Hosting basics
As a Chapter Leader, you host monthly TNN Chapters so meaningful conversations and fun gatherings consistently take place with your chapter where people who love travel get to meet each other. Hosting is a big opportunity and responsibility. We want to help you succeed, so please read the key considerations and five steps below!
Key considerations
Event components to plan
You want guests to thoughtfully engage with and have fun with each other. Pick an option for each component to design your event:
| Who (guests) | What (structure) | When (timing) | Where (location) | How many (size) |
| Family Friends Classmates Colleagues Friends-of-friends Strangers A mix | Ice breakers Themed events Speakers -and- Prepared questions Spontaneous questions Light debates | 60 min (speakers) 90 min (average) 2 hours (bonus) -and- morning/noon/night weekday/weekend same/different days | Office/coworking Park Cafe/Bar Classroom Museum Library Online | Small 6-20 people Medium 20-50 people Large 50+ people* *split large Chapters into small groups during discussion time |
Event guidelines to remember
You are trusted by TNN to uphold the community guidelines. Please remember:
- Identify your Chapter by your registered City Name and assist with managing guest communications to ensure everyone RSVP’s to attend (post reminders in your Chapter’s group, map to nearest parking lot, share post-event group photos)
- Enable conversation amongst equal participants, avoid one person dominating, don’t designate anyone as a speaker unless your event is a fireside chat or virtual event with a guest speaker
- Ensure Chapter events are free to attend and accessible to all (monthly meetups at sit down restaurants, minimum spend you may not be able to guarantee, or places that are not handicap accessible cannot be regular venues your Chapter meets at)
- Optional: Post highlights from social media accounts and tag @thenomadicnetwork
Five steps
1 – Register your monthly Chapter gathering and invite your members and guests
You must pre-register each of your Chapter’s events for approval at least 2-6 months before the date you want to meet so everyone has enough time to spread the word about the event and so your event appears on our website as an officially designated TNN events. We’ve consistently seen larger turnout the more notice people have.
Make sure you are in the Chapter Leader Group so you have the correct permissions to submit your Chapter’s events! Check out this tutorial on how to submit your event for approval (venue name, event description, date, time) on the TNN admin site. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have question. Feel free to leave notes in the event description for the TNN team!
The TNN Chapter Manager will publish your event once it’s approved. Once your event is Live on the website, invite members and guests in your city to RSVP via the event link and encourage them to bring +1s. You can share with your guests however you please (e.g. texts and social platforms), but be mindful to not spam people. People who RSVP will be getting automated emails/reminders from TNN before and after the event — but you are also encouraged to post reminders and details in your Chapter Group before your event, as well as share group photos!
Check out this How to Share Your TNN Event Guide for ideas and templates as you invite people and spread the word about your Chapter’s events via local event sites, other platforms, your network.
2 – Pick a monthly theme and/or ‘Here and now’
TNN Chapter events are centered around a monthly theme and/or topics affecting us “Here and now.” You can check out the suggested monthly themes and formats for the year pre-programmed by the TNN Chapter Manager. Use the TNN Canva templates to design images for your Chapter’s events!
These themes and formats aren’t mandatory, but they can spark inspiration as you plan ahead for the coming months and let the TNN team know when you and your fellow Chapter Leads in your city might need more support (i.e. two of you are going on a trip the month of March and need to find someone to host, or you want to host a speaker in April on XYZ topic but you need an intro to someone).
Centering your Chapter’s monthly event around a more timely theme that you pick: “Here and now” is up to you. There are times when something happens (locally or globally) and it helps to discuss it, safely and respectfully to learn from one another. Through your TNN Chapter, your group can meet to discuss a pressing issue that is affecting your community. As the Chapter Lead, you can identify an urgent issue, find content to spark discussion, and bringing people together to listen and learn from each other to develop mutual understanding is invaluable and challenging.
3 – Prepare your space and equally engage guests in conversation
It’s time to do what you do best, host! Prepare your space (in-person or online), share our community values (learn, sate your wanderlust, and have fun), and help guests connect with one another. Explore Hosting In-Person and Hosting Online (if you’re helping host a network wide TNN Virtual Event) for additional ideas. Most importantly, be yourself and have fun!
We recommend reviewing the recommending talking points in the Chapter Leader’s Event Script that starts on page 10 of the CL Playbook! Put this script into your own words to help welcome attendees and signal the event is starting, play an Icebreaker game so people are getting to know people they haven’t met yet, and have a clear heads up the event is wrapping up and what attendees can expect next (and what they can invite their friends to IRL and virtually!)
| Before | During | After |
| +Select date, time, location +Use TNN Branding and Templates to create posts for your event +Invite guests (personally/social media) +Confirm details with all who RSVP in your Chapter Group | +Arrange space w/ TNN materials +QR Check-in for non-RSVPs +Welcome and Icebreakers +Engage all guests equally | +Send thank you message and feedback form in your Chapter Group +Post highlights with handles/hashtags +Primary focus is conversation between guests, sharing takeaways is secondary |
4 – Summarize and share your Chapter’s takeaways
Each Chapter’s takeaways create a global conversation and Chapter Leader’s experiences provide valuable peer learning! Before your Chapter, read the latest takeaways in the Chapter Leader Group to bring new ideas to your Chapter. After each event, please share the post-event Attendee feedback form and fill out the Chapter Lead post-event feedback form.
If there’s anything you had trouble with or an idea you tried that worked well, please post them in our Chapter Leaders Group and share them during the virtual monthly Chapter Leader calls. The TNN Chapter Manager will consolidate takeaways from the group and feedback forms each month in the monthly Chapter Leader newsletter.
5 – Repeat!
Consistency is key! Hosting with a stable rhythm (e.g. monthly) helps members in your city build trusting relationships and develop confidence in the future of your group. You should individually be hosting 8-10 events each year.
We’ve seen Chapters grow month over month due to word of mouth, posting the event link and details on local event websites, and more – all of which makes it easier to keep hosting and ensure you have multiple Chapter Leads and Volunteers that can support one another when you’re on a trip and traveling the world!
Questions?
Please reach out to our team via email, direct message on the TNN website, or 1:1 call.
All Chapter Lead Resources
TNN Chapter Leader Drive – Save this to your Google Drive!
- 1/ Chapter Leader Onboarding – Read through the long-form TNN CL playbook, Icebreakers, and more
- 2/ TNN Creative Assets – Download logos & photos you can use to share a visual invite + RSVP link
- 3/ Event Templates – Check out templates for events like Trivia that have been successful in other cities. Submit your own templates you want to share with other Chapter Leaders!
- 4/ Event Resources – Facilitating tips, venue elements to consider, sign-in sheets, and more