Servas International
Servas International is a Swiss non-profit federation running a 75-year-old, 100+ country membership network that connects individual hosts and travelers for cultural-exchange homestays, peace education, and UN-advocacy programs, funded by membership fees and donations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1949
- HeadquartersZürich, Switzerland
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Servas International does
Servas International is a Swiss-incorporated non-profit federation founded in 1949 and headquartered in Zurich that operates a global hospitality-exchange and peacebuilding network. It serves individual members across more than 100 countries who participate either as hosts (opening their homes to international visitors) or as travelers (staying with verified hosts abroad), with additional segments for youth and families, artists and musicians, and language-exchange participants. The federation also pursues an explicit advocacy mission, holding NGO consultative status at the United Nations and contributing to forums such as the Commission on the Status of Women.
Its core product is a web-based membership platform at servas.org that supports individual member profiles, host/traveler directory search, messaging, community features (forums, groups, blogs), and event coordination. The platform does not include a dedicated mobile application or public API. Supplemented on top of the core platform are structured programs: Servas Peace Schools (experiential peace-education events held in multiple countries including Turkey, Uganda, and Georgia), Youth and Families camps, Language Exchange, Servas Artists, Servas Singing, and the recently formalized Servas Women constituency group.
Servas generates revenue through recurring annual membership fees (Active members versus inactive/Lapsed "Amiko" status for non-payers) and donations supporting peace initiatives and peace schools. It is volunteer-driven through a federation of autonomous national Servas groups, governed by the Servas International Executive Committee (SIExco), and is not publicly traded. Pricing tiers are not publicly disclosed. The organization is community-led in its go-to-market, recruiting primarily through word-of-mouth referrals, peace forums, international conferences, and youth camps rather than paid marketing channels.
Servas International firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Servas International
- Legal name
- Servas International
- Website
- https://servas.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1949
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- Servas International is a Swiss non-profit federation running a 75-year-old, 100+ country membership network that connects individual hosts and travelers for cultural-exchange homestays, peace education, and UN-advocacy programs, funded by membership fees and donations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Servas International industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cultural Exchange Network
- NAICS
- Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Work Exchange & Farmstay Programs (WWOOF/HelpX-Style) (EDAIAGAK)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Homestay Placement & Host Family Management (EDAIALAC)
Keywords
Where Servas International is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Zürich
- HQ country
- Switzerland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Servas International business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Membership Fees: Members pay fees to maintain active status in the Servas network. Active members who fail to pay fees are set to 'Lapsed' (inactive) status until dues are paid. The membership fee structure supports the international federation and national groups.
- Donations: Servas International accepts donations from members and supporters to fund peace initiatives, peace schools, and organizational activities.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Active Membership - Full network access |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels7 records
Servas International product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Servas International operates a global membership-based federation that connects individual members across 100+ countries as hosts and travelers for cultural exchange homestays. Members pay annual dues to access the network directory, create profiles, and arrange stays with verified hosts worldwide as part of the organization's peace-building mission. The organization supplements this core network with educational programs including peace schools, language exchange, youth initiatives, and arts/music programs.
Product overview
Servas International operates as a non-profit network platform connecting members across 100+ countries for peacebuilding through hospitality exchange. The core platform enables member profiles, host-traveler matching, and communication, supplemented by specialized programs including Peace Schools, Youth & Families initiatives, Language Exchange, Servas Artists, Servas Singing, and advocacy at the United Nations. A recently formalized constituency group, Servas Women, coordinates gender equality work. All offerings are non-commercial and membership-based, centered on personal connections and cultural understanding rather than transactional services.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Servas Women: A constituency group focused on coordinating efforts at the UN Commission on the Status of Women meeting and engaging in work for equity and equality within the Servas community.
- Servas Peace Schools
- Servas Artists
- Servas Singing
Products and services
- Servas Network Platform
- Travelling with Servas
- Hosting with Servas
Quantifiable outcome
- Presence in 100+ countries enabling global cultural exchange
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Servas International
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Servas International technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Servas International partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- United Nations (UN Commission on the Status of Women)coreServas International holds NGO consultative status and actively participates in UN forums including the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), contributing statements on women, poverty, and peacebuilding. The organization coordinates efforts with other NGOs at UN events.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Servas International competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- BeWelcome: BeWelcome is a non-profit, community-run hospitality exchange network offering free accommodation between members. Its nonprofit, member-driven model closely mirrors Servas's positioning.
- HelpX: HelpX connects travelers with hosts in exchange for volunteer work, including homestays on farms, ranches, and family homes. It is directly comparable to Servas's hosting network with an added work-exchange layer.
- WWOOF International: WWOOF runs a global network linking volunteers with organic farms for work-exchange stays. Servas is often listed alongside WWOOF as a comparable work-exchange and homestay network, making it a directly comparable peer.
- Couchsurfing International: Couchsurfing operates a global hospitality exchange network connecting travelers with hosts for free accommodation and cultural exchange. It is the most direct commercial competitor to Servas's person-to-person hosting model.
- Hospitality Club: Hospitality Club is one of the oldest free hospitality exchange networks connecting travelers with hosts worldwide. Its model of free, member-driven hosting closely mirrors Servas.
- Trust Roots: Trust Roots is a nonprofit hospitality exchange platform originally built for the cycle touring community. Its focus on trust-based, free hosting parallels Servas's approach.
Others
- Peace Direct: Peace Direct is a peacebuilding NGO that supports local peace initiatives globally. It shares Servas's peace-mission orientation and UN-facing advocacy work but does not operate a hospitality network.
Emerging players
- Homestay.com: Homestay.com is a paid accommodation marketplace connecting travelers with host families. While commercial rather than nonprofit, it overlaps with Servas's host-family placement core offering.
Broad incumbents
- Youth for Understanding (YFU): YFU runs structured international student exchange programs with host family placement, sharing the homestay-based intercultural exchange model with Servas but with a narrower student-age focus.
- AFS Intercultural Programs: AFS is a large, established international exchange organization focused on student intercultural programs that include homestays. It overlaps with Servas on the homestay placement and intercultural exchange dimension but operates at significantly larger scale with broader programming.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Servas International social profiles
Digital presenceServas International financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Servas International leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Servas International funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Servas International M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Servas International
What does Servas International do?
Servas International operates a global membership-based federation that connects individual members across 100+ countries as hosts and travelers for cultural exchange homestays. Members pay annual dues to access the network directory, create profiles, and arrange stays with verified hosts worldwide as part of the organization's peace-building mission. The organization supplements this core network with educational programs including peace schools, language exchange, youth initiatives, and arts/music programs.
Is Servas International a public or private company?
Servas International is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Servas International founded?
Servas International was founded in 1949. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is Servas International based?
Servas International is headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, in the Europe region.
How does Servas International make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Membership Fees are the primary driver. The others are donations.
Who are Servas International's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are BeWelcome, HelpX, WWOOF International, Couchsurfing International, Hospitality Club and Trust Roots. Peace Direct is listed as an others. Homestay.com is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Youth for Understanding (YFU) and AFS Intercultural Programs.
Does Servas International have an API?
No public API is recorded for Servas International.
What industry is Servas International in?
Servas International's product category is Cultural Exchange Network. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAIAGAK, Work Exchange & Farmstay Programs (WWOOF/HelpX-Style), with a secondary code of EDAIALAC, Homestay Placement & Host Family Management. Its NAICS code is 8133 and its SIC code is 8600.