When I started discussing Hearthingstone, one of the first pieces of advice I received from the chair of the 2014 PLC was to charge admission. I’d been planning to, but it’s very sound advice. Conferences have costs, and I do not have money burning a hole in my pocket.
Aside from the obvious costs of deposits, renting meeting spaces, and the like, there are numerous other things that will require money. For instance, I mentioned the cost of program books in another post- they run about $2 a copy. Selling ads can help offset that, but it’s still a cost. Hospitality suites are another possible cost, as are badges, and any advertising for the conference itself.
All-in-all, I expect the total cost to be several thousand dollars. Did I mention my pockets not being filled with combustible currency?
This gets us back to the question of dividing up that cost amongst the attendees in the form of a registration fee or “membership” as many non-profits call their admission charge. If the total cost is $10,000, then divided up amongst 100 attendees, we’d be looking at $100.
Is that reasonable?
It seems steep to me, but then again I’m a cheapskate.
Based on some advice from one of Hestia’s servants on our Facebook group, I decided to take a look at some major events with similar components- namely Pantheacon and Paganicon. While these are broadly-based events that draw a large number of non-polytheists and laity, they are a reasonable starting point for comparison.
Pantheacon costs $80 at the door or $70 pre-registered. Its hotel costs $289 a night (before block discount)- way higher than I was looking to go! Gods willing, we might someday have a Hearthingstone that needs 48,000 sqft of meeting rooms, but I’ll probably die of old age before then.
Paganicon costs $90 at the door and as low as $60 for early registration. Their hotel is much cheaper at $95 a night (also before any discount).
One of the hobby conventions I used to work on is now $55 for the weekend, while some of the bigger, professional events are now over $100 for four days.
At the same time, Hearthingstone is (in a sense) a professional development conference. Those things can easily run several hundred to over a thousand dollars… not that I think anyone in our target audience is likely to drop that kind of cash!
Out of curiosity, I decided to check out the cost to attend a regional Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church (my parents are Methodists, so sue me). The standard fee for clergy or elected lay leaders to attend the Minnesota Annual Conference is $250-275 depending on when they register. This is not unusual- I found a number of others in the over $200 range.
I then decided to do a larger comparison, more specific to esoteric events. Here’s a quick sampling:
The more expensive ones seem to include some kind of accommodations- usually in bunkhouses or a campsite. Some of them are also much longer than a weekend.
In an aside, I noticed that November through early February seemed pretty empty.
One last thought, before I set this down for the night…
Hearthingstone is not intended to be a one-time event. My goal is to be able to keep it running, which will require being able to not only cover the first conference’s costs but also to set aside something for the next one.
Thoughts?
-In Deos Confidimus
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