www.servas.org Version 2 What you need to know
The website address will not change, it will still be https://www.servas.org. On the PC the “Log In” is in the upper right corner. On phones, it is the ‘Person” icon.
To login, all members will need to reset their passwords. Click on “Forgot your Password” on the login page. You’ll get an email with a link to reset your password.
A big change in Version 2 is that Servas members are now grouped into Households. A Household is one or more Servas members living together in the same location. Each member still needs to have their own membership, but they are grouped together.
A feature of member profiles is Profile Confirmation. Travellers may be less likely to contact hosts whose profile is unconfirmed.
Host or Traveller, it’s up to you. Members can Edit their profiles and turn on and off their Hosting or Day Hosting. All members can create their LOI and request from within their profile for it to be validated with an eStamp by their local Travel Administrator … noting some groups still charge an eStamp fee. Servas Travellers must still have a valid LOI when staying with Servas Hosts abroad.
Searching for hosts has changed! You will start your search on the map, by saying “Where do you want to go”? Start with a city or small region, then zoom in or out to fine tune your search. Once you have a search area with less than 200 host locations, you can download them as a PDF. You can use advanced search filters too.
Help is just a click away: Each page in www.servas.org has a blue “? Help” icon which will give you detailed explanations of what to do. If you get stuck. There is a Contact Us/FAQ page that has lots of answers.
“Amiko” is an Esperanto word meaning ‘Friend’. In version 2, the term Amiko is used for New Applicants prior to their interview and approval, and members who have not paid membership fees beyond the grace period. Amikos have a profile and can see Servas News and Events, but they cannot search for Servas Members and Servas Members cannot see Amikos.
A Volunteer Project!
Version 2 is the result of thousands of hours of work by Servas volunteers from around the world, and the patient competence of our contract programmer Eliza Iacoblev from France. Leading the team was the indefatigable Jim Leask of Servas Canada, along with Paul Nielsen (Australia), Joseph Lestang (France), Judy Bartel (Canada), Steve Gaarder and David Hills (US), and many others. Thanks to all!