What Goes Into Planning a Hostel Conference
Associations like the North American Hostel Association (NAHA) and Europe’s Famous Hostels hold annual conferences to discuss industry news, share knowledge, build connections, and explore new ideas about the hostel industry. In April, the 2026 NAHA Conference in Montreal brought together more than 150 industry members to talk shop, from hostel owners to representatives from booking platforms and property management system providers, and not long after the conference ended, the NAHA board of directors began planning the 2027 Conference.
NAHA is currently working on selecting a host city for the 2027 Conference and expects to make its decision sometime in July. Since NAHA covers all of North America, and the association has rotated its annual conference across all three countries (Canada, Mexico, and the United States) throughout its three years of hosting, the process behind selecting a host for its 4th annual conference will be a little different.
Ryan Oetting, who is on the events committee for NAHA, spoke about what goes into selecting both a host city and a host hostel for the upcoming conference, especially since the table is now open for any country to host the annual conference.
“This year, our two main priorities are going to be location and having a host who is an established NAHA member,” said Oetting. With the amount of on-the-ground work that goes into being a hostel host for a conference, it's highly valuable for that host to have experienced a NAHA conference, especially, as Oetting said, since the NAHA board expects the 2027 conference to be the biggest one to date.
“It’s no small undertaking what the hosts do,” said Oetting. “We rely on them to be our boots-on-the-ground team, to be our eyes and ears of the conference, and to handle the logistics. They need to have perspective on the local environment and culture, which helps us plan parties and figure out ways to expand or change the conference based on what is available.”
What Goes Into Planning a Conference
Weather, location, and accessibility are major factors for deciding where a hostel conference should be hosted, since the NAHA typically holds its conferences in late spring. For instance, picking Montreal for the 2026 Conference was an example of how weather can become a major factor, and sometimes hard to project. As Oetting said, a week before the conference, there was a foot of snow on the ground in Montreal. But by the time the attendees showed up, the forecast was clear, and temperatures were favorable, making it easier for attendees to arrive and enjoy the city during their stay.
Having favorable weather also plays into the post-conference trips that NAHA regularly includes in its annual conferences. Since post-conference trips often feature a location that can accommodate outdoor activities and regional exploration, having predictable weather becomes important. Weather can also affect travel, which is one reason why the selection process also involves the consideration of major transportation hubs and their proximity to the host hostel.
“A lot of us (on the committee) have preferences, but ultimately we want to make sure it’s accessible for everyone that wants to come and that it’s feasible,” said Oetting. As the selection date draws nearer, the association will continue to receive bids from hostels that want to host the conference and then, from there, narrow down their decision based on the attributes Oetting highlighted. Once the list gets narrowed down even further, the events committee for NAHA will poll members to determine an overall preference for the host city, and then a decision will be made, and the work will ramp up.
Once a host hostel has been selected, they will work directly with the NAHA events committee to help plan, coordinate, and budget for the many things that go into hosting a conference, such as catering, picking speakers, and finding venues for the conference and its various social gatherings.
How Other Associations Select Conference Hosts
Like NAHA, Europe’s Famous Hostels is an association of hostels that hosts annual and semi-annual conferences to share industry information and build connections within the European market. Similarly, they focus on a few key factors when it comes to deciding on a host city for their annual conferences. Vinícius Alkmim, General Manager of Europe’s Famous Hostels, touched on some of the things that their association looks for when picking a hostel to host an upcoming conference.
“We try to do conferences in cities with big (transportation) connections. We recently did one in a smaller city in Greece, and some people had to take two or three flights to get there, so that can lead to lower attendance,” said Alkmim. But on the flip side, he also pointed out the value of allowing a hostel in a smaller city or more remote location to host a conference. “We try to strike a balance between big hubs and small hostels in smaller locations, because it can help the smaller hostels gain visibility through us and really benefit the hostel.”
As with NAHA, Europe’s Famous Hostels considers seasonal peaks when determining its next host city. Alkmim said that the association opts against holding a conference in summertime since that is high season for most hostels. He also acknowledged how important the size of a hostel can be for determining its fit as a host.
“Back in the day, when we only had 34 hostels, more hostels could be considered as hosts, but now that we have 87 members, we’re trying to see hostels that have facilities to accommodate everyone,” said Alkmim. When the association was smaller and had fewer members, the options were more robust since many of the staff meetings could be held in the common room of a hostel.
Like with NAHA conferences, the Europe's Famous Hostels conferences also include extracurriculars and activities outside of the conference that help break up some of the intensive workshopping and panel discussions. Whether that's going boating, taking wine tours, or exploring the city or area together, Alkmim said that they make it a point to include time for attendees to network and have fun at the conferences.
"We always do something beyond the working agenda. There's always a morning or an afternoon to explore the city together," said Alkmim.
