Since then, that job (and my finances) imploded. I have since regained some employment stability, but the fiscal damage is far from healed. I’m working a second part-time job and keeping my eyes peeled for a better one in order to pay down debts from the layoff.

First, the bad news:

Barring a substantial monetary windfall, I can’t afford even the bare minimum deposits and operating expenses for a tiny, hotel-based conference.

Running a really kickass (but tiny) conference, with a sponsored keynote speaker (airfare, hotel, & meals), a hospitality suite, advertising, and so on could easily have run $5,000 or more. Even without those, the room costs and taxes would’ve been about $1,500 (for up to 75 people), plus another $500 or so for things like programs, badges, and other unexpected incidentals. That’s around $2,000, mostly upfront- even if admission fees could cover it on the backend.

Second, some good news:

If I dump the entire idea of attracting people from around the country/world and move to a small venue that isn’t a hotel, I can probably reduce the upfront costs significantly.

Third, some ambivalent news:

Cutting back to a purely local conference also means a reduction in content and chances to meet new and interesting people from far away. This decreases the perceived value of the conference, which means that any admission fee would have to be much smaller. That would limit the ability to carry funds forward to the next year.

That said, I am still investigating this possibility in the hopes of doing something in early 2020 with the goal of building on that towards a proper conference the following year.

Fourth, for something completely different:

Hearthingstone was first and foremost about creating professional development opportunities for polytheist leaders to help them improve their skills for serving The Gods, their communities, and their traditions.

Increasingly over the last year, the fractious and scattered state of our polytheistic communities has been a topic of discussion amongst said leaders. There is a swelling impulse to draw the faithful closer together. As I wrote last fall:

From a practical standpoint… it’s much easier to start a successful business, become a “mover-and-shaker”, find a date, or even just a decent job if the people around you know you and have common cause with you. It’s also easier to build a temple.

To that end, I am adding a “Polytheist Villages Network” page to this site and also a discussion group on Facebook. I’m not entirely sure what this will evolve to be, but my goal is to help foster intentional communities for polytheists in the form of neighborhoods or similar forms of geographic proximity and common cause.

As there are any number of important considerations regarding where people live and why, I think this will be an interesting topic for some polytheist leaders, especially those directly involved in serving groups of the faithful. That said, I think it could be a potentially valuable resource for monastics and mystics as well, who (like many of us) often struggle to find needed support services.

I hope you will join us in this endeavor, and at whatever sort of conference I can pull together.

-In Deos Confidimus

The post A Year & Then Some appeared first on Hearthingstone.

After touching base with the hotels in the expanded search area, I believe that one of them stood out as clearly the best candidate. It won’t allow for much expansion in-place (if any), but it’s a lovely all-suites hotel that is convenient to plenty of restaurants and other amenities. The meeting room rate is very reasonable (for Austin) and decreases by as much as half if we can book enough room nights.

It even has fire!

I don’t yet have a formal rate quote for a sleeping room block. However, their published rates for the equivalent weekend in 2019 were under $100- extremely low for a newly-built suite hotel in Austin. This same hotel charges over $200 a night during busier times of year!

All the rooms have a kitchenette.

As far as the date, I was weighing a lot of different factors, both religious and practical. This weekend kept “pinging”, despite its proximity to New Year’s Day- or perhaps because of it.

As much as possible, I wanted to avoid conflicts with holy days, though that’s nigh-impossible to do perfectly. This weekend does fall right around the end of Yule in some traditions. It is also roughly around the time that the Romans sometimes celebrated Compitalia- the festival of crossroads Powers. I haven’t found others, though I could certainly be mistaken.

This weekend is close enough to the general “Holiday Season” that many of our academics will not yet have returned to the classroom. Some of us might even be lucky enough to work at places that are closed through the following Monday.

Furthermore, January in Austin is a time of year when visitors from other parts of the country aren’t likely to burst into flames when walking outside. While the locals might wear parkas, our colleagues from more northern climes might consider it lovely spring or fall weather.

In addition, my comparison of airfares showed an average of $173 in round-trip savings compared with busy weekends like those during SXSW. There is also a large park-and-ride bus terminal less than two miles away and four different bus lines pass near to the hotel.

Finally, there is the esoteric gravitas of conducting an event like this on the first weekend after the dawn of a new year. While our various faiths and traditions may use different calendars, we all live in a society the runs on the Gregorian one. Rather than just making forgettable personal resolutions, perhaps we can put the power of this liminal time to a more holy use.

To that end, I have tentatively confirmed a keynote speaker- a published author who has a long history of service to the Gods.

-In Deos Confidimus

The post A Stake In The Ground appeared first on Hearthingstone.

Originally, I was looking to stay as close to downtown as the hotel room rates would allow. To the right is the original map I shared with y’all some time back.

Unfortunately, those hotels with enough space in the green zones quoted meeting rates that started at $5,000 for the weekend and went up to $15,000.

That is a non-starter. My initial budget worksheets don’t show a way to make it feasible, and I don’t have the money to make up the difference myself.

On the plus side, I’ve since discovered that one of the hotels I had earlier discounted as having no meeting rooms actually has enough meeting space for about 75 people. It’s smaller than I’d like, but it should be sufficient for the first year at least.

So now I’m looking at a map more like this:

Three of the larger, more expensive hotels I looked at are in the red “circle” at the bottom at the junction of 183, 290, and I-35.

The 75-person hotel I mentioned above is located in the first green circle north of the red spot.

Shortly north of that is another hotel with about the same amount of space.

North of that are a few hotels that are large enough, though some might be too big (and expensive).

Finally, the top circle has another hotel that could work.

Sadly, all of these are further from the airport. Then again, the 2014 PLC was about 15 miles from the nearest airport and many people came from much further afield. Heck, we drove all the way from Austin!

The furthest north of the hotels on that map is about 25 miles. The closest is 16 or 17 miles.

As far as costs, the first hotel actually posted their daily rate on a sign next to the meeting room- $400, or $200 for half the room. That’s $1,200 for the weekend- less than 1/3 the cost of the cheapest meeting rooms I found in that red circle. Sure, there’s the matter of taxes and availability, but hey- this thing is starting to sound more feasible!

My hope is that the other hotels I’m looking at all have a similar, or lower, rate. Then it becomes more a matter of date availability and how the hotel’s building, site, and staff feel.

Many thanks to the Gods and friends who have helped me push through the earlier discouragement to keep looking.

-In Deos Confidimus

The post Looking further afield appeared first on Hearthingstone.

As with VC #2, this location is near the airport and has an airport shuttle.

Their room rate is basically $120 a night, but they are only willing to block 10 rooms and that with an “attrition clause” where we’d owe them money if less than 80% of the rooms blocked are used. After those 10 are reserved, the pricing and availability would float like normal.

Their meeting room rate is slightly higher than #3, by about 5%. This puts them in the second lowest cost position- for now. I need to get back to VC #1 with a shortlist of dates to get a meeting room quote.

Here are all the dates they said were available (at present):

• April 5 – 7, 2019
• April 19 – 21, 2019
• April 26 – 28, 2019
• May 30 – June 2, 2019
• June 14 – 16, 2019
• July 12 – 14, 2019
• July 26 – 28, 2019
• August 23 – 25, 2019
• November 1 – 3, 2019
• November 8 – 10, 2019
• December 20 – 22, 2019
• December 27 – 29, 2019
• January 3 – 5, 2020
• January 10 – 12, 2020
• January 17 – 19, 2020
• January 24 – 26, 2020

Thoughts?

-In Deos Confidimus

The post Hotel Rates and Dates from Venue Candidate #5 appeared first on Hearthingstone.

Their rate was just shy of $120 per night for Nov. 8-10, 2019- so about $20 more than #1, which also quoted that date. They are, however, the only one that explicitly included a hot breakfast buffet for up to four people per room.

This hotel is located next to candidate #3 and across the highway from #1.

Unlike #2 & 3, they have free parking (like #1) and they also have no airport shuttle.

Their meeting room cost for the weekend is half that of #2 and about 50% more than #3. If we decide to pin down for a different weekend, I can probably get a new quote, but I expect it will be similar.

Thoughts?

-In Deos Confidimus

The post Hotel Rates and Dates from Venue Candidate #4 appeared first on Hearthingstone.

Sadly, this hotel has fewer dates available (or quoted fewer). I haven’t spoken with the rep there- they called, but didn’t leave a message.

$100-110 for Single/Double

• August 23-25
• December 20-22 (Also quoted by #2)
• December 27-29 (Also quoted by #2)
• January 3-5, 2020 (Also quoted by #1 & #2)

It turns out this hotel does not have an airport shuttle as we thought; however, they do have a local shuttle that goes out 2 miles.

As far as meeting room costs, this hotel’s total price is equal to the daily price for VC #2. On the other hand, this hotel charges for parking- in this case $15+ per day. VC #1 does not, but #2 does.

I feel like I need to get a couple of other quotes from smaller hotels and then decide on a date and venue. But, smaller hotels wouldn’t have a lot of room to grow and we’d definitely have to cap registrations.

Thoughts?

-In Deos Confidimus

The post Hotel Rates and Dates from Venue Candidate #3 appeared first on Hearthingstone.

Here are the best rate dates that I received from them:

$100-110 for Single/Double

• June 28 – 30
• July 5 – 7 (Independence Day weekend) [Cheapest]
• July 26 – 27
• December 20-22
• December 27-29

$110-120 for Single/Double

• August 2 – 4
• January 3 – 5, 2020 (Also shown for VC #1)

As with Venue #1, the contact person was conscientious and the facility has a lot of room to grow. It does have a free airport shuttle (it’s right there, after all) and is on the Route 20 bus route to downtown in case people want to see the sights or go out on the town after the sessions.

Sadly, the per day meeting room rate is WAY more than expected- about twice the rate for Venue Candidate #4 and three times Venue Candidate #3. Perhaps I’m misunderstanding “per day” or they misquoted, but still… wow.

As part of my due diligence, I reached out electronically to a number of other hotels in Austin. Some declined, for various reasons. I’m waiting to hear from the others.

Thoughts on any of these dates in case I find them elsewhere?

-In Deos Confidimus

The post Hotel Rates and Dates from Venue Candidate #2 appeared first on Hearthingstone.

Under $100 (Barely)

• April 19 – 21 (Also being considered by someone else- Easter)
• June 14 – 16
• July 12 – 14
• November 8 – 10 (Veterans’ Day weekend)
• January 3 – 5, 2020

$100-120

• April 5 – 7 (Would have to start late on Friday)
• April 26 – 28 (Would be using less than my preferred rooms)
• May 30 – June 2
• July 26 – 28
• November 1 – 3
• January 10 – 12, 2020

Over $120

• January 17 – 19, 2020 (MLK Day weekend)
• January 24 – 26, 2020

So far, the staff contact has been wonderful and I like the space. However, it turns out that they don’t have a free airport shuttle. With perhaps 80% of our attendees coming from out of the area, we’d need to think about options.

It’s been a really busy week at day job, but I need to reach out to at least a couple of other hotels. I found one right at the airport, but would that be too noisy?

Thoughts on the dates above? I’d like to aim at the cheaper end if possible, but so far no dates are jumping out at me as ideal.

-In Deos Confidimus

The post Hotel Room Estimates From Venue Candidate #1 appeared first on Hearthingstone.

For a conference, especially one that aims to run year after year, it’s vital to actually collect and manage a certain amount of data. Each attendee’s badge pick-up information at the very least- their name if nothing else. Ideally, email addresses and/or mailing addresses would accompany that so that we can notify them of changes and reach out when the following year’s registration is available.

Between the personal data and the payment processing, there are security concerns that naturally arise. An annual conference probably shouldn’t try to get into merchant services accounts and card processing and all that. Well, maybe 10,000-person conferences should, but not a small one like us. That means finding a registration service provider- someone like Eventbrite.

Similarly, there are good reasons to use an email communications provider like Mailchimp– to minimize your risk of getting thrown in the spam bucket if nothing else!

All of these services cost money, of course.

Eventbrite charges a fee for each ticket sold. We’d have the option of wrapping the fee into the cost or passing it to the attendee on top of the registration cost. For example, if the registration costs $50, the processing fee might be $5. This would make the actual cost to the attendee $55 if passed on, or make the actual income from the registration $45. Either way, it’s a balancing act. From what I’ve seen, the other providers are pretty similar.

It’s worth saying that WordPress plugins can do some of the same things, but that means dedicating a lot more time to site administration.

On the other hand, Eventbrite’s default is to hold payouts until after the event, which will simply not work in this case. They have a system for rolling payouts ahead of the event, but you have to apply for that- so it’s not a sure thing.

I also considered crowdfunding services like Kickstarter or Indiegogo. Sadly, they don’t have any sort of CRM systems from what I’ve seen. Also, their track record for funding conferences is abysmal.

In an ideal world, we’d also be able to register attendees for individual events- for instance Session A or B at 3pm. Obviously, this requires having the schedule nailed down, but it makes it easier to plan which sessions need the bigger rooms! Eventbrite doesn’t appear to have such a system, nor did the other services I saw. So whatever solution we go with might still require a bunch of manual data entry.

Do you know of a better (and cheap) solution or service provider?

-In Deos Confidimus

The post Registration Systems appeared first on Hearthingstone.

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

The post Registration Cost – A comparative approach appeared first on Hearthingstone.