Lancaster Host Sold Out

The Continental across the exceptionally dangerous road is $130 per night. The venue is too goddamn small.

I'm spending the $400+ dollars on local cons and games instead. Screw WBC.

S.

You can always sleep on the floor of Malloc's room with disease infested blankets.

Or at least, that's what I did a few years back.

Someone around has to have a corner for rent though if you really wanted to make it work.

The Host has been selling out more and more in advance each year. I sign up for a room for the following year the morning I check out.

At WAM a couple weeks ago Don Greenwood stopped by and we were discussing room blocks. He mentioned that every year the BPA gets dinged for over a hundred room nights of reservations that get cancelled with less than a month to go. People bail at the last minute, two people with single reservations combine into one double room, etc.

So it may be worth seeing if the Host ( granted, a rather back asswards organization that only in the last year or so was able to email confirmations ) can put you on a waiting list. Or, call periodically starting in late June/early July to see if something opens up.

As far as the venue being too small, I'd say it is close, but not overflowing. One change for this year is that the Open Gaming area will be located in the Auditorium starting on Tuesday AM ( or maybe Monday, not sure ) and the auction will be moved. So earlier access to a larger space will be nice. Long term, there is the option of using the large expo hall next to the golf course, but Greenwood is concerned that any meeting space outside the main hotel will not get good foot traffic.

This sentence:

The Host has been selling out more and more in advance each year. I sign up for a room for the following year the morning I check out.

and this one:

As far as the venue being too small, I'd say it is close, but not overflowing.

. . . don't work well together. It's not the play space that I'm talking about. It's the accommodation.

One change for this year is that the Open Gaming area will be located in the Auditorium starting on Tuesday AM ( or maybe Monday, not sure ) and the auction will be moved. So earlier access to a larger space will be nice. Long term, there is the option of using the large expo hall next to the golf course, but Greenwood is concerned that any meeting space outside the main hotel will not get good foot traffic.

They're (we're) playing in the hallways. I'm surprised the Fire Marshall allows the current setup, but that's not my primary concern. I'm looking to book six months in advance and getting $130 nearby, $95 five miles away for a single bed. That's money that BPA doesn't get.

They must get a heck of a deal.

By the way I tried to pick up a room last minute last year, after the event had started. I was told they were still fully booked.

S.

They did not. What's the arranged rate this year?

S.

I don't know the arranged rate off the top of my head. And I am not saying it would be easy to snag a room someone had cancelled on - I am guessing that between any sort of waiting list and people calling on the fly, the newly available rooms get snatched up.

As far as housing all WBC attendees under one roof, it would be nice, but once a con gets to a certain larger size, it becomes much harder to find a venue. GenCon, Origins are granted much larger, but they also have to use many hotels. BGG.Con caps attendance.

However, if attendance keeps growing at the rate it has the last couple years, it could force a change of venue I suppose.

I was going to respond but F:At checked out for about 30 minutes for me. I went into the BPA web site and found the details on how to secure that rate at the Continental. You book at the higher rate and mention in the comments that you're with WBC. The bill came through at the full rate, and I'm leaping to the conclusion that's what's supposed to happen. That makes sense if they don't have promotion codes in their booking software.

You can cancel up until 48 hours before. Given my stage of life I can't be sure I'll make the trip and I hate to reserve so far in advance when the chance of cancellation is relatively high. But it appears I need to book at least six months in advance to have any chance at a room nearby.

The local church retreat offers Friday-Sunday weekends including big conference rooms for $120 total per person, including meals. Not the Ritz but it's right on the Chesapeake and, frankly, there's better accommodations for gameplay than at WBC. There's a part of me that wants to find a place more like that and throw my own mini-con. No room for Vendors, but who cares? I could set up a laptop and let people buy all they want online.

S.

Sagrilarus wrote:

No room for Vendors, but who cares?

I care! A LOT!

Ok, room for one vendor.

S.