World Hostel Conference

Monday, Nov. 5^th

Activity

10:00 – 13:00

FREE TOUR – Old City Tour with SANDEMANs New Europe Tours
Space is limited! Please contact SANDEMANs NEW Europe to reserve your spot before October 28^th

15:00 – 18:00

Registration at Abraham Hostel

18:00 – 21:00

Opening Network Reception at HI Jerusalem – Agron
Sponsored by GoMio.com

Tuesday, Nov. 6^th

Activity

08:30 – 09:00

Registration at Menachem Begin Heritage Center  (continued)

09:00 – 09:45

Opening remarks:

Jaclyn Godin - GoMio.com
Yaron Burgin - Abraham Hostel
Eli Nachmias - Jerusalem Municipality Tourism            Department

09:50 – 10:20

Presentation:
"Luxury Hostels of Europe- Rebranding the image of hostels"

Presenter:
Kash Bhattacharya – Budget Traveller

10:25 – 10:55

Presentation:
“Israel and Middle East Backpacking- Vision to Reality”

Presenter:
Yaron Burgin – Abraham Hostel

11:00 – 11:30

Presentation:
“Update on the hostel scene in Barcelona and Berlin”

Presenters:
Carles Gras – Equity Point Hostels
Alexander Skora - SleepCheapHostel.com & the Happy Go Lucky Hotel + Hostel in Berlin

11:30 – 11:45

Coffee Break (balcony upstairs)

11:50 – 12:30

Presentation:
“StayWyse Research”

Presenter:
David Chapman – StayWyse Board Member

12:30 – 13:00

Presentation:
“Travel metrics, trends and average bed rates per major city and the importance of data to know where to invest in"

Presenter:
Fergal McCarthy – Hostelbench

13:00 – 14:00  

Lunch Break

14:00 – 14:30

Presentation:
“Roomixer.com”

Presenter:
Liran Jakob

14:35 – 15:05

Presentation:
“Put Your Hostel on the mAPP”

Presenter:
Julie Waldman – Digital Footsteps

15:10 – 15:40

Presentation:
“Update on the hostel scene in New York City and Interlaken”

Presenters:
George Finn – HI New York
Catherin Quirin – Backpackers Villa Sonnenhof in Interlaken

15:40 – 15:55

Coffee Break (balcony upstairs)

15:55 – 16:35

Panel Discussion:
“Next generation hostels and rebranding the hostel industry”

Moderator:
Ayal Zaum – AyalZaum.com

Panellists:
George Finn – HI New York
Maoz Inon – Fauzi Azar Inn, Nazareth
Carles Gras – Equity Point Hostels
Brian Gehrisch – Hostelmanagement.com

16:40 – 17:15

Presentation:
“Cool trends in online travel and how they impact the hostel industry: TripTrotting”

Presenter:
Aigerim Shorman - TripTrotting  (via Skype from Los Angeles, California)

19:00 – 22:00

Abraham Hostel Jerusalem Welcome Reception Sponsored by Abraham Hostels

Wednesday, Nov. 7^th

Activity

09:00 – 09:30

Presentation:
“Update on the hostel scene in Singapore and Osnabrück”

Presenters:
Magdalene Wan – Matchbox Singapore
Cathrin Eszbach – Penthouse Backpackers

09:35 – 10:00

Presentation:
“The importance of networking – lessons learned from the Backpacker Network Germany”

Presenter:
Cathrin Eszbach – Penthouse Backpackers

10:05 – 10:30

Presentation:
“Engaging responsible tourism in hostels”

Presenter:
Maoz Inon - Fauzi Azar Inn, Nazareth

10:35 – 10:50

Coffee Break (balcony upstairs)

10:55 – 11:25

Presentation:
“Simplify the desk, focus on the guest!"

Presenter:
Chris Livermore – Hostelhub

11:30 – 12:00

Presentation:
“Israel tourism product and the FIT traveler”

Presenter:
Oren Drori - Senior Deputy Director General & Head of the Marketing Administration Israel Ministry of Tourism

12:05 – 12:30

Presentation:
“Credit cards 101: Making credit cards work for your hostel”

Presenter:
Darren Webb - PMDW

12:30 – 13:30

Lunch break

13:30 – 13:55

Presentation:
“The Cloud, The Group and The Yield: How you can have it all in a PMS”

Presenter:
Craig Dennington - CMS

14:00 – 14:35

Presentation:
“Hostel events and activities as means of increasing income for your hostel”

Presenter:
Gal Mor – Abraham Tours

14:35 – 15:05

Presentation:
“Update on the hostel scene in Athens and Amsterdam”

Presenters:
Sofia Lizzio – AthenStyle
Mario Gallo - M&J Hostel Rome

15:05 – 15:20

Coffee Break (balcony upstairs)

15:25 – 16:00

Presentation:
“New trends in hostel software technology: Mobile bookings; Group & agent web bookings; Restriction; Rate & channel management” 

Presenter:
Andreas Stolz – ASSD

16:05 – 16:30

Presentation:
“Social travelling: How GoMio’s suite of social travel tools can help travelers make decisions on their accommodations and connect to other backpackers and locals”

Presenter:
Dani Herraiz  – GoMio.com
Matthias Kiefer – GoMio.com

16:35 – 17:00

Presentation:
“Update on the hostel scene in Boston”

Presenter:
Bria Schecker – 40Berkley Hostel Boston

19:30 – 22:45

Closing Social Event at The Toy Bar in central Jerusalem
Sponsored by GoMio.com, Donna Italia, and Abraham Hostels