enqfeb09

IN THIS ISSUE

Rugby World Cup Register

Exchanges in N.Z.

Youth Exchange in China

Do you have pets?

House sitting offered

Housekeeping (2 items)

This weeks selection from the hotlist

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RUGBY WORLD CUP

www.homelinkinternational.co.nz/rugby.html

In case you have not noticed, I have started a register for members wanting to exchange when the Rugby World cup is on. This was prompted by the success of our Canadian Organiser who has a register for the Winter Olympics in the Vancouver region in March 2010. You can view the Olympic register at www.homelink.ca

The Register will be a good opportunity for members who want holidays in any of the competing countries to offer their homes for exchange at this time. Our first members to sign up actually wants to offer their home in exchange for their visiting other World Cup Venues in NZ. HomeLink Organisers from the competing countries will be announcing this in their newsletters.

If you live in any of the towns hosting the cup and would like to be on this list please let me know.

EXCHANGES IN NEW ZEALAND

In this time of belt tightening please don't forget we are not just HomeLink International

Over the years we have encouraged members to exchange within New Zealand. This has grown from nothing to about 1/5 of our membership now wanting to find exchanges in New Zealand. Those of you with holiday homes may like to try someone elses holiday home instead of going to the same one every year. I am sure most of us travel around the country at some stage druing the year as well as our overseas jaunts.

To get off the track slightly we did have retired members who spent nearly the whole year House sitting in NZ. Certainly a way of getting to see the country. It got to the stage when they were rarely at home !!

To put yourself on the list simply go to 'Edit my listing' and add NZ to your list of countries

N.B. I should include Australia in this section. The airfares to OZ are so reasonable now that it is almost like a holiday at home! TODAY THERE ARE 130 AUSTRALIAN MEMBERS LOOKING FOR EXCHANGES IN NZ and only 80 NZ members wanting exchanges in Australia

YOUTH EXCHANGES IN CHINA

Our new Organiser in Beijing sees a huge opportunity for youth exchanges between our 2 countries. I believe there are quite a few secondary schools in New Zealand now teaching Mandarin. All schools in China teach English from the age of 5 years and many parents are wanting short home stays for their teenagers in English speaking countries and are paying a lot of money for this privilige. We think that by being a HomeLink member these parents will have a better alternative and that this will also be a good opportunity for children from other countries to experience life in China. Chinese parents see NZ as a safe and relatively close country for their children and I hope in time there will be as much interest in the concept of Youth Exchange here as there is in Europe.

I would like some feedback from any of you with teenage children about this, especially if they are studying Mandarin.

DO YOU HAVE PETS?

PETS........ much as you love them they do become a problem when you are wanting to holiday. Recently I put out a request for a member who wanted a House Sitter to look after their home and their pets. I was delighted to get an email saying that this was all arranged in one day. Great ! The same often happens with Exchanges ....... Don't assume that you will have to ring the local cattery when you are away. Ask your exchange partners. They are often happy to oblige.

John & I had a holiday in the States and looked after 2 dogs. Although we do not have animals ourselves we got very attached to the morning walks.

HOUSEKEEPING

1. RESPONSE RATES TO OFFERS
As you know we put response rates on all your listings. This was not intended to make us seem like interfering so and so's but from demands from members who are hanging on for your replies to arrange their exchanges. It saddens me to say that quite a few of you are not replying to offers. Please............ instead of hitting a delete button just click on the 'No thank you' Quick Reply: This generates a polite decline of the offer with a single click. It also keeps your response rate up. Which ever one of you has this on your listing will probably get no offers.
Members response rate for exchange requests: 19%

2. PHOTOS
Photos definitely enhance your listing. If you don't have a photo then members scanning the listings will often pass you by. You can have up to 20 free photos on your listing. Because nearly every one loads their own photos it is difficult for me to keep a check but I have had a look and there 20 of you with no photos. Some of you are saying 'Absolute waterfront' but with no photo on the listing this could well be bypassed when members are scanning the NZ list.
If you can't work out how to load your photo ('Help' on the members page) then send them to me by email.