Re: Philcon is in New Jersey (!) this year

On May 1, 3:17 pm, Brian Siano <si...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> I can't speak for the current Philcon staff, but I did work the con for
> the past few years, so maybe the following comments may be helpful.

As my wife is both a former Philcon concom member, and a PSFS board
of directors member, I can state that she agrees with your thoughts.

> 1. The choice of the hotel in Cherry Hill was not, repeat, NOT to
> exclude or discriminate against people who don't drive. (Lord knows why
> anyone would consciously do that. It sure as heck ain't a marketing
> thing. Philcon ain't big enough to be choosy.)

Leaving aside anime and national comic cons, none are. The Boskone
that hit the iceberg was an exception ( More than 20 years ago,
now ) ,
a point that Special Snow*flake* Keith seems quite unable to grasp.

> The main reasons include: a) the hotels Philcon's used in the past were
> not available, for various reasons, b) it's becoming increasingly
> expensive to run a con in a hotel in Center City Philadelphia, and c)
> there aren't many hotels that can handle Philcon's requirements.

Nor is any of this limited to the Philly hotel market; most North
American
cities can say the same. Given the trends in hotel markets moving
further
upscale, and that many hotels are now built with more luxurious
rooms,
but little to no meeting space ( Embassy Suites is a good example of
this trend ), that really limits the number of facilities in any
market, and
as anyone familiar with basic economics knows, less choice means more
cost for the product/service.

It also needs to be remembered that most professional conventions have
paid staffs, much higher registration rates than any similar SF cons,
and
all their attendees can deduct some/all of their expenses as business
tax deductions, so such more well heeled folks have two reasons not to
be as concerned about the costs as fen would be.

> 2. I'm not aware of how many of our attendees come by train or by plane.
> But, for those who are driving, a ****ft to Cherry Hill isn't much of a
> problem. Might even be easier, since you won't deal with city traffic.

Sure. I will add that driving into the most recent downtown Philcon
location
wasn't that difficult, as it involved coming in on the I-76 south,
getting onto
676 E, and immediately taking the first exit, and from there, it was
well
under a mile to the hotel entrance.

> 3. If you're coming by train or plane, it would be worthwhile to
> coordinate shared trans****tation from Philly to the hotel.

Sure. All this comes back to points previously covered, that its each
person's responsibility to get themselves to any event that they wish
to attend. If the con provides the information where they are, they've
fulfilled their part.

> (I recommend against walking.)

<g>

> (Personally, I like cons in Center City, but that's because I like
> cities and I live in Philly.)

Sure. The issue is that keeping Philcon there might mean a member****p
price jump of at least $20 a head, maybe well more. Does a downtown
fandom accept that giving them a downtown con might mean a member****p
cost of at least $100 ?

Andre