my travellers check their e-mail.
• Offer to Show them around. Travellers always appreciate local knowledge.
• Include WMT. The most important one: Want More Travellers.

Diane Emerson ( diane@atack@co.nz) has been tra-velling with Servas since 1996, and hosting in New Zealand since 1998.