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I just ordered my GenCon 2012 hotel reservation and am extremely excited!!! I was amazed at the amount of few rooms being available from all the local hotels and it is only September!! I got a hotel near the convention center and was wondering as to whose else has made plans or intends to go to GenCon 2012. It will be my first time ever going so here is hoping for a wonderful gaming experience...
Wow, this is really early... I'm still buzzed about this years Gen Con.
Btw, how much per night? This year I had $165 per night for a King bed (they said they had doubles, but predictably after we booked, they had Kings only. Very sneaky.)
I might be coming, either that or PaizoCon or Origins. Gotta choose.
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My room was $179 per night for a King Bed, but the room was refundable. had I not chosen a refundable room it would have been $152 per night. I wanted a room at the Hyatt but they were booked by Friday, lamesauce!! I wanted to get my room early as I have done research and read many stories of woe when it came to getting a hotel room for GenCon. Maybe in a couple of years I will make a planned trip to PaizoCon.
My room was $179 per night for a King Bed, but the room was refundable. had I not chosen a refundable room it would have been $152 per night. I wanted a room at the Hyatt but they were booked by Friday, lamesauce!! I wanted to get my room early as I have done research and read many stories of woe when it came to getting a hotel room for GenCon. Maybe in a couple of years I will make a planned trip to PaizoCon.
Isn't it possible that rooms are not available because GenCon itself buys up huge chunks of rooms that are then only available through their housing website? It just seems awfully early that entire hotels would be sold out; I understand that it will be the 45th anniversary, but I find it hard to believe that we're still nearly a year out and that many people have already snapped up rooms.
My attending Gen Con will be largely up to what happens with Transneptune Games product roll outs. I may be there booth manning/ helping with their games on demand or doing similar at Dragon Con so they can make a showing at PAX. With all of them and myself having day jobs its hard to show at every convention.
Yeah, I agree that it seems weird that the hotels would already be sold out. I am fortunate to live in Indy so I go every year, and it does pack the downtown area, but we're still the better part of a year out.
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Well on GenCon's Facebook page they inferred that they have set up their housing block which would explain the lack of rooms available. I've done my research though, and over the past few years a lot of people have complained that the rooms in the housing block have sold out too quickly with the addition of the JW Marriott, last year, being the first time since being in Indianapolis that the housing block has not been filled. If I can get a room at the Hyatt then I will cancel my reservation at my other hotel, but it does feel nice to have a back up.
I may never get another opportunity to go so I am super excited!!
RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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I will say that we stayed at the JW Mariott this year to try it out, and while it was a very nice hotel, between it's location and the new location of the dealer's room, it was much further from the center of the convention than we liked. We will be trying for the Westin or the Mariott (non-JW) this year. Though, with the changes to the convention center, the Crown Plaza has moved up to our 3rd choice.
Hopefully 2012 will be the first year I get to go to GenCon - all the way from from the UK on my own. Any advice for a first time Con'er travelling alone? Book hotel now or wait for the housing block thing?
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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I'd wait for the hotel block at this point. If you want to book a room early (as in before the con is over for next year), you can get a room that way, but at this point, the rooms are reserved for the room block, so it would be challenging to get a hotel within walking distance during the con without using the room block. If you can find one, you're unlikely to find a good rate, since they know that things sell out at the room block rates during that time period.
I'll be going in 2012... it will be my 29th consecutive GenCon... Trying to figure out if I will be volunteering for True Dungeon again this year or just spending all my time playing Pathfinder... (sigh) as fun as the later would be, I know I will end up volunteering again.
Ye gods, man... Early to be lining up your hotel!
Here is a nice list of tips for those new to GenCon...
GenCon Tips
Thanks for the tips Whiskey Jack. I'm hoping to retire my 12 level wizard this year at GenCons pathfinder society. I reserved my hotel early because I'm in California and this for me may be my only year to go for some time and I wanted to make sure all my preperations were taken care of.
I had my reservations all squared away the last couple of years by this time but both the Westin and the Marriott downtown are locked out for most of the con. The current guess is that the housing block is the cause so it'll be housing roulette for me this year.
Hopefully 2012 will be the first year I get to go to GenCon - all the way from from the UK on my own. Any advice for a first time Con'er travelling alone? Book hotel now or wait for the housing block thing?
I'd wait for the housing block. They have a forgiving refund system, it's easy to book, good customer service, and the rates are better than anything you'll get on expedia or other sites.
In my experience in the last 2 Gencons, it was very easy to get a room from the housing block, which is available to anyone who buys (or earns) a Gencon ticket.
I've noticed that a lot of people like to last minute plan for Gencon, but I think that's changing now (a lot of events were booked in the first 30 minutes this year).
If you're coming from England, (imo) it's a good idea to book all of your events beforehand. If you find something better or you want to relax more, you can always cancel events (even at Gencon, although you'll only get a system refund).
To plan, find the events you want on RUBI (the registration system), put them on your wish list, and make you login during the first 5-20 minutes of registration being open. Having a ticket to an event is so much easier than praying and waiting out in the hall for tables.
Also, Sundays are ripe with cancellations, you can get into almost anything on Sunday as a walk-in.
My first year I was alone and booked my schedule solid, which was satisfying. Last year, I think I overbooked myself and I want to spend more time trying game demos. Whatever you spend your time on, you're guaranteed to have a good time.
I really like playing "Are you a Werewolf?" in the halls late at night... it's my bane!
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Pending anything really wierd, I have every intention of being there again. :D
Thanks for the tip Jason! I can't commit until March anyway, so it's good to know I should be able to get a room without too much hassle.
No problem. One more tip. If you're coming by yourself, it's very easy to find cheap rooms with other people on Tuesday, Wednesday, and sometimes Thursday nights. In other words, don't book a room yourself (and try to get a roommate) for these nights, get into someone else's room.
Fri and Sat nights it's possible to book your own room and find a rommate, although it's still possible to get into someone elses room.
Of course, if you GM enough slots of PFS you can get your room paid for and all of this is moot.
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Since GenCon is a bit nicer on the wallet for myself, I am leaning towards attending it this year rather than PaizoCon. It'll be my first ever, so I am slightly excited/worried about my stress level it will bring.
I've been to several anime conventions where I was left with hotel reserving/car pooling and pray that the change of fan base will come with an enjoyable weekend rather than freaking about my checking accounts balance.