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Just as I expected, my confirmation came as soon as I left work.
Came at 5:25pm and Confirmed for Tier 1.
Just wondering what adjustments are made for Venture Captains.
Now to decide if I am going to fly or drive.
I will see you all there. I will be wearing a purple shirt. lololol
You only find out about the VC bump when you drink the kool-aid and join us
Bug Juice Thea, it's called Bug Juice :P
Organized Play Coordinator
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Finished sending emails. If you haven't heard from me and filled in your questionnaire before 8 pm yesterday, please send me an email at genconpfsvolunteers@paizo.com so I can follow up.
Cheers!
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It is all timing. I am pretty sure that everyone who stepped up initially will be accepted. Last year they had at least 2 more calls for volunteers. And even with that, at GenCon last year there was a Tier 1 spot open because of a last minute cancellation.
How does that work with hotels, anyway? Tier 1s are supposed to get rooms covered, but I'd guess a last-minute Tier 1 wouldn't get that.
And I'm on Central Time, so I don't know how that would affect the call-outs considering some people already have theirs.
I know for a fact that they still try and get you a spot as a friend volunteered less than 2 weeks to the show and got a spot.
Remember, if there is a cancellation a room opens
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Two years ago, we were not able to make any room assignment changes after the "final" roster was submitted to GenCon. It meant that a few last minute replacement volunteers were not able to receive the room reward despite having a tier 1/2 schedule.
However, last year that was not the case. We were able to replace volunteers right up to the show including changes to the hotel reservations. Yes, its a chaotic process doing it on site, but it worked out. I can only assume the same goes for this year although I do not have confirmation either way.
That does NOT mean that you can/should wait until the last minute to volunteer and expect to get a room. If not for a few last minutes cancels last year, we were out of space. My advice is to get your application submitted ASAP. At this time we still have hotel space available, but that may not be the case, a day, a week, or a month from now.
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I am really interested in how this process worked this year, both technically and logistically. I know they were using a lottery of sorts to assign access times to book your rooms, but I was not aware it was still on a first come/first basis and that the rooms would be gone less than four hours into a program scheduled for 12+. If anyone has more insight, please give us an over-view. Thx
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I am really interested in how this process worked this year, both technically and logistically. I know they were using a lottery of sorts to assign access times to book your rooms, but I was not aware it was still on a first come/first basis and that the rooms would be gone less than four hours into a program scheduled for 12+. If anyone has more insight, please give us an over-view. Thx
The first group to get access to the housing block (not including sponsors/exhibitors) was the VIGs (Very Important Gamers). Their housing was on a first come-first serve basis.
Housing availability dates- Renewing VIGs (Jan 29th) - first come first serve
- New VIG program members (Feb 5th) - first come first serve
- General ticket holders (Feb 12th) - lottery-assigned times starting at 1200 Eastern. You can access the housing portal any time after your assigned time but not before.
As I understand it the purpose of the lottery was both to reduce server stress from everyone trying to get "their" rooms the instant the portal opened (the same reason the event ticket purchase system just puts you in a queue rather than trying to process the requests of everyone who hits "go" at 12:00:01) and to give a more "fair" shot at the rooms to everyone. I'm not sure that second one succeeded.
Anecdotally (I don't have any inside confirmation on this) some of the skywalk hotels were out of double-bed rooms before the VIG housing registration ended.
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The other horrific thing about VIG is that they don't let new folks sign up for it.
I actually tried the first couple of years and I guess I didn't make enough money/know who to... well.
Where would be the best part of Paizo Forums to put a 'room needed for GenCon' thread so as not to derail this thread, even though as a volunteer it does impact my ability to be in this thread?
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Where would be the best part of Paizo Forums to put a 'room needed for GenCon' thread so as not to derail this thread, even though as a volunteer it does impact my ability to be in this thread?
Probably, the GenCon forums. If you're trying to divide and conquer, I believe most people post GenCon stuff on the PFS general page.
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The other horrific thing about VIG is that they don't let new folks sign up for it.
They switched to a lottery system for new people. In the October-November range, you can get your name added to a list and they draw for new VIG spots. Personally, it's not worth the price for me so I don't pay it much mind.
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I trust the people on these forums more, though?ahhh, that's sweet. Just don't turn you back on those cookies ;-)
Welp, attempting to register experience says "DON'T TRY TO GO FOR MORE THAN THREE DAYS AND GET THERE BEFORE 1PM on registration day"
Seriously, is it that hard to get a week at a hotel these days?
Keeping an eye out, have a thread started with little hope over on the lesser forum.
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I am really interested in how this process worked this year, both technically and logistically. I know they were using a lottery of sorts to assign access times to book your rooms, but I was not aware it was still on a first come/first basis and that the rooms would be gone less than four hours into a program scheduled for 12+. If anyone has more insight, please give us an over-view. Thx
I had exactly the same experience this year as last year. My lottery time was 6+ hours past the start time, and there were no rooms available within 10 miles of the convention center when I logged in.
Last year, I just checked in to the housing portal several times per day in the last week or two before the deadline to cancel, and managed to snag a room at the Marriot across the street when someone gave it up. This year, more of my normal group of friends are going, and some of them got early lottery times and good rooms, so hopefully, I can bunk with them. Still coordinating the details.
Venture-Captain, Nebraska—Omaha
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Lots of discussion by people urging that course of action but from what people are saying, and taking what they as truth, there are limited areas that could handle a convention the size of GenCon. Chicago, Orlando, and Las Vegas are three I have seen.
Full debate is ongoing on the GenCon site and that is likely the best place to go to join that debate.
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In the meantime...
I'm wondering if I'll get to HQ this year, or I'll end up back GMing. We'll see how it goes, right?
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Three years ago, I was encouraged to try AirBnB to see if I could get something more affordable and/or closer to the convention center. It didn't work for me--ended up staying at a Motel 6 out by the airport (though that year GenCon had a shuttle system to hit the outlying hotels, so I only had to walk about .15 miles to get to the nearest shuttle stop). Don't know why they aren't continuing the shuttles--it was an extra cost that we had to pay, but I think I paid less than $150 for the Motel 6 room plus $50 for the shuttle, and it still was cheaper than almost any closer rooms I could find (and I had an early lottery time).
Anyway, back to topic, people could look on AirBnB and see if there's something available. Might be, might not be, but it's another resource.
This year, I'm a Tier 1, so I have my room all taken care of.
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Thought I read online that they had confirmed partnership with Indy through 2020.I'm sure there are early termination provisions in the contract. If I had negotiated it, I would had included a provision for sufficient hotel space.
There might be a provision for it, or not, but if I were representing Indianapolis, I would fight very hard to keep it. If I recall correctly, Indianapolis makes more money the weekend of GenCon than they do any other time of the year, if not most of the rest of the year combined--with the possible exception of race weekend.
EDIT: Just based on a Google search, several articles say that GenCon 2015 brought in over $67 million in revenue to Indianapolis.
That kind of revenue stream is hard to ignore.
As for the suggestion for New Orleans, while I would love it if it was there, I am hesitant to agree. For one, New Orleans in August is very hot and muggy for those who aren't used to it. Hotter and more humid than Indy, for certain. Two, August is right around Hurricane season, and I would hate to tempt fate by gathering thousands in NOLA for another Camille or Katrina. Or, if one was to hit close enough, though early, I would hate to lose out on precious gaming time. Vegas or Chicago would probably be better from that standpoint--neither is close to where a late summer weather hazard would hit (other than heat, of course).
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Thought I read online that they had confirmed partnership with Indy through 2020.I'm sure there are early termination provisions in the contract. If I had negotiated it, I would had included a provision for sufficient hotel space.There might be a provision for it, or not, but if I were representing Indianapolis, I would fight very hard to keep it. If I recall correctly, Indianapolis makes more money the weekend of GenCon than they do any other time of the year, if not most of the rest of the year combined--with the possible exception of race weekend.
That kind of revenue stream is hard to ignore.
As for the suggestion for New Orleans, while I would love it if it was there, I am hesitant to agree. For one, New Orleans in August is very hot and muggy for those who aren't used to it. Hotter and more humid than Indy, for certain. Two, August is right around Hurricane season, and I would hate to tempt fate by gathering thousands in NOLA for another Camille or Katrina. Or, if one was to hit close enough, though early, I would hate to lose out on precious gaming time. Vegas or Chicago would probably be better from that standpoint--neither is close to where a late summer weather hazard would hit (other than heat, of course).
Back when Indiana passed their version of a religious liberty law and GenCon rattled their sabre over it, I think the amount was $50 million, plus or minus a couple million. I would not be surprised if it were higher than that.
There was a lot of talk/speculation/rumors about breaking the lease back then. GenCon also re-negotiated their lease of Lucas Oil Stadium right about this same time.
ETA: From what I have learned about location, it is important to the GEnCon staff that the con be within driving distance of the east coast.
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Venture-Captain, Nebraska—Omaha
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Can we please take discussion about Indy as future site to a different thread?
To that end, I have started a new thread called "Gen Con Future".
Here is the link Gen Con Future
Thanks.
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Early August is normally ok for hurricanes. Late August, is more hit and miss. Heat is bad but we have so much more to offer than Indy (by the way, Im biased :) )
I lived down in St. Bernard Parish for a year working with Camp Hope and Habitat for Humanity back in '07. It was one of the best years of my life. I'm planning on moving back in the next year or so. Believe me, from that point alone, I would be tickled pink if GenCon moved down to New Orleans. Turn it into a series of day-trips for me and I wouldn't have to worry about hotel costs.
But I remember that a lot of the other volunteers and out-of-state workers had problems with the heat and humidity, most notably a guy from New Hampshire who passed out while putting sheeting on the roof of a brand-new house.
I'm not saying it's a bad idea or even a game-breaker (pun intended). I'm saying that the weather is something that should be considered when making a decision.
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Now that the hotel lottery is over, if you did not "win" a room, remember that we still have tier 1 & 2 volunteer spots open for GenCon which earn you a complimentary quarter share of a hotel room at one of the nearby attached hotels. But don't wait too long. They usually go relatively fast and being on a wait list to see if you can attend the show can be stressful
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Owner - D20 Hobbies
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Rumor has it that downtown rooms are already gone.
They were gone at 2:22 pm when my slot landed except JW marriot had King (no doubles).
I never have trouble getting a room at DragonCon with 77,000 attendees and always have trouble with GenCon.
I have a King JW I'd rather have a double, but I doubt I can find a trade partner.
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I've heard that sometimes there are other events in the area at the same time. A car show (or was it a bike rally?) a couple of years back is one. Apparently, because hotels were at a premium, those participants found it economical to buy a Gen Con badge despite not intending to attend just to gain access to the hotel block. Dunno if that is still happening