The Crash Pad: An Uncommon Hostel is set to host the first annual Crash Pad Powwow conference Monday-Wednesday. The Powwow is geared towards independent hostel owners and operators in order to strengthen, establish, and share best practices that specifically connect that hostel with their respective local communities.
“Once we get on the local communities' radars, a wonderful thing happens where people's first instinct when they travel somewhere is to look for a hostel, and that helps all of us,” said John Ying, the Crash Pad’s general manager, “Also, nationwide, there seems to be a real gravitation to shopping local, to seek experiences that you can only find at that city, so why have it stop with your accommodations?”
The Crash Pad Powwow will pull together over 25 hostel owners, managers, and prospective hostel owners, from 10 different states. Conference attendees will brainstorm how to harness local tourism boards, plugging into other small businesses in their community, and ultimately, trying to create a nationwide hostel rewards program.
“Although the Crash Pad Powwow is specifically focused on community connection, another reason I wanted to put this event together is to get everyone excited on the hostel industry,” said Jordan Haag, the conference’s founder, “We have so much to learn from each other, and if a hostel has a better idea for our practices or an added amenity that we can bring to our guests, then we want to know.”
Also, they will sample some of the food and drink Chattanooga has to offer, including dinners at St. John’s Meeting Place and Flying Squirrel, lunch at Taqueria Jalisco, breakfast from Bluegrass Grill, and a beer flight tasting at Chattanooga Brewing Company.
For more information about The Crash Pad Powwow, please visit this Facebook event link or this PDF.