On Tue, Jul 27, 2010 at 8:39 AM, Paul W. Frields <
stickster@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mon, Jul 26, 2010 at 04:54:49PM -0400, Paul W. Frields wrote:
>> Robyn has forwarded a contract with the hotel for rooms. We are
>> trying to work out some details on that contract so that we're not
>> stuck with a bill we can't pay, but (ironically?) one of the things we
>> could use is a growing list of out of staters that tells us we can
>> make a specific minimum (like 35, 40, or 50 rooms).
>>
>>
>> What do you guys think?
Here is a bit of my thinking. 35 rooms would cost the project just
about its entire normal FUDCon budget.
I was thrilled to find a flight for under $300 - rare from my
location. So I did a quick search of hotels near ASU and the closest
one was Twin Palms which I could book for $411 for three nights
combined with my flight. It sits on the south edge of campus a couple
blocks from the union and has 24 hour airport shuttle service. It
doesn't have all the shops and recreation facilities but I won't be
spending any time at those anyway.
It may well not be suitable for the main FUDCon hotel. I have no idea
how many rooms are available. The biggest downside to me is that while
it is close to central campus it is not close to the Mission Palms so
going from one hotel to the other at night would be inconvenient.
>>
>> ...snip...
>>
>>
https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FUDCon:Tempe_2011
>
> We need to be very cognizant of is the lodging costs for FUDCon Tempe
> 2011. They're significantly higher than in previous FUDCon events.
>
> Decent hotels (not luxurious, just decent) are not cheap in the
> Phoenix area in winter. Just as our own contributors really wanted to
> go somewhere warmer for a winter FUDCon, so does everyone else in the
> USA! That means the hotel costs are higher. Rooms at the hotel where
> we're looking at a contract are $165/night + fees + taxes, which comes
> to almost exactly $200/night total.
>
> Even at that rate, we are getting a *significant* discount from
> published rates (which start around $229), and this hotel has
> advantages, such as proximity to our FUDCon location, and plentiful
> transportation options on grounds. All our other options would have
> required transportation costs that would have eliminated any of the
> cost savings. Some of them would have been *more* expensive once you
> counted those costs.
else within a 3 mile radius of the hotel. It is within easy walking
distance to campus. But as noted above, it may have other drawbacks
that make it not suitable.
> When we announce, we'll take great pains to let people know that we
> want them to stay with the whole group at the hotel. That helps us
> achieve our minimum block. If anyone needs subsidies to make that
> happen, they should ask (privately is fine). We will be *happy* to
> make it possible for people to come to FUDCon! We don't want to find
> out later that someone "would have, could have, should have" come if
> only they'd known we could help them make that happen.
>
> No one should think they shouldn't ask for subsidies, or that they're
> somehow taking money away from other people in doing so. Everyone
> who's involved in planning knows it's tough to break loose the full
> costs for a FUDCon, on top of all the $REAL_LIFE expenses we all
> have. We want to help, and Max Spevack has already said he can commit
> some extra funds to make sure we can do so.
Yeah, the advantages of everyone staying at the same hotel are huge.
Was the Twin Palms considered and rejected as a main conference hotel?
I'm curious because looking as a single traveler it seems cheaper and
almost ideally situated.
John