For reliable events a reliable venue and team are necessary. This section guides us on how to maintain reliability of both.
Every Manager must have a backup plan. Whether it’s you or a team member who can’t make it, the event must go on. Know in advance who will step in—for yourself, your assistant, or your photographer- in a case of emergency. Unstaffed events may result in strikes.
Before departure the Manager must appoint a ‘Backup Manager’ who has passed Lite Training. Lite Training is provided by Mundo Lingo for free.
During absence a Manager may continue to collect earnings, however at least 50% of each event should be paid to the Backup Manager. If their vacation lasts longer than a month then 60% is paid to the Backup Manager during that 2nd Month. 70% on the 3rd Month and so on until 0% on the 6th month when a Community Lead will appoint a new Manager.
Managers responsibile for events receiving 800 or more participants per week must have 1 or more of their events managed by a Backup Manager. Managers who reach this milestone are given the exclusive privelage to have events in multiple cities.
The absence of a trained Manager for whatever reason triggers the immediate calling to the public for Manager candidates in that city. Onboarding of local Ambassadors is delegated to the Ambassador Council. Community Leads will strive to cover the orhaned event with a new Manager immediately replacing the previous Manager.
We’re fortunate that some people are willing to collaborate out of the goodness of their hearts. However of course we must not take advantage of these people. Volunteers doing small tasks such as posting in groups or visiting a language school are fine. However, Photographers, Assistants, Backup Managers and anyone who is expected to arrive at a scheduled time, use expensive equipment or contribute significant time or resources must be paid.
Don’t put your eggs in one basket; employ one photographer per weekly event. If you have one photographer to cover multiple weekly events in your city, you will have problems. You can find photographers by contacting local photography schools or just reaching out online.
Add new photographers to the Embassy.
Photographers should read the Photographers Guide
They should agree to the Photographers Agreement.
To cancel an event a Green Light is needed. The only way to cancel an event is with the venue’s Notice of Closure - in written form. Please post a screenshot to your support group or Embassy and tag us.
✅ Cancellation with a Green Light / Notice of Closure is okay
🚫 Cancellation without a Green Light results in a strike.
↳ Chinese New Year, Tet, Easter, Summer Holidays, mass exodus from your city, sports games, Protests, Olympics, zombies, rain, pollution or transport strikes are not okay reasons to cancel Mundo Lingo if the venue remains open.
To change event time, day or location a Green Light is needed.
Switching is both ditching an old venue and launching a new venue. See below.
For a venue to be ditched, one of the following are required:
Written or audio confirmation from the owner that they wish to end their contract.
Evidence that the venue is closing down permanently.
The results of the process detailed in Problem Resolution
A Spot Penalty (See Strikes)
Managers are at liberty to open as many venues as they like so long as they are greenlighted through a Venue Investigation, and have Backup Managers when serving over 800 weekly participants.
Sometimes a venue Manager will tell you they had a private party booking and want to move you to another area of the bar or even another nearby bar for “just this once”. If you accept once, they will ask again, and then again and then later they won’t even ask, they will tell. As a business, they choose what’s best for their short term finances. However, switching spaces, even just once every few months will bleed your event. Consistency, week after week, year on year, gives your event the professional reliability that local organisations, schools, universities can promote. Switching venues is for Couchsurfing events, be better.
If they ask you to switch spaces, take it as a warning shot that you need to grow faster. We have never been asked to switch spaces for a crowd of over 200 people. Try telling the venue owner “Maybe you're unhappy with our progress but I assure you I will make this happen, trust and be patient with us".
It’s often during national or religious holidays that our public need us most. Foreigners spending Christmas abroad away from their families don’t want to be alone at this time, now is not the time to quit. To the contrary, now is a great time to double down and make a special event inviting them to celebrate the season with friends.Moreover, you have a city to yourself as other social events cancel erroneously believing it to be good strategy. Now is an opportunity to promote to a new public as foreigners who spent their year in offices and schools consider finally giving ML a go during the holiday period.We remain open for Holidays unless the bar sends us a cancellation notice in writing.
Please give us as much notice as possible and check out guide on Outgoing Managers
Next up, it’s time to learn The Speech [link needed]