Abq Celebration III~~ News and Discussion

Jess has coupons for $49 a night for Marriot (which is usually 100) but he might have em for Embassy Suites.

 

isn't that for only 2 people though? or is that enough for everyone?

 

http://www.theforce.net/celebration/index.shtml#23792

sounds like they are starting to take reservations, i wonder if the cost is fixed already.

 

Gecko,
What's the word from your end about reservations or airfare? We (my family and I) may end up wanting to fly if it's going to be relatively inexpensive.

 

I just punched in the dates and it is still to far out

 

Any word yet on if they've started taking reservations?

 

I will check in the morn....

 

I have checked on flights this morning and it is still coming up blank....nothing is showing yet...still to far out!

 

Any new info??? My friend has a hotel room reserved already at the Hampton Inn downtown.

 

Jedi_Master_Sal of the Pittsburgh Fanforce, has been given authorization to coordinate CIII hotel room reservations for ALL of Fanforce. The deadline to get a Discount Group Reservation with Fanforce is July 1st. The more people we have signing up for the Fanforce group rate, the cheaper everyone's rate will be.

======================
Message from Sal
======================

I am authorized to negotiate a group rate for all of Fanforce. It is my hope to secure a full hotel connected to the convention center (by skywalk) for all of Fanforce before the general public is able to book rooms. I am fairly confident that this is possible.

What I need from you all is a tally of FIRM numbers of interested people from your respective Fanforce chapters. (Also, if you have some "possibles," you may give me a count for those as well.)

Please format your numbers as such:
Pittsburgh FF: 14 Firm, 6 Possibles

I will need your final tally no later than July 1st, so that I may compile the list and start negotiating with GenCon (the promoters of CIII).

The 501st already has a deal through them for 250 rooms, but I am confident that with the combined presence of Fanforce we will be able to have many more rooms requested, and could then present a valid case for special consideration in regards to discount rates and "pre-booking".

The room rates quoted to me so far (this was by one specific hotel so rates may differ slightly)
were as such:

$134 per night for a single (1 person) 1 double bed
$144 per night for a single (2 person) 1 king bed
$154 per night for a single (3 person) 1 king bed, 1 roll out bed
$164 per night for a single (4 person) 2 doubles

These numbers HAVE NOT been guaranteed. The price quotes and room sizes where only an initial quote and that by submitting a request it does NOT guarantee that a chapter will have rooms reserved for them.

A deal first has to be made with GenCon. Once that deal is made and we know GenCon is holding those rooms can we count on it being a guarantee.

The submission of requests is to show to GenCon proof of what FanForce is proposing. BTW, chapters CAN submit requests after the July 1st deadline, but I need to get the proposal into GenCon on that date. If other chapters want to sign up after and the deal can be made, that can only serves to bolster our numbers and position. They are welcome to join. It should be noted though that if a deal is made for the room numbers I submit on July1st that GenCon may only be able to honor THAT amount of rooms, so urgency is needed.

Should the actual rates be different (whether higher or lower) you will be notified immediately after I receive that information.

The bed size may vary by hotel. You will also be notified of that should it differ than what is quoted here.

The information contained in the replies I receive will figure prominently in the negotiating process and, as a result, will need to be as accurate as humanly possible since a contract will most likely need to be drawn up.

Do not "pad" your numbers. Only firm numbers, please. (The "possibles" may be taken into account, but I suspect that unlikely.) We, as Fanforce, can not be responsible for extra rooms not filled, so once again I urge you to be absolutely confident with your figures before you submit them to me.

Since this is just the beginning of the negotiation phase, I do not yet have any answers regarding who, how, and when you will be able to pay for rooms. Rest assured that I will post this information immediately after finding out, so as to give you and your respective members as much time as possible to make whatever decisions you need to make regarding payment.

If there are any questions regarding CIII room booking, please PM me for now and I will ensure that a special thread be made for this, which will include a FAQ.



Let's show our "force,"
jedi_master_sal

Edit: Edited post to reflect new information and to give the deadline of July 1st.

 

Gecko! Any word yet?

 

We want news! We want news!

 

I hear the tickets will go on sale in September. Right now hotels still have most of the rooms blocked off and I don't think you can find anything close for more than 2 people per room.

 

This was posted in the CR forums. Thought this might interest y'all:

jedi_master_salkay to answer the question, first. GenCon has the rooms booked. They will be releasing them for booking to the general public at the begining of September. We (Fanforce) are still in negotations for rooms. If a chapter has already signed up and needs to add rooms, please let me know and I'll see if I can add them to the list. If a chapter has not yet signed up, I'll add them to the secondary list that was made for chapters submitting room requests after the deadline. The deadline was for chapters to submit their request, so that I could forward them on to GenCon and LFL.

Due to the San Diego Comicon, I have not heard back yet from LFL. GenCon has told me that they would be very busy with that (hence the revalation of the movie title, but I digress), and that the negotiation for rooms would commence after the Con was over.

And this was also posted by the CR for Charleston, SC:

motf-jan: mOst of the downtown hotels are blocked out for the fan club. You'll be able to secure a reservation once they are released probably in September. However, You can look in the south and east Indy area for hotels. They are usually much cheaper and some are still available. It worse came to worse, you'd have something in case the downtown thing didn't work out.

We are staying about 7 miles out. It's a strait shot in -about 10 minutes and parking in Indy is plentyfull and cheap so it's not a big deal. Our hotel is a 2 room suite, sleeps 6 and includes breakfast for about $79 a night. A great deal for those on a budget. We stayed in this same area last time and had absolutely no problem getting in or leaving down when we wanted, there are several garages that are connected to the convention center via a skyway.

Just wanted to put out the option for those who either don't have the funds to afford somewhere downtown, or don't want to sleep 12 to a room(g), or make up their mind to late.

Janet

 

Upping this.

 

bad news...I may or may not make it to CIII, we don't have enough money to make it. I will see, we still need to talk more.

 

Okay, I've decided that I think I need to go to C3, but most likely I will have to drive, unless the flights aren't $500 dollars. I mean I could probably swing between 200-300 dollars and of course it's going to be cheaper the earlier the tickets are bought.
A road trip with other members might be an idea, especially those who can't swing airfare.

 

Hey skyra,

We're driving. That's the only way we could probably afford to do it.

And we're going to try to stay in a hotel that's NOT close to the convention center. It's cheaper that way. Since we'll have our van, we'll be able to drive back and forth to the center each day. And have place to store lewt. So, if anyone is staying at or near a hotel we'll be at, we could give rides, too!

Bobasparxx is also planning on driving, I think. We could totally get a caravan going on!

LadyNab! You could get your folks to drive to save on costs! If we had at least 4 cars together, that'd be awesome!

 

A caravan sounds cool. It would definitely be safer to have all of us together, plus if anyone has any extra room they can take costumes, armor, etc.. And, a hotel out past the convention center is a great idea. We should all take a look at different hotels and see what we can come up with and then if we find one we like we can book some rooms before they are all gone.
Oh, if you haven't noticed, I changed my icon to a biker scout in anticipation.

Off to work!

 

Hey guys... if you are looking for a decent rate away from the con center-there is Embassy Suites... its 10.8 miles away... the one near there is booked already.

These are the rates:



NET DIRECT RATES FULL PAYMENT REQUIRED AT TIME OF RESERVATION. CREDIT CARD (details)

116.10 USD 2DB BASIC-NON SMOKING


BEST AVAILABLE RATE (details)

149.00 USD 2DB CUSTOM-NON SMOKING
129.00 USD 2DB BASIC-NON SMOKING



With 2 rooms, you can fit more people in there. Skyra could probably stay with someone else. Just a thought... and it would help with food, you would be able to bring food with you and keep it there.

Man, I really want to go. I feel like crying but I want to go to Comiccon next year badly... and I can write off comicon easier then celebration 3.

 

MJF stayed at a Ramada last year that was about 15 minutes driving distance from the center.

$50 a night.

Can't beat that? I can deal with driving back and forth for that price.

 

Same here

 

Well, I just did a quick search on both Expedia and Hotwire.

There are some kickin' deals there, for hotels not in downtown. I'm talking cheap. Granted, I'm not sure about the hotels themselves, but can't be any worse than some of the places I've stayed before.

 

I don't know, It's not even them that would be paying for most of it, it would be me...

 

It won't bother me to stay at a hotel 15 minutes away to save money. Besides, we will only be using the rooms to sleep and take showers. We will be too busy at the Celebration, so it won't matter if the rooms aren't top notch. To me, if it has clean rooms, clean bathrooms, clean sheets on the bed, a tv and a telephone, I'm happy.