Hi Janice -
I don't get to all of the IOLI conventions... I go every three or four
years. And so I don't think my opinion is necessarily as valid as that
of someone who is a "regular"!
However, regardless of the pricepoint, I think that whatever the food
is, in a conference hotel, you're paying far more than it's worth!!
(And I don't buy the "service and space excuse... you go to a nice
restaurant, you pay for what you eat and get way better service and
ambiance!!!) Conference hotels charge those prices because they can get
them. I appreciated that the Arachne lunch at Rockford was "only" $20,
but when it was cold pizza, I was less than thrilled. But a bigger
issue was that the only people I *really* got to meet were those at my
table - and this was true at the convention I had attended before
Rockford as well....
So... I suggest this: On a designated evening, perhaps Arachne could
have a "happy hour" in someone's room, BYOB with some assorted snacks
contributed by those attending; or it could take place in the Bar, where
non-alcoholic beverages are also served. I'm happy with that. The
best part is that people get to mingle and meet each other. That's the
whole point, so invent a way to make the entire time contribute to that.
Someone who responded to the IOLI survey (report in the gorgeous new
bulletin!) suggested looking into college campuses for venues. I second
that motion!!! In the summertime, they're often very accessible, and
far less expensive.
That's my 2 cents worth!!
Clay
On 4/10/2010 12:18 PM, Janice Blair wrote:
I have chaired an IOLI convention in Rockford where we managed to keep the cost
of the Arachne lunch down to $20. I did mention in my last email that the I am
aware that the cost covers the room as well as food and service. I am not
attacking Portland as I appreciate how much hard work it is to put on a
convention of this size and length.
I wrote to the next hosts asking them to try to keep the costs down, that is if
they are planning on providing Arachne with a meeting place. The Maryland
guild did not have it on their agenda and are looking into it. This is the
second year we are charged $35 for lunch and I did not want it to be taken as a
price that becomes the norm. I also explained that all we required was a room,
preferably with a podium for announcements. We do not need a speaker like last
year, because we just want to get together in an informal situation and get to
know each other better. Just the opportunity to put faces to names.
LA would have been impossible to find a restaurant in close proximity of the
hotel but we could find a lot less expensive food in their restaurants. How do
other Arachnes feel about costs for our get together? Maybe this should go to
Chat rather than take up more space on Lace.
Janice
Janice Blair
Crystal Lake, 50 miles northwest of Chicago, Illinois, USA
www.jblace.com
http://www.lacemakersofillinois.org
________________________________
From: "lacel...@verizon.net"<lacel...@verizon.net>
Unless you have chaired a large convention, and dealt with a large hotel, you
probably don't realize what a meal costs in that environment. Also realize
that part of the price is the room cost, as well as the food and the service.
Unless the group wishes to change the format of future Arachne meetings to a
non-food event, or schedule it outside the hotel, expect the price to be
similar in the future. You will not find a fast food price in a commercial
hotel setting.
Alice in Oregon
Host guild member and Display chairman
Apr 9, 2010 06:36:23 PM, jbl...@sbcglobal.net wrote:
I also wrote to the 2011 and 2012 convention hosts asking them to try to keep
the cost of the luncheon down, as I know some people did not attend last year
because
of the expense. I think our numbers were down in 2009 because the California
meals
were so expensive.
-
To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line:
unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to
arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
-
To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line:
unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to
arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
