by David Hills

Servas International unveiled Version 2 of their website last year, and it included many improvements that make it easier for hosts and travelers to update their information, find other members and hosts, etc. (see SI Launches V2  July 23 OD article). Since then, the development team has continued to enhance features on the site. Here are some of the latest ones:

Servas Group Information: You can access this page from the main menu (your member photo/avatar). It is available to all members and was originally called “Statistics”. It lists the number of members, households, and hosting households for every Servas Group and Area. It also gives a link to the Group’s website or Facebook page. Finally, if the Group has created a Group Page (see below) it gives a link to it (look for a hyperlink in the first (left-most) column.

Servas Group Pages: These are content pages that each Group (country) can create to give Servas travelers basic tips on the country and the Servas group. As of the date of writing, the following Groups have created Pages: Australia, Israel, France, Germany and Turkiye. Access these pages from the Servas Group information page ( see above).

Children in Household: The “Host Search” feature now includes a new search "filter". If you turn this filter on, the Host Search results will show only households with children under 18.

eStamp Renewal Window: To prevent accidentally issuing more than one eStamp in a year, eStamps can only be renewed within a six-month window prior to the current expiration date. For this reason, the Travel Admin screen will not show a green “Renew” button for members whose eStamps are outside that window, i.e. more than six months from expiration.

Phone Icons & Menus: Members using Servas.org on their phone or other small-screen device have often had trouble editing their profiles because they didn’t see the icons at the bottom of the screen that replaced the “Profile Edit” menu. These icons are now larger, and each has a label tying it to a specific part of their profile, i.e. “Members,” “Address and Hosting,” “Travel.”

We on the development team will continue to improve the Servas website. If you have any issues with the website or have ideas that will make it better, please reach out to me at david.hills@usservas.org