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I Regret Nothing (except maybe the ghost chile shots). WorldCon Reports


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Parris made some comments about weekends and hotels over here.

Thanks. She does say that Labor Day costs less than other summer weekends (which sounds strange to me, but I'll accept it as true since I don't know shit and don't go to cons, per se). But she also says that con organizers actively prefer 3-day holiday weekends. That's the part I don't get. From what I read in most con reports, most WorldCon attendees take more than just those three days off anyway - some take up to a week off. Is that one extra day a worthwhile trade-off for inevitable travel woes? Some folks lost a whole day anyway due to flight cancellations.

I'm not questioning why Labor Day in particular is chosen but why 3-day holiday weekends in general are preferred. E.g., my 20th high school reunion five years ago was held over Thanksgiving weekend. When it came time to decide on the date for the 25th reunion this year, most people preferred a non-holiday summer weekend because they knew travel problems would occur plus they want to spend time with family on Thanksgiving. That non-holiday weekend in July turned out perfect, and a lot of people were able to attend. And didn't have any flight problems.

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Thanks. She does say that Labor Day costs less than other summer weekends (which sounds strange to me, but I'll accept it as true since I don't know shit and don't go to cons, per se). But she also says that con organizers actively prefer 3-day holiday weekends. That's the part I don't get. From what I read in most con reports, most WorldCon attendees take more than just those three days off anyway - some take up to a week off. Is that one extra day a worthwhile trade-off for inevitable travel woes? Some folks lost a whole day anyway due to flight cancellations.

I'm not questioning why Labor Day in particular is chosen but why 3-day holiday weekends in general are preferred. E.g., my 20th high school reunion five years ago was held over Thanksgiving weekend. When it came time to decide on the date for the 25th reunion this year, most people preferred a non-holiday summer weekend because they knew travel problems would occur plus they want to spend time with family on Thanksgiving. That non-holiday weekend in July turned out perfect, and a lot of people were able to attend. And didn't have any flight problems.

If as many do, one arrives Wednesday, the day before Worldcon starts, and leaves Tuesday, the day after it ends, that is just outside the peak Labor Day weekend travel period so travel less problematic.

Thanksgiving is the busiest travel period in the USA, seems incredible that it was chosen for the reunion.

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Thanks. She does say that Labor Day costs less than other summer weekends (which sounds strange to me, but I'll accept it as true since I don't know shit and don't go to cons, per se). But she also says that con organizers actively prefer 3-day holiday weekends. That's the part I don't get. From what I read in most con reports, most WorldCon attendees take more than just those three days off anyway - some take up to a week off. Is that one extra day a worthwhile trade-off for inevitable travel woes? Some folks lost a whole day anyway due to flight cancellations.

Maybe we should start a 'fixing the WorldCon' section.

Naz, I don't know where you live or what you do for a living, but for many American workers, the rare 3-day 'free' weekend is something to be treasured. For service workers in the hospitality industry (and I was one for about 20 years), getting a holiday weekend off is nearly impossible. I did lose a couple of jobs over taking off a holiday weekend for a convention, because I had told my bosses I was going to go to a con three months earlier and I cared more for the experience of going to the con than I did working for bosses who wouldn't recognize that a reasonable request to take 3 days off was not too much to ask, especially when I told them months ahead of time and reminded them regularly I wasn't going to be working on Labor Day.

As to general questions on why Labor Day weekend is cheaper than, say the third weekend in July, well, that's a whole SMOFcon of panels right there.

disclaimer: I am not a SMOF, although many of them are friends or acquaintances I have known for many years. I have, I admit, SMOFFed on occasion. What I write here is my general understanding of certain issues that are brought up often among the many circles of people and cons I have personal knowledge of, or has been related to me by people I believe to be reliable in the context of these conversations. YMMV.

Briefly:

We (meaning, generally, us Fans and Pros etc who like to go to conventions) don't like to spend a lot of money for hotels and convention centers. There is tremendous price resistance for the majority of con goers who will be staying at the convention hotels.

Many cons book opposite their most popular times of the year for large influxes of tourists. that's why we have BosKone in February, and the old New Orleans cons were held in late June/early July. Because who in their right minds wants to go to New Orleans in July? Because demand is low in the off-season, we can get better rates for hotels and function space than if we held a con in New Orleans in, say February, at the height of Mardi Gras.

The demands we make on hotels and convention centers are often centered around 'how cheap will you give us X?".

Hotels make a fck of a lot more money with a lot less strain on their operations (labor costs in particular) when they can book a lot of small meetings, weddings, celebrations, dinners and one-off events than they can from most SF conventions during their high season. Even contracts can be fudged - I know of several cons that found that even though they had booked to have all the space in, let's say, 'the grand ballroom' for a day, they find that a section of the ballroom was closed off because a wedding or other celebration group came and waved big money to use the space, and the con was SoL.

Hotels want to fill up their rooms, sell a lot of food and drinks and other delights for the best profits they can 365 days (and nights) a year. If they can't sell high, they'll cut their prices to fill up the spaces and hope to make a bit of profit from food and drink sales. This is one reason why last minute cut-rate hotel deals found on the Net are such a bargain. They know their own seasons and high demand weekends and will raise their rates to the heavens when they can - try getting a good hotel deal in Louisville for Kentucky Derby Day in May. In August, those rooms go for a song compared to Derby week.

So, in general, Labor Day weekend in the metro center is not a high-demand weekend in many US cities. People tend to spend it visiting family, going to someplace to enjoy the last of the summer like the beach or the mountains or the local park for a BBQ. That means that for many hotels and convention centers they're willing to cut their prices to a level that a WorldCon bid can negotiate to a standard that most people interested in going to a WorldCon will accept.

This principle of 'we need lots of space and cheap rates' is why we'll never have a WorldCon in Manhattan ever again, no matter what weekend we pick; it's just too damn expensive for the pool of possible attendees.

I hope this clarifies this particular issue a bit.

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Our shirts arrived. Neal rocks for muling for us. :D

Raya rocks for her awesome design. The X's rock for running it all. Lodey rocks for bringing out the older designs.

laoise and I did go into full emo mode after seeing the label the X's stuck on our shorts though.

London is too long to wait.

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That's it! You are now my favorite person ever. I lurved that song. After reading Fen's post, I'd like to change what I said from "if those tiaras could talk" to "if I could be a fly on Fen's shoulder so I could hear his "greeter" conversations and those who he pisses off unintentionally." Love you Fen and Reg!!!

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That's it! You are now my favorite person ever. I lurved that song. After reading Fen's post, I'd like to change what I said from "if those tiaras could talk" to "if I could be a fly on Fen's shoulder so I could hear his "greeter" conversations and those who he pisses off unintentionally." Love you Fen and Reg!!!

Your av rocks... :P
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Raya rocks for her awesome design. The X's rock for running it all. Lodey rocks for bringing out the older designs.

Valar Dohaeris - everything is love and support for the BwB - I still have shirts left and will bring them across the pond. I can't wait to see everyone in Londontown.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Is it bad that it's taken me this long to come down? I blame the 4 semi-destination weddings I had to attend directly upon my return from World Con. There's also that cross-country move I'm trying to prepare for.



For those of you who don't know me, I was Maid of Woodlynne's Plus One - hence the name.



Anyway - this being my second 'con (first being Chicon7, where I only had the pleasure of meandering into the BwB party EXTREMELY late...if I met any of you, I likely don't remember...the night was dark and full of shots...my apologies)



So, some fun memories:



My first introduction to any of you was being walked into Lodey's room on the first night where I was immediately greeted with a hug (I'm a hugger, I like hugs), something happened, then some Maiden went on the stereo - all was once again right with the world.



I got an invite to the closed party. It was awesome. The ghost chili shots were NOT awesome. Art Projects should happen all the time.



We got Tiaras. Life is better with Tiaras. Thank you to whoever brought those.



I was happy to have my booth be Grand Central Station for the convention center. As someone who travels for work alone an tremendous amount, having friends stop by and say hi was such a treat. (I really, really mean that)



How did we manage to make a party of 30 at Rosario's work?



So much intervention being run... that was awesome. You're all awesome... you know who you are.



No trip to Texas is complete without a trip to Whataburger in the wee hours - (it's a kerfuffle in Whataburger! It's a Whatafuffle!)



Blazer guy was awesome (see also: fashionable) - I hear he's signed up - Hopefully we all gave him awesome stories to tell when he got home. Talk about serendipity!



Photographic evidence of Maid of Woodlynne looking fly in a dress at the Hugos - Speaking of the Hugos - it was HOT IN THERE! Also MASSIVE props to John Picacio standing up for Women in Texas.



Impromptu party in the lobby on Dead Dog Day - so many surprise returns from the airport!



I feel like there was so much more that is just escaping my head right now. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for London - I'm not sure what my situation is going to be once I move out to Utah, but with any luck, I"ll be there and NOT working, so I'll be happily on hand to help out with whatever you need.. Even if I can't be there, I'm happy to help in any way I can remotely.



All in all - thanks to everyone in the BwB for welcoming me with open arms. Truly, last year at Chicon, I felt like I had found "my people", and this year, sharing so many experiences with you all, cemented that.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The fact that I am only now reporting in may be a testament to how truly epic LonestarCon3 was. So many of my memories are entrenched in late night escapades, I'm not 100% sure the entire week wasn't an elaborate dream in which you were all involved.



After a short adventure picking up Curlz from the airport, we convinced security to unlock the convention center doors so we could check the party board, and tracked down Lodey at Boston's no pants party. Thus the real partying began



After that things start to get hazy. There was an incident (or two) in which a freight elevator might have been hijacked, others may or may not have been present, and then lots of people in Lodey's room, where I was SO HAPPY because there was music.



Running into BWBers everywhere we went and feeling that amazing sense of belonging I never imagined could exist at a con. Illegal shenanigans that may, or may not, have involved stuffing my car way past capacity. Rosario's almost didn't know what hit them when our group showed up, which was totally okay. No one ever sees us coming.



Lucky Pierre and his glitter, and also glow sticks. Tiaras. Sword fights. Discussions about tattoos and jewelry. Sitting on George's lap for a pic. Code: pineapple. Being continuously rescued from nefarious creepers by Frisco and Ser Cam. Watching my brother and my cousin eat bugs. Chillin with Leigh and Curlz in the Convention Center talking publishing.



Ser Cam reading a lovely story about a rooster, and pre-party margaritas in Frisco's room (virgin, of course). And before Ser Cam gets too drunk... *wink*


Monty Python, music trivia that luckily never actually evolved into table dancing (Be-be-be Benny and the Jets) and Curlz and I rescuing Ser Cam's flying cookies at the end of the dead dogs. Red Woman's serenade to John in the lobby party, and celebrating with scotch. Also, John let me hold his Hugo for a while. And his Chesley.



Also, I am very proud that no one fell off a balcony (except the unfortunate cookies) nor into the canal also known as the Riverwalk. Because with that many drunk people running around, that's a small miracle. Oh, and Frisco, we all know that tiara was yours.


People, October is halfway over and I miss you like crazy. Can't go to LonCon, so...anyone up for DragonCON? (I'll start a new thread about it tomorrow.) It's in Washington D.C. this year. Rumor has it that Curlz and I, and possibly a few other BWBers might be making appearances.
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World Fantasy will be in DC in Fall 2014, so I'm guessing that's the con in question. GOH is Guy Gavriel Kay, which is pretty sweet!

OH. MY. HEINLEIN.

WFC IN DC WITH GGK!?!

HOW DID I NOT KNOW THIS UNTIL NOW?!?

More importantly, how do I magic up time and money to make this happen??????

Are any of the rest of you considering this con????

*runs around excitedly in circles until she collapses in exhaustion*

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Always in Atlanta? Hm. I stand corrected! I admit, I was also looking at World Fantasy, which might be why I interchanged those locations. World Fantasy is also appealing. Would LOVE to come to ConCarolina! Except I have a young person who will be graduating from high school the last week in May, so I sort of might need to be there. *grumbles about family obligations*



DragonCON is still on the table for Curlz and me for now, so if you might be going, please speak up. But also keep the CON suggestions coming.



Why can't we all just go to everything? Oh right. No one is rich. *grumbles some more*


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Info on the 2014 World Fantasy Convention in DC can be found here:
http://www.worldfantasy2014.org/registration.php

Note that they have a very strict registration cap. Once they sell out, they do not make exceptions.

And membership rates go up in early November (after this year's WFC, in Brighton UK, has ended).

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