by Bill Magargal

Fortunately, it is extremely rare for Servas travelers or hosts to encounter a situation where they feel unsafe or that they believe is counter to Servas ethics.  However, members should know that there is indeed a process in place for reporting and resolving serious complaints if they should arise. The small team that handles them works quietly and discreetly to gather information from all parties involved in a situation to help resolve the issue. Sometimes the problem is simply a misunderstanding that is easily handled by clarifying the issue with the parties involved. In severe cases the complaints committee may decide that a member must be removed from US Servas and prevented from rejoining in the future.

If you ever encounter a serious problem with a Servas traveler or host, be sure to report it to Complaints@usservas.org. All communications with the complaints committee are kept confidential, even to board members, so never fear public embarrassment. Keep in mind that complaints should be significant in nature, not annoyances like cat hair on your bed, or you didn't like the food.

by Bill Magargal

In the post-COVID era it seems that getting timely (or any) responses from hosts has become difficult, to the point that some members have decided not to renew. This might simply be the result of emails getting lost or shuttled to junk-mail folders. Or, now that we are also being deluged with phishing calls and junk texts, perhaps people just ignore calls from numbers they don't recognize. It could also be that people are more concerned about or apathetic to hosting. Whatever the reason, it seems we should do something to address the problem.

At a recent tech team meeting we discussed the issue and tossed out ideas. One option is to use WhatsApp, which seems to have much less spam, but some of us find it difficult to set up new contacts. Another idea is to add a function to the Servas International website by which travelers can request hosting via a standardized email address or phone number. The Servas International website had a similar feature, but it was not well known. This solution would at least identify the requests as non-spam.

Another idea tossed about was to set up a system that would identify the member as a "Quick Responder", or "Top Rated" host. Other travel groups like Couch Surfers and Warm Showers hosts have a rating system that serves this function. The first reaction among most Servas members is that host-traveler ratings aren't something we feel is appropriate. However, not having a timely and reliable communication system is losing us members. Maybe we should consider a rating system. What are your thoughts? Add a comment below to let us know.

By Deirdre Marlowe

We are often at a loss as to what to gift the people who welcome us into their homes. Here are some ideas I came up with as someone who spent seven months traveling on a bike, and who only travels with a carry-on regardless of destination.

Spice blends are great: Old Bay (seafood or chicken seasoning), Papa Porker’s Dry Barbecue Rub (comes in 1-ounce packets), regular taco seasoning packs, Taijin (Mexican chili-lime seasoning), Ranch Dressing (for salad, or… comes in small packet). You might have a local favorite that you prefer to bring.

Bandanas are good gifts, too, especially for households with children. I have brought flag bandanas and map bandanas. Pencils that have local decorations: NYC the Big Apple, I Love Hollywood, etc.

When in doubt, but far heavier, fridge magnets specific to where you come from are good.

I always carry postcards from my hometown or state and use them to send bread & butter notes shortly after I’ve gone on my way. Yes, there’s text and email, but something your host can have as a permanent reminder that doesn’t take up too much space, is always welcome.

Let me know if you have other light-weight suggestions for host gifts. We’ll print them in a future edition of OD.

by Bill Magargal

Well, I know for sure that I'm old... after all, I live in an old-folks home, but what about the overall US Servas membership? Last week we ran age demographics for all 1909 active members, including both friends and host-travelers. No surprise! We are still an older group. Our median age is 67, with a mean (average) age of 62.

Although some people are distressed by this, it is just a fact of life. We are a travel and peace organization... we travel. Young people are involved with careers and families, and it is difficult to include extended travel in the mix. Retirees on the other hand have the time and are more likely to have the funds to travel. Older adults are also much more active than even our parents’ generation, which further extends the age-line.

It is wise of us to encourage younger twenty-somethings to become members to give them a taste of authentic, meaningful travel before job and family commitments become entrenched. Hopefully they will fondly remember and resume having Servas experiences when they get older.

By Deirdre Marlowe

We all know the quote: “What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet."  Well, actually, occasionally, the Bard got it wrong. There’s a lot in a word. A friend recently went to Japan for the first time. I knew she would not learn Japanese but wanted to give her a few words that could prove helpful. Please and thank you, of course. Excuse me (Sumimasen ), is particularly important in Japan where things are often crowded, and people are conscious of personal space. Sumimasen is also used when entering a small shop to announce one’s presence and ask forgiveness for the interruption.

Since my friend is somewhat of a foodie, I also gave her oishi or delicious. I also advised her to never say “no” unless the situation is dangerous or unforgivable. I’d learned this in bustling Nagasaki station; I said ie and everything stopped, heads turned, and suddenly, I was in the wrong.

Slang can be in the wrong, too. My family lived in France for years. When I took my already foodie children to Paris, my dad told them to say dégueulasse if something was truly delicious. So, we were at a one-star restaurant and my kids told the server that the food was dégueulasse. The server was speechless. My dad’s slang was out of date; they were saying that the food was disgusting rather than délicieuse.

My wordly [sic] advice would be to learn the important words: "please, thank you, excuse me, delicious", but not the slang for it. For anything else, use the translation device on your phone or the mini dictionary you packed. Even if you bungle it, people like that you are trying to speak their language.

by Bill Magargal

Recently a US Servas host/traveler contacted the member help team, a bit miffed because the new and improved Servas version 2 website did not have all the hosting information that the "...old system used to have." The new system does indeed have all that information, plus the descriptive blurbs like, "More about this Address", and "More details" can be much more detailed than the old version.

It turns out that our traveler found host profiles that were incomplete, they had never confirmed that their information was accurate and up to date. Voila! Mystery solved. But it does point out the need for and relevance of periodically reviewing and confirming your online host, traveler, and hosting location information. 

Many of our hosts say they "Want more travelers", yet their profiles are incomplete. Often, they don't include a photo and have only the minimum boxes check. Why would travelers even bother to contact you if there you have just the minimal (or no) information in your profile. If for no other reason you should complete your host and traveler information as a courtesy so that travelers don't waste travel time pouring through blank profiles.

If you don't know how to edit and confirm your profile, check out the January, 2025 Open Doors article "How to Confirm Your Profile."

by Bill Magargal

Servas International (SI) unveiled its greatly improved website version 2.0 in 2024. The development team, led by Jim Leask (Servas Canada) did an outstanding job with this very complex and time-consuming project. It involved negotiating verbiage and design aspects in multiple languages, and interfacing with the hired programmers.

The result was an extremely successful release with very few bugs and minimal disruption. Jim dedicated most of his spare time to the project for about three years to make this happen. He is now ready to help, but not lead, a team to develop a phone App for the SI website. We are hopeful that people will step up to help with the project, and especially someone to fill the leadership role.  

Proposed Features:

The tech team has identified several functions they believe an App should include. If you have suggestions for other functions, please let us know. The current list includes:

Find Hosts: Ability to find hosts, including map-search functionality

Find Members: Host should be able to find members to learn more about them and to see their LOIs.

Communications: A messaging system to help hosts and travelers connect while ensuring all contacts are verified Servas members (not spam or commercial messages) 

Member Profile Editing: Members should be able to easily update and "Confirm" their profiles and LOIs.

Event Searches: The App should be able to easily search out and register for SI sponsored events as well as events hosted by individual groups/nations.

How You Can Help:

The development team can really use "normal" people to help with design and testing phases of the project. Techies often think a particular feature is "obvious", but often it is couched in geek-speak. So regardless of your tech skills, please consider helping out with the App development team.

If you would like to become part of the team, or have questions please contact technology@usservas.org.

by Bill Magargal

Our Open Doors newsletter is catching up to the New York Times. We are now available online 24/7 for downloading, reading online, and perusing by topic... and it is all free. The features are part of the website refresh project reported in this (Mar. 2025) issue, and it adds another good reason for members to visit the US Servas website.

The new webpage has three years of back issues in PDF format which you can either read online, or download. The page also offers a clickable list of news topics that take you to the blogs associated with that topic (see graphic below). The overall appearance of the page is better looking and conforms to the look-and-feel of the revised.

by Bill Magargal

Last year about this time the Tech Team announced a project to refresh the appearance of the US Servas website to make it easier and more intuitive to use. We are happy to announce that their efforts are bearing fruit.

The initial work was spearheaded by the marketing and SYLE teams under the leadership of board member, Tys Sniffen. They sought out and commissioned a web developer to redesign the Home page, SYLE page, and streamline the Servas page banner, menu, and footer. The new pages are much more attractive, plus they contain a lot more information. Here is a link to the new Home page if you want to take a peek. The SYLE page is also much cleaner looking and it too has a lot more useful information (see SYLE).

In addition to the screen layouts, we are streamlining the menus. In the "About Us" menu example below you will note that there are four items in the "About Servas" submenu. Previously, these were listed under the cluttered "About Us" menu. Also, the 4th item on that menu is Board of Directors where visitors must be logged in to see the submenu items, otherwise they can only click on it to see photos and small blurb about our current directors. The "Board Business" menu choice will take logged-in members to a page with board minutes, and actionable items like the merger vote mentioned in the (March 2025) issue of Open Doors. The election items will only appear at certain times of the year when appropriate.

by Marie Spodek

One morning during the Costa Rica conference I was drawn out of my room by the allure of a lovely covered patio in the courtyard between our bungalows. I brought my “journal” book, which I carry with me in which I ponder life, occasionally with written comments, but more often with “mindful sketching.” Within minutes, five women surrounded me asking what I was doing. With very limited common language (which has never stopped me in any of our travels), I explained “mindful sketching.”

Of course, they all wanted to try their hands at drawing. Fortunately, I had paper and pens for everyone, so we set our minds to the task. We silently sketched for about fifteen minutes and then sat for a “photo op.” Each of us had totally different, uniquely personal sketches & doodles. Later, several women shared that they want to continue the practice.

Mindful Sketching only requires paper and pen and quiet time. It is a zen-like, doodling exercise where one shuts out conscious thoughts as much as possible and simply focuses on the tip of the pen... letting it wonderously wander. We didn’t know what each of us is thinking but it was clear that on this occasion we all felt a commonality that didn’t require explanation.

Marie Spodek is a long-term US Servas member and emergent fiber artist. She lives with her husband, Bill Magargal, in Philadelphia, PA.