DWCon 2016?

[SimonF]

I sent that email, and in it I said we were expecting a smaller membership because we knew in advance Terry would be unable to attend.

Can I ask what you based that assumption on? It seems rather arbitrary to me and as I said before, easy to check, I'd have been happy to reserve a place for months.

About half the people who turn up to DWCon are newbies, each time. From speaking to them, our understanding was that a large draw for them was the chance to meet the man himself. With the events of March 12th and sign-ups today, we can look with hindsight.

What's bothering me is the lack of smaller sized rooms, I know we're a friendly bunch but there's friendly and there's friendly and not all of us are comfortable with the idea of sharing with someone we've only met online, where the alternative is sleeping in a field or a rather uncomfortable walk.

BTW I haven't had an answer to my e-mail, are the comms team still working through them or should I be resending... I'm afraid it's rather too late for me to change anything now anyway since all the rooms seem to have gone.

We're still working through the emails, especially the ones about accommodation as we're making plans to try and get the best solution we can. If you haven't heard back in a day or two, please do email us to say you're still waiting.

[AgnesNitt]

We're still working through the emails, especially the ones about accommodation as we're making plans to try and get the best solution we can. If you haven't heard back in a day or two, please do email us to say you're still waiting.

Thanks Simon

[DominoFalling]

Sorry Simon, I should have quoted your email in full rather than summarising it, your words are below. Many apologies if I have caused you hassle:

"Firstly, please accept our apologies for the inconveniences today.

We knew this convention was going to be the first one where people
knew at the time of booking that Sir Terry Pratchett would not be able
to attend. We could not know for certain what this would do with the
demand for memberships, but we wanted to be on the safe side and
planned for a smaller event than the previous convention's 900
members, and also to try and address some of the cost saving requests
our members have made by introducing a camping option.

In retrospect, this was unnecessary. If anything, the sad event of Sir
Terry's passing away has brought the community closer together. The
choice for a slightly smaller event combined with a faster take up of
memberships and rooms has resulted in a lot of people unfortunately
being disappointed. The very quick take up has exceeded our
expectations and accommodation plans, and for that we can only
apologise."

I am now worried about the size of the public Convention rooms, if you were planning for a much smaller convention how many can the main hall take? How many can the smaller rooms take? Klatch rooms are limited number attendees so they will be okay, but how about the sales room/art room/break-out rooms?

Thank you for all your hard work. I know running Conventions is not easy.

Best wishes
Karen

[DominoFalling]

Just 2 points to clarify:
[/quote]

About half the people who turn up to DWCon are newbies, each time. From speaking to them, our understanding was that a large draw for them was the chance to meet the man himself. With the events of March 12th and sign-ups today, we can look with hindsight.

[quote]

The 2014 Convention membership ran out at roughly 2 months after it went online, I nearly didn't get registered as I was short on funds. So for 2014 there must have been lots more fans wanting to attend last year who were unable to attend, as they got turned away because the registrations ran out. Looking at the actual 2014 attendees would give you a reduced figure to actual fans wanting to come but were unable to register.

The purpose of overflow hotels is to have flexibility of numbers. The main exhibition room in the main hotel should be the limiting factor. Get a stonking great main room, and satellite over-flow hotels and then you have number flexibility without the huge worry of "will we get enough sign-ups".

Sorry, I know you are all volunteers and doing your best and trying to keep costs down but my Project Management background keeps raising its mouthy head. I will shut up now.

[Librarians Apprentice]

Oook!

Just looked at the Membership list. It's on number A666, and the name is Silas T. Firefly

Have a sudden urge to cry.

[SimonF]

Sorry Simon, I should have quoted your email in full rather than summarising it, your words are below. Many apologies if I have caused you hassle:

No hassle, it's ok

I am now worried about the size of the public Convention rooms, if you were planning for a much smaller convention how many can the main hall take? How many can the smaller rooms take? Klatch rooms are limited number attendees so they will be okay, but how about the sales room/art room/break-out rooms?

While we're still working out the programme, and so deciding what goes where, the main hall will have enough space for everyone. I don't have the numbers for the smaller event rooms to hand, but I know the people organising that part are happy with the space available.

Thank you for all your hard work. I know running Conventions is not easy.

Best wishes
Karen

You're welcome. I hope it's a fun one!

[SimonF]

The 2014 Convention membership ran out at roughly 2 months after it went online, I nearly didn't get registered as I was short on funds. So for 2014 there must have been lots more fans wanting to attend last year who were unable to attend, as they got turned away because the registrations ran out. Looking at the actual 2014 attendees would give you a reduced figure to actual fans wanting to come but were unable to register.

We had a waiting list for memberships for 2014, which we got all the way through - lots of people had their circumstances change and couldn't make it, or dropped out after Terry's announcement that he wouldn't be there (which is their choice, I'm explaining rather than pointing fingers). The 40-50% newbie rate has been fairly consistent over quite a few conventions, from what I understand; I've only been involved in organising a few of them.

The purpose of overflow hotels is to have flexibility of numbers. The main exhibition room in the main hotel should be the limiting factor. Get a stonking great main room, and satellite over-flow hotels and then you have number flexibility without the huge worry of "will we get enough sign-ups".

Sorry, I know you are all volunteers and doing your best and trying to keep costs down but my Project Management background keeps raising its mouthy head. I will shut up now.

It's a good idea, and it's what we did with The Palace. One of the main pieces of feedback we received there was that the accommodation was too expensive, and how people enjoyed camping at events such as Clarecraft. We thought we would try it.

Simon.

[Nonny Mouse]

Just want to say, I think the Committee is doing a great job finding extra hotels. I have a room, but if I had been left dry I would have been so relieved to get that email list of local hotels and would have been okay with that. Well done.

[AgnesNitt]

I on the other hand am unable to get a straight answer and am getting more and more worked up with every passing e-mail... it seems trying to be helpful does not do you any good. I'm sorry I even started it except that I wanted to be sure everything was settled.... which it appears it's not.

It wouldn't be so bad if the latest response took into account my previous comments but apparently it wasn't the answer they wanted to hear.

I'm just letting off steam because at this point, I really need to... I hate having things hanging over my head. *there's no smilie for nervous wreck*

[AgnesNitt]

Well the lovely Mrs R made me laugh and I finally got a sensible response so I'm back to normal.

The room swapping may continue but at least I know where I stand and what is happening now, which is all I was asking for.

For anyone who may still be waiting, there is now a wish list attached to the membership room bookings so that you can note your preferences and they're going to review it in a couple of weeks to see if they can do some rearranging.

[Murgatroyd]

Like many other people I was ready to book at 12.00 However the slight delay in the memberships going live ran me into 12.30...
This is the time that I speak to my wife and stepdaughter on facebook. It's a sacred time for me, and I try never to miss it. It's a bit like Sam reading to young Sam.

After I and my wife had our daily chat, I went back to the con site and started to book my membership, and turned to the room options. No Singles...
I freaked bigtime... I gibbered and frothed... I spoke loudly and in strange tongues... I really wasn't a good person to be around for five minutes or so.

It seemed that my hopes of attending the con were dashed.
Sharing a room wasn't an option for me as I simply don't get any sleep in a room with a stranger.
As a trader I need to be there from Thursday night to Tuesday morning...
Five nights at £109 per night was too much for me, especially as I'd have wound up sharing to bring the room occupancy up to capacity... (and then not got any sleep anyway).
As a Trader, it seemed vital to stay in the convention hotel as I don't drive or own a vehicle... I have to drag my stall, stock and costumes to the event by public transport, and by taxis where Public transport is unavailable.
Even if it were possible for me to drag my tent and camping essentials along with my stall and costumes, (and it isn't... the tent is too heavy) It has a footprint of 5 m by 3 m, and wouldn't quite fit in a single camping space... another world of proverbial pain...
I was in a considerable degree of despair, (with a modicum of self directed fury, as I knew it was entirely my fault for missing the single rooms).
To others who find yourselves in this situation I feel your pain and unhappiness, And I hope that you can find a way to attend. I look forward to the pleasure of your company!

Alas I was still on facebook at the time, and made my disappointment known to all concerned. I made a couple of very stressed posts which I now regret. I did apologise, but I'll do so again here... I'm very sorry. I shouldn't be allowed near a computer when I'm that grumpy!
Alas for the instant transmission of social media, (Except for when I'm talking to my wife in Thailand, when I couldn't do without it!).

It's a good thing that I stayed on line as a very kind soul tipped me off about the Ramada... One hasty phone call later and I had booked a single (including breakfast ) for only £55.00 a night and got a booking number. Their reception staff, a guy called Daniel couldn't have been more helpful or efficient. The whole convention had suddenly become affordable again.
It's only 10 minutes away, and just round the corner, over the bridge. I'm sure that if I can lug all my kit up from London another 10 minutes won't kill me... I will be optimistic about this...

I'm very glad that I sorted out my room in time to get back onto the convention website and book my membership. I fully understand that other people who couldn't be on line at 12.00 are feeling cross. Perhaps at the very least people who have real mobility issues and no personal transport, (not me I hasten to add), ought in a perfect world to have first call on suitable rooms at the con hotel, and I understand that the Simon is trying to sort this out. I know that he and the rest of the team won't rest until they have tried every combination possible to fit the most needy people in.
I understand that the Ramada isn't yet fully occupied, and there's no requirement to share a room there if you can afford not to. Edit: Now also full I believe.
Best of luck everyone!

[adrian2]

That is why I sat on my computer from 11:50 until booking opened as both Sandra and myself are disabled and seriously need to stay in the convention hotel otherwise it is not possible to do the convention otherwise.

I will be bringing my wheelchair as well as even though I max my pain killers and drugs for a convention weekend it is getting harder and harder for us to cope and I hope that the superior room that we have booked will have enough space for the wheelchair and our other mobility gear.

This week I have been unable to walk apart from a few short steps and Monday morning it took 15 mins to get from my bed to my PC so I could book the memberships and room and then I went back to bed.

It was a good job I did so otherwise we would have not be coming otherwise.

[Pat]

I got two confirmations as well.

I haven't got one at all!

[Pat]

I got two confirmations as well.

I haven't got one at all!

I take it back - the site is using my GMail account, as I logged in via Google. I got THREE confirmations!

[Whos Wee Dug]

It looks like the membership quota is full, 800 has been reached, I have never known any sell out so fast.