In this third installment of The Making of a DrupalCon series, we thought we’d share how sites are selected.

Our goal is to book three years in advance for DrupalCons. Currently we are in the process of overlaying a number of factors to help narrow down the search, and come to decisions for 2015 and 2016. Booking this far in advance will give us an advantage when it comes to negotiating with hotels and venues in different cities around the world, so we can continue to keep the cost of the conferences relatively low and maximize Drupal Community participation. 

In 2014 we will have two DrupalCons, one in Austin, Texas in June and the second in - oh you thought you had me there :-) - the second will be announced in a couple weeks in Prague. In 2015, we will begin hosting three DrupalCons per year. One in North America, one in Europe and a third in a region where there is opportunity for signficant Drupal growth and adoption. The factors we overlay in this decision process are as follows:

Factor 1 - Community input
You may have taken part in a recent survey asking where you’d like to see us go for future conferences. We will analyse this data along with our selection criteria to help narrow down the options.

Factor 2 - Selection criteria
The board of directors has identified and weighted criteria to help us determine what is most important in selecting a site. Top of the list? A popular city with hotels and a conference venue to accommodate our ever-growing event. Other criteria include the presence of an existing Drupal community, preferably with strong camps or other Drupal activities, and easy, relatively inexpensive travel.

Factor 3 - Expert input
We are consulting a destination travel company to help ensure that the sites we select can accommodate our needs.

So, now you know more about how we are selecting sites for future DrupalCons.  We hope to see you in Prague, Austin, or somewhere else down the road!

Image: Flickr user gsfc