ASHHRA 2026, Savannah in May

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ASHHRA 2026 brings roughly 1,500 to 2,000 healthcare HR executives, talent acquisition leaders, and chief human resources officers to Savannah, GA from May 17 to 19. That makes it the year's largest single gathering of senior HR decision makers from US hospitals and health systems. For healthcare recruiters and recruiting vendors, ASHHRA is not a peripheral event. It is the room where the people who own clinical talent strategy at health systems sit together for three days of education, peer exchange, and vendor evaluation. The attendee profile skews senior. HR directors, VPs of talent acquisition, CHROs, and chief people officers from academic medical centers, multi-state health systems, community hospitals, and critical access facilities all walk the same hallways and the same exposition floor. Those three days are the single densest window of the year to influence clinical workforce decisions at US hospitals, set up pilot conversations with enterprise buyers, and learn how healthcare HR leaders are actually thinking about AI, workforce strategy, and recruiting operations in 2026. This guide covers what ASHHRA is, who attends, what the conference floor looks like for vendors and recruiters, which sessions and themes are in focus this year, how to prepare if you are attending, how to travel into Savannah and where to stay, what to watch for on the AI and workforce automation agenda, and how vendors can turn a crowded three-day conference into real pipeline. It also explains how Expa helps healthcare employers stay in conversation with the candidates and peers they meet at events like this, without the usual post-conference follow-up drop-off.

TL;DR, key facts about ASHHRA 2026

• ASHHRA 2026 runs May 17 to 19, 2026 in Savannah, GA
• Expected attendance: roughly 1,500 to 2,000 healthcare HR executives, VPs of Talent Acquisition, CHROs, and HR directors at hospitals and health systems
• Hosted by the American Society for Health Care Human Resources Administration, a personal membership group of the American Hospital Association
• The annual flagship conference for healthcare HR leadership
• Open registration for HR and TA professionals through ASHHRA's website; member pricing available
• Savannah is a small, walkable conference city, and hotels near the convention center fill quickly
• For recruiting vendors: the highest concentration of healthcare HR decision makers in one place all year

What is ASHHRA?

The American Society for Health Care Human Resources Administration is the AHA-affiliated personal membership organization for healthcare HR professionals. The annual conference and exposition is its flagship event. It brings HR directors, talent acquisition leaders, vice presidents of human resources, chief human resources officers, and chief people officers together each year for continuing education, peer learning, leadership development, and a vendor exposition focused on healthcare HR.

ASHHRA has run the annual conference for decades. Attendees come from every US state, representing hospitals and health systems of every size, from single critical access hospitals to integrated delivery networks with twenty or more sites. The exposition floor runs alongside the educational program, with HR tech vendors, recruiting platforms, leadership development providers, benefits and compensation firms, and clinical workforce companies exhibiting throughout the conference.

For anyone selling into or recruiting against the healthcare HR function, ASHHRA is the most important conference of the year.

When and where is ASHHRA 2026?

ASHHRA 2026 takes place May 17 to 19, 2026 in Savannah, Georgia. Savannah is small and walkable, which is a deliberate change from larger sprawling host cities of recent years. The compact format keeps hallway conversations and after-hours networking dense, which is part of what experienced ASHHRA attendees value most.

Pre-conference workshops and certification intensives are typically offered in the day or two before the main program opens. Check ASHHRA's official site for the current schedule as dates and the host venue are confirmed.

Who attends ASHHRA?

What types of HR professionals attend?

The ASHHRA attendee base is primarily senior HR professionals working in hospitals and health systems. The largest single group is HR directors and senior managers, including dedicated talent acquisition leaders at multi-hospital systems. Above them sit a meaningful population of vice presidents of human resources, chief human resources officers, and chief people officers across health systems of every size. Below them, HR business partners who handle clinical departments and TA managers who run day-to-day execution of nurse, allied health, and physician hiring also attend in significant numbers.

Workforce planning analysts, compensation specialists, employee experience designers, and DEI leaders round out the attendee mix. They are not the primary buyer for most HR products, but they sit on the same operating committees as the CHRO and influence vendor decisions.

Do recruiters and TA leaders attend ASHHRA?

Yes. Heads of talent acquisition, recruiting operations leaders, and senior in-house recruiters at health systems attend specifically because the leadership conversations about clinical talent strategy happen in this room. Hospital nurse recruiters and allied health recruiters are less heavily represented at ASHHRA than at events like NAHCR IMAGE or AACN NTI, but TA leadership at the manager-and-up level shows up in force.

Are vendors and tech companies represented?

Healthcare HR tech vendors, recruiting platforms, applicant tracking system providers, leadership development firms, and benefits providers all exhibit. AI-enabled recruiting and HR products have grown significantly on the floor in the last two cycles. ASHHRA is one of the few conferences where a healthcare HR vendor can have a structured pipeline conversation with a CHRO without it feeling forced.

What are the key themes at ASHHRA 2026?

What HR and workforce topics are in focus?

ASHHRA is structured primarily around continuing education for healthcare HR professionals. Sessions cover workforce strategy, leadership development, talent acquisition operations, employee experience, compensation and benefits, DEI, employee relations, and HR-side regulatory topics. CE credit toward HR certifications such as PHR, SPHR, SHRM-CP, and SHRM-SCP is a meaningful draw, and ASHHRA itself certifies the CHHR credential for healthcare HR professionals.

Leadership tracks address CHRO development, building HR organizations that can support clinical recovery, and navigating the intersection of HR with finance, operations, and clinical leadership.

What workforce and AI conversations happen at ASHHRA?

Workforce strategy is the through-line at ASHHRA 2026. Clinical labor cost is below the pandemic peak but above pre-pandemic baseline, and CFOs are still pushing HR to bring agency and travel labor down structurally. Nursing vacancy rates have come down meaningfully off their 2023 peak in most systems but are not back to anything resembling normal. Physician recruitment lead times remain long. Behavioral health hiring is in particular focus.

The AI conversation is everywhere on the agenda. Generative AI in HR, ambient AI inside recruiter workflows, AI-driven sourcing platforms, and the governance and compliance questions that come with all of them are on multiple tracks. Many CHROs at ASHHRA are weighing how to introduce AI into the recruiting function without alienating their recruiters or their clinical leadership. That openness makes ASHHRA different from most professional conferences.

Why does ASHHRA matter for healthcare recruiting?

Why is ASHHRA the right room for healthcare HR vendors?

Healthcare HR leaders are notoriously difficult to reach with cold outreach. They sit at the top of organizations under heavy demands on their time, and their inboxes are full. ASHHRA temporarily shifts that dynamic. Attendees come specifically to learn, to evaluate vendors, and to talk with peers about what is working. A vendor with a real presence at ASHHRA, on the floor, in sessions, or in evening conversations, starts those relationships with much more credibility than any outbound campaign can produce.

What recruiting and vendor challenges do attendees face at ASHHRA?

The challenge for most recruiting and HR vendors at ASHHRA is the same challenge attendees face at any large healthcare event: dozens or hundreds of meaningful conversations over three days, followed by a chaotic week of triage when everyone gets back to their inboxes. Warm contacts go cold quickly. The average vendor leaves a conference with stack of cards and good intentions, and follows up with a fraction of them before the window closes. For high-consideration enterprise sales motions where every CHRO conversation matters, that drop-off is expensive.

How do recruiters and vendors typically follow up after ASHHRA?

The most effective post-conference outreach is fast, personal, and comes from a real email address that the recipient recognizes. CHROs and TA leaders receive a lot of vendor messages and recognize automated sequences immediately. A personalized note that references the specific conversation at the conference, sent from the actual person they met, within 48 hours, dramatically outperforms any templated sequence. Recruiters and account leads using Ambient Recruiter can load their post-ASHHRA contact list and have personalized follow-ups drafted and sent from their real Gmail within hours of returning from Savannah.

Travel and hotels

Where is ASHHRA 2026 being held?

ASHHRA 2026 is in Savannah, GA. Savannah's main convention venue is the Savannah Convention Center, located on Hutchinson Island across the river from the historic district, with a free water taxi connecting the island to River Street. Confirm the official venue on ASHHRA's site as the program nears.

What hotels are near ASHHRA 2026?

The Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort and Spa sits directly next to the Savannah Convention Center on Hutchinson Island and is the closest property. Across the river in the historic district, the Hyatt Regency Savannah, JW Marriott Savannah Plant Riverside District, Marriott Savannah Riverfront, and a wide range of boutique and historic hotels along River Street and through the historic district are all within a short walk of the water taxi to the convention center. Savannah is small and walkable, so most attendees who stay downtown can reach the venue easily. Rooms book quickly during conference weeks. Reserve as early as possible.

How do attendees get to ASHHRA 2026?

Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (SAV) is roughly a 20 to 25 minute drive from downtown Savannah and Hutchinson Island. Most out-of-town attendees fly into SAV. Atlanta (ATL) is an alternative for travelers who cannot find a direct flight to SAV, but the four-plus hour drive from Atlanta makes it a fallback option only. Once on the ground in Savannah, rideshare and taxis cover most attendee needs. The historic district is walkable, and the free CAT shuttle runs through downtown.

FAQs

Who can register for ASHHRA 2026, and what does it cost?

Registration is open to any HR, talent acquisition, or healthcare professional working in or adjacent to the field. ASHHRA members pay a discounted rate, non-members pay a higher rate, and students and academic partners typically have their own tier. Early-bird pricing runs for roughly the first few months after registration opens and usually saves a few hundred dollars off the full conference pass. Group rates apply for teams of three or more from the same organization. Day passes are available for attendees who cannot commit to the full three days. Current pricing, member tiers, and deadlines are on the ASHHRA website.

How many people attend ASHHRA, and what is the breakdown by role and system size?

Roughly 1,500 to 2,000 attendees each year. The largest cohort is HR directors and senior HR managers at hospitals and health systems, followed by VPs of human resources and talent acquisition leaders. CHROs, chief people officers, and chief talent officers are a smaller but influential group, and they attend in meaningful numbers. By system size, the mix ranges from single critical access hospitals and regional community systems to large academic medical centers and integrated delivery networks with dozens of sites. The vendor and exhibitor population adds a few hundred more people to the venue each year.

What exhibit and sponsorship options exist at ASHHRA 2026, and what do they cost?

ASHHRA runs a full exposition floor alongside the educational program. Standard booths come in a few size tiers, typically 10x10, 10x20, and larger custom footprints. Sponsorship packages range from branded bag and badge lanyard sponsorships at the lower end up through keynote sponsorships, lounge sponsorships, and named reception sponsorships at the top. Pricing moves each year, but expect a standard 10x10 booth to run in the low five figures and premium sponsorships to climb into the mid to high five figures. First-time exhibitors often pair a small booth with a targeted sponsorship like a coffee break or educational track to amplify reach. Current availability, tiers, and deadlines are in ASHHRA's exhibitor prospectus.

What is the ASHHRA exposition floor like, and how should vendors staff a booth?

The ASHHRA floor is built for B2B conversations between vendors and HR decision makers, not for clinicians evaluating job offers. Booth traffic peaks during official exhibit hours and around scheduled coffee breaks, lunches, and receptions on the floor. Staff accordingly. Two people minimum for a 10x10 so the booth is never empty and nobody has to skip lunch. Bring one person who can run a deep conversation with a CHRO and one who can qualify a walkup in under two minutes. Demos that run inside a real recruiter workflow play better than slide decks. Evening receptions and after-hours dinners are where vendor-to-CHRO relationships actually form, so plan the floor schedule around freeing senior people for those conversations.

When should I book travel and hotels for ASHHRA 2026 to avoid paying a premium?

Now. ASHHRA 2026 is May 17 to 19 and Savannah is a small conference city. Hutchinson Island has limited room inventory, and the historic district hotels across the river book out during popular conference weeks. The ASHHRA room block typically offers the best combination of price and proximity, but blocks close weeks before the event and often sell out earlier. If you miss the block, expect to pay a noticeable premium or commute further. Flights into Savannah/Hilton Head International also tighten as the conference nears because SAV is a small regional airport. Book both flight and hotel at least eight to twelve weeks ahead.

More questions about ASHHRA 2026

How does ASHHRA compare to SHRM Annual and NAHCR IMAGE for healthcare HR vendors?

SHRM Annual is much larger and not healthcare-specific, so the healthcare HR attendee density is a small fraction of the overall floor. ASHHRA is purpose-built for healthcare HR, which means every attendee is a healthcare HR or TA decision maker. NAHCR IMAGE is heavier on front-line hospital nurse and allied health recruiters; ASHHRA sits one level up with HR directors, VPs, and CHROs. For vendors selling to enterprise healthcare HR buyers, ASHHRA is usually the highest concentration of right-level decision makers in the shortest time. For vendors selling tools used by individual recruiters, NAHCR IMAGE is often the stronger booth. Many healthcare HR vendors attend all three and allocate budget differently at each.

What sessions should first-time ASHHRA attendees prioritize?

For first-time HR attendees, the workforce strategy and talent acquisition operations tracks are the highest-leverage sessions because that is where current pain across systems is debated openly. CHRO and executive leadership sessions are valuable if you want to understand how HR leaders frame AI and labor cost conversations with their CFO and CEO. For vendors attending without a booth, prioritize the receptions, opening night events, and track-specific roundtables where senior HR leaders actually sit and talk. Keynotes are useful for context but are rarely where relationships form. Pre-conference certification intensives are worth the extra day if you hold or are working toward PHR, SPHR, SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, or the CHHR credential.

How can a vendor get on CHRO radars at ASHHRA without a booth?

A booth is not the only way to build presence. Vendors without floor space can get meaningful face time by sponsoring a single targeted piece of the program, like a coffee break, educational track, or evening reception, that puts the brand in front of everyone without requiring booth staff. Hosting a small invite-only dinner adjacent to the conference is one of the highest-ROI plays for a first-year vendor, especially if the dinner centers on a real CHRO topic rather than a sales pitch. Speaker submissions are the other path. A practitioner-led session with a health system customer on the program gives a vendor credibility and airtime that booth conversations cannot match.

What meals, receptions, and networking events come with ASHHRA registration?

Most ASHHRA registrations include the opening reception on the exposition floor, coffee breaks throughout each day, and at least one lunch on the floor during the main program. A closing celebration or gala is typical most years, sometimes included and sometimes ticketed separately. Pre-conference certification workshops and some specialized intensives are almost always ticketed as add-ons. Vendor-hosted breakfasts, dinners, and off-site receptions run parallel to the official program every night of the conference, and experienced attendees often get more value from those invite-only gatherings than from the official receptions. Confirm which meals and events are included on the ASHHRA registration page, since the mix shifts each year.

Is there a virtual or hybrid attendance option for ASHHRA 2026?

ASHHRA has offered virtual access in past cycles, typically for select keynote and track content rather than the full floor and networking experience. Whether a virtual or hybrid pass is available for 2026 and what it includes is published on ASHHRA's registration page as the event nears. For HR professionals who cannot travel, a virtual pass can still cover CE credit and keynote access, but the real value of ASHHRA, peer conversations and vendor evaluation, is difficult to replicate remotely. For vendors, there is no substitute for being on the floor.

How should vendors measure ROI from exhibiting at ASHHRA?

Leads collected at the booth is the wrong top-line metric for an HR leadership conference. CHROs do not hand over emails casually. Better measures are number of qualified conversations with decision-maker titles, number of meetings booked at the conference, number of pilot or evaluation conversations scheduled in the 30 days after, and pipeline dollars influenced in the quarter following the event. Vendors who treat ASHHRA as a pipeline influence event rather than a lead scan event consistently see better returns. Attribution is easier when the follow-up touches every conversation personally within 48 hours, which is where most vendors lose the majority of the value they paid to be on the floor.

What is the typical decision timeline after a CHRO meets a vendor at ASHHRA?

Enterprise healthcare HR decisions are slow. A good booth conversation at ASHHRA typically leads to a first call within two to four weeks, a deeper evaluation in the following quarter, and a pilot or procurement decision inside six to nine months if the fit is right. CHROs are usually not decision-makers alone; they loop in IT, legal, and clinical leadership for anything that touches the recruiter workflow or candidate data. Vendors who expect a signed contract within 30 days of the conference will be disappointed. Vendors who plan a six-to-nine-month nurture motion anchored in the ASHHRA conversation, with specific health system context and a human sender, close at meaningfully higher rates than those who drop into a templated sequence.

What we do not yet know about ASHHRA 2026

When will the full ASHHRA 2026 agenda and speaker lineup be published?

The full session schedule and speaker lineup are typically released in stages in the months leading up to the conference. Keynote speakers and headline tracks usually come out first, followed by the full breakout schedule, pre-conference workshops, and certification intensives. Expect the complete program to be live roughly six to eight weeks before the event. Check ASHHRA's official site for the most current program updates, including pre-conference workshops, keynote speakers, breakout tracks, CE credit details, and any ticketed meal or networking events that sell separately.

When do exhibitor and sponsorship packages open, and which tiers sell out first?

Exhibitor registration typically opens well in advance of the conference, often the fall or winter before the event. High-visibility sponsorships with fixed inventory tend to move fastest. Keynote sponsorships, badge and lanyard sponsorships, registration bag sponsorships, and named evening receptions typically sell out before standard booths. Pricing, tiers, and current availability are in ASHHRA's exhibitor prospectus. First-time exhibitors are better off committing earlier rather than waiting to see the final agenda, since the remaining high-impact packages will already be claimed by then.