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Anytime VT’ers decide to get together in real life - that’s a member meeting. It could be three people at a pub, or a hundred at a full weekend of activities. Past meetings have ranged from coffee at a museum café to three days of parties and dinners in Verona, Italy. Who Can Attend? Anybody who is a VT member, wants to be one, is a friend of a VT member, or is just curious and wants some fun. Who Organizes VT Meetings? Any VT member who gets the urge can organize one. It’s a purely volunteer effort. Usually members who have been around for a while and enjoy the community are most likely to host get-togethers. Don’t expect to sign up and have a meeting tomorrow. ATTENDING A MEETING • Don’t be shy. VT’ers are a friendly bunch, they don’t just talk travel and they certainly don’t compete over who has the biggest travel resume. • If you want to attend, just sign up using the RSVP link (RSVP stands for Respondez S'il Vous Plait) at the member meeting calendar. • Don’t sign up if you aren’t going. • If you do sign up, but can’t make it, let the organizer know. • Before going, have a look at the attendees list, and take a peek at their member pages – it gives your something to talk about and you may share a common interest. • Remember that not all meetings are alike – each one is different. • Leave yourself open to fun and surprise. They guy you thought was a grouch in the forum is probably a really nice guy in real life! • Most of all have a few laughs. You’ll certainly make some new friends. HOSTING A VT MEETING 1. If it’s your first meeting, start small. A drink at a pub or coffee with a few friends. Large meetings or weekenders involve more commitment, logistics, and effort. 2. Put out the feelers. Write to your friends and post in the forum to gauge interest. 3. Share ideas. Do people like a particular time, date, activity or location? 4. When you’re ready, add your meeting to the Member Meeting Calendar. 5. Additionally, announce your meeting in the Forum 6. Soon, people will start to sign up and RSVP to your meeting. Communicate. Keep in touch with updates or status of the meeting. 7. Don’t stress. It’s just fun. Some Further Suggestions From Meeting Hosts • For a big meeting, it’s much easier to work with two or three people than to just try and plan one by yourself. More than two or three could add confusion. • Consider making your meeting VERY LOCAL. Consider a place and activities that people would probably never do if they came to that destination without locals. • Consider planning things that go beyond just sitting in a restaurant/bar & eating/drinking. Members in Baltimore went duckpin bowling which was local, and a great 'ice breaker.' • Budgets. Consider going low. Something free or cheap works well because you never want to exclude someone and everyone likes feeling that know a local secret that is a deal. • Costs. Let participants know about costs upfront (menu ranges, transport from airport, activities). It makes a huge difference when planning a travel budget. • Sharing checks. Let people know if they will chip in a set fee or just pay for what they consume. For example a non drinker doesn’t want to chip in for a large bar tab at a restaurant. You won’t be able to have 10 separate checks so you may wish to have a table for drinkers/non drinkers, or make some other arrangement like splitting the bar and restaurant tabs. Either way, just try to let people know about costs up front. • Make reservations or go early to reserve seats for venues that do not allow reservations • Make yourself visible to people showing up. Consider having a banner or marker (a helium filled balloon works well), or wear a VT shirt or cap. • For bigger meetings, consider having name tags. A simple peel away sticker where a member can write their VT member name, real name, and where they live is all you need. If it’s a several day event, the tags will probably only be used at the beginning. Once everyone gets to know each other, you probably won’t need them. Some members even created cool keepsake tags as souvenirs! Smaller meetings probably don’t require them. • Some people may want to smoke, and some people may hate smoke. Consider their desires, and also special needs like different diets, wheelchair access etc.. • Let people know if your meeting is good for children or not so good. Either way is fine, but some people may wish to know if they can bring their kids. • Provide a map and/or contact numbers for the location. • Consider making your phone number available a few days before the meeting • Most important to remember is to have fun, enjoy meeting new friends, and try not stress too much. *thanks to VT Members for their suggestions! |
