For many northern hemisphere hostel owners and managers, the early months of the year can be slow and depressing. Some diversify their business by perhaps accepting a different type of guest. Others take much-needed vacations, visiting other stressed-out hostel owners in busy winter sports and southern hemisphere destinations. A few even use the downtime to renovate or upgrade. One thing is for sure: there are plenty of professional events going on to keep you busy and help you make the most out of your next year. Here they are:
1. Hostelworld's HostelConference
(Jan 24th and 25th) - Dublin
Hostelworld has been known to throw one hell of an annual party to show the owners they care, but this year will be different. Now that they are a public company, they must register some kind of return on the costs involved here to keep their shareholders happy. It's not like it wasn't a proper investment in the past. They truly understand that a party pulls people together, and while everyone is together, they use that opportunity to help educate the owners on ways to better run their business. In the past, they have hired outside speakers who even talk about what hostels should do for their own best interests, which competes with Hostelworld directly. The reasoning behind this is they want to push for the advancement of the industry in its entirety. Sure, when a medium-sized hostel learns some proper revenue management techniques and moves off their BPO platform, they might not give Hostelworld all their availability, as they would put in some blocks. However, their occupancy will increase, and they will yield better for high compression dates. Hostelworld will still get money. So it's a win-win either way. Hopefully, they keep the spark this year that has made many hostel owners line up to come to Dublin. Perhaps they will determine a reasonable way to measure ROI and keep this conference for years to come. For more, visit www.hostelconference.com. Also note, a side tradition has emerged of many owners and members of hostelmanagement.com meeting up in Killarney the days prior. It's said to be a blast.
2. STAY WYSE Hostel Conference
(Jan 28th and 29th) - Amsterdam
Yeah, that last full week of January is one busy week, but it is really rewarding for non-European hostel owners to conference hop. This conference is growing in popularity as it provides you with the tools to get the most out of the experience. STAY WYSE helps you focus on networking and making the right business connections to build your business. They have workshops and seminars. "The conference will have its own online scheduler whereby you can search and arrange an appointment with suppliers (for organizations that send youth travelers and groups of youth travelers), other hostel operators, bloggers (with influence over the youth travel industry), and resource suppliers (for SaaS tools and equipment). Think of something like Tinder for the hostel business, where you request a meeting and the scheduler then automatically schedules a business appointment slot for you both." They also have a fully packed schedule with both formal and informal sessions. This one is not to miss. Don't forget that while you are in Amsterdam, say hi to your friends at Booking.com HQ. http://conference.staywyse.org/
3. ITB Berlin
(Mar 9 - 13) - Berlin
ITB is the World's Leading Travel Trade Show, so it is huge. It consists of just about every industry player in all of travel. Given the passion we all share for travel, we can easily get lost immersing ourselves in the experience. This might appeal mostly to the large operators and chains, but it’s still worth considering for the hell of it. If you have goals to set, such as networking or initiating new partnerships, stick to them. It is easy to get lost and sidetracked. If not, enjoy the ride. It has been ongoing for half a century, so this one will be no different. During the show, the major hostels in Berlin put on some events for those in the hostel industry, so make sure you're in the loop. http://www.itb-convention.com/ As a side note, we'd like to mention that we really sympathize with those running hostels on the beaches of Brazil and Australia. Perhaps not at the moment when we are just trying to stay warm, but someday we will. Even those running ski hostels; we can feel your difficulty. Maybe someday you can take a break and attend these events too! We hope to see you at some of the events.