I wonder whether some other groups have already signed the incorrect version of this agreement.

By the way, this licensing agreement is not required for all affiliated groups, only those who wish to use (or continue to use) the name ‘YHA’ in their group name.

I still might…

5. Protection of Reputation
5.1 The Licensee shall:
…….
(v) object to the Licensor’s applications to register any Trade Mark.

This doesn’t make sense to me and I think it should read:

“(v) NOT object to the Licensor’s applications to register any Trade Mark.

I have asked for clarification of this point and I wonder whether there may be a mistake in clause 5.1(v).

You have between you a few hundred active people and you use hostels a various number of times per year. Well so do hundred of thousands of others and they don’t want seats on the board, a licence to act as they see fit and generally tit about full of puffed up self importance.

Get real and realise that you are of little or no importance. Carry on as social groups who may or may not use hostels but drop the pretence that you fulfill any useful function in or for YHA

ME

I stress that the following are my opinions and they may not be those of Leicester Local YHA Group as a whole.

At our Chairman’s request, I calculated the number of ‘active members’ in our Group, using my records of all of our 23 hostelling weekends from the 1st January 06 until the 28th February 07; I also contacted the organisers of social events and the leaders of our local walks, over that same period. As instructed, I counted only those members who have attended any two or more of the Group’s events as being active, and thus, came to a total of 70 ‘active members’ since the 1st January 06. We also had 13 individuals that are potentially active, those who have attended only one recent event and 17 Associate Members who pay to receive our Group Programme only. I also removed a few ‘lapsed members,’ those who attended only a single event very early in that period, and have not returned, plus those that I know have now moved away from the Group. Therefore, 70@£1.30 is £91 plus a £1 licence fee to use YHA in our name that would give us a total of £92 required for our Group to re-affiliate by the 1st March 07. Even if I include the extra 13 ‘one-timers,’ another £16.90, we can without doubt afford to re-affiliate under YHA’s proposed conditions for 2007, using surplus funds derived from the members that, I agree, we do need to insure – but I say no to re-affiliation! Leicester Local YHA Group does not charge an annual membership fee to its members; we only collect a 50 pence surcharge on each overnight that every group member spends hostelling with the group.

I have read, and re-read, Chris’s article on this website, laying out the pros and cons of affiliation, and I must agree with him, that the YHA Licence fee, albeit only £1, might not be what it appears and that it could possibly be turned against us in the future. Even more so, if any Local Group re-affiliates now, they are agreeing that in two years time they are willing to pay an extra annual fee of £25.50, or more, for a Group Membership card – that is an insult, I cannot take! Leicester Local YHA Group has now existed as an all member hostelling group for over seventy years – why do we now need only one ‘membership card’ between ten or more non-members! I say no, we stand our ground and do not re-affiliate until the Board gives us their assurances as to what exactly the ‘YHA Licence’ is, now and in the future. Moreover, that YHA drops its demand that Local Groups must agree to the compulsory purchase of Group Membership cards from 1st March 2009, and at any other time in the future!

Dave Self,
Group Treasurer,
6 February 07