Written by Nancy Stevens and David Boe, Host2Host Meet-up Team and Charter Members.
Host2Host’s first virtual Holiday party was, well, like nothing we’ve ever experienced. We were a bit skeptical about holding a holiday-themed Zoom party, but we wanted to mark the end of a strange year with a hopeful look forward. We called it the Bon Voyage 2020! Happy Hour and Gift Giveaway!
Many of our host/members and a few non-members Zoomed in, some 58 in all, a healthy turnout for any meetup! Many participants wore party hats, as well, lending a celebratory atmosphere to the evening, even if we had to flip our screens frequently to see everyone!
Debi Hertert was our Master of Ceremonies, and she was certainly masterful at moving things along while handing out prizes left and right! She ran a series of repeated events, starting with a gift giveaway, then on to a poll/survey, followed breakout rooms with four to six participants in each room.
Zoom’s “instant polls” were fun and fascinating. There were five in all:
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“Is your STR currently open?” was first, and to our surprise, 66% of participants said yes!
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“Are you a Superhost?” 88% said yes. (We wondered aloud if Portland still has the most Superhosts per capita of any city, but all agreed that it’s great for both guests and hosts!)
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What color towels do you use? (White is most popular, followed by blue & other)
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What type of coffee maker do you offer guests? (“Mr. Coffee” style was most popular) Finally,
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How many stars would you give H2H? No surprise here – 5 stars!
Three breakout sessions of ten-minutes each allowed attendees a cumulative half-hour to mingle in smaller groups. Each session had a different topic: What’s the funniest thing that’s happened to you as a host or guest? What’s the nicest thing you’ve ever done for a guest or a host? And what’s the best thing that happened to you in 2020? Attendees from all of the rooms said that they enjoyed the chance to meet and share stories with hosts from as far away as Missouri and New York.
The highlight of the evening were the amazing prizes. Some two dozen vendors and individuals donated gifts valued at more than $2,000! The wonderful giveaways included:
★ An ice cream party for 10! ★ Free annual memberships! ★ An amazing array of gifts & gift cards!
The full list of prizes and donors can be found on previous blog posts:
We hadn’t imagined that a Zoom party would be that much fun! It was so well received that the meetup team is thinking about doing it again in the future!
There you go, 2020, out with the old, in with the new. We are so ready for 2021. After the year we’ve had, it gives the expression “20/20 hindsight” a whole new meaning!
