But then again, if you have a con that's fully volunteer staffed, there probably isn't that much "skin in the game" other than the passion for whatever you're doing. I think every non-profit anime con is volunteer staffed and given that you already have "day jobs," your only goal for the con is to make it the best con possible and to bring in enough money to keep it going out of love for the con.
I think a for-profit con would require all the key/senior staff to be paid. I know I wouldn't volunteer to put anywhere near the effort I do into any of the anime cons I staff if it resulted in someone else getting money for my effort while I basically get diddly squat. PAX can get away with it with Enforcers because they're not working on the con year-round. Most aren't even on duty for more than 6 hours a day at the con -- as opposed to me, where I'm pretty much on duty for all 3 days of AB plus have several months of prep work for the con.
Actually, I was told that the reason why we do the "membership" thing as opposed to tickets is so that we don't have to deal with TicketMaster and the like.
There are ways around that. Do you see ticketmaster involved at any point with PAX badges? They were in the Hynes last year, so it can't be a venue contract or union thing.
So yes, he was aware of AB, and had to make a business decision in the best interests of his company. So, he overlapped with AB.
I never said it was malicious. Khoo made the best decision he could with the information available to him, but he was definitely aware of what he was doing.
In any event, it will be interesting to see how this plays out. I hope for a relatively peaceful co-existence of the two cons.
I have to note, Boston's convention workers are the most friendly and helpful of any convention center we've ever worked with. I was very impressed. Whoever runs that security firm that the convention outsources with is really good.
Actually, I was told that the reason why we do the "membership" thing as opposed to tickets is so that we don't have to deal with TicketMaster and the like.
There are ways around that. Do you see ticketmaster involved at any point with PAX badges? They were in the Hynes last year, so it can't be a venue contract or union thing.
That is a good point... maybe I'm also confusing it with the reason why they do it at Otakon. Honestly, I have never getting involved in the higher level/financial planning of a con until probably the past 6 months or so when I was promoted to AB's Executive Advisory Board. Basically, my experience from that is, "yeah, I think I'll just stick to running panels -- anything else is just too annoying."
"yeah, I think I'll just stick to running panels -- anything else is just too annoying."
I double say this. Laura (My fiance) is the treasurer of Zenkaikon and well.. HOLY SHIT you don't want to be involved in the money side of things unless you are fucking crazy.
I know folks who are accounting geeks -- they eat that stuff for breakfast. More power to them, to be honest. I don't mind dealing with accounting for my own household budgeting and whatnot (and I actually kinda liked the accounting class I took in college as a filler), but I don't think I'd like to have to deal with managing a borderline 7-figure budget, either as an accountant or as a department head that has to argue with all the other department heads to get a slice of said budget. I much prefer to be told, "You get X dollars to do what you need" from the person above me and then make due with that.
Fortunately, panels don't need much in the way of money -- just about my entire budget is for stipends for featured panelists and maybe about $50 for office supplies at con (if even that).
I don't see why conventions are always clumped together. I understand the desire to have a convention in the summer, for good weather. I also understand the desire to sometimes have it on a holiday, since people have extra days off. That being said, why do all the summer conventions clump up in late July and early August? All of May and June are continually absent of conventions.
Also, what is with the pile-up in March/April? They've got the right idea with PAX West on Labor day and NYCC in October. Meanwhile, Otakon is exactly one week after San-Diego Comic-Con. PAX and AB are overlapping in the same freakin' city. There are 52 weekends on the calendar, and a lot less than 52 big conventions. Seriously.
That used to be Katsucon. It got blizzarded. Remember?
I don't think I was there for Katsucon Blizzard. I was at Katsucon of Death, where we all got sick and lugged that fucking tub to the fucking metro station. Also, didn't Katsucon implode or something?
Remember Ubercon Blizzard?
Of course, but that wasn't a big con. I want a con sufficient to welcome the Fimbulvetr.
I know Anime Boston doesn't like to schedule before late March due to weather concerns. Also, back in the time when AB was founded, there really weren't any other springtime cons in the area (that I know of, at least). The exec staff wants to keep things in the spring -- maybe because of inertia or whatnot. They did try to have a 21+ anime convention, the Providence Anime Conference, in October, but that bombed horribly (and no, not because it was in Providence, I think -- Providence is actually quite easy to get to via either public or private transport, even from Boston).
I don't see why conventions are always clumped together.
I think there is also the problem at a lot of those 52 weeks are taken up with trade expos and such. Whom book their event for the next ten years at a time. Their may not be that many "free" weeks to actually schedule a con.
Actually I think they may go and benefit off of one another for the simple fact that people may want to attend both. If the schedules come out early enough you may have people buy a day pass to AB on Friday and then a 2 day pass to PAX. Plus you can add another curve ball by having a 15 minute shuttle going from PAX to AB and vice versa, the catch is you need to have an AB pass to ride it. If you have it so it is more frequent then the greyhound shuttles you could get people to at least check out stuff at the con when they are going back to their hotels.
There was a shuttle bus already this year due to the lack of hotels near the BCEC -- many folks were staying at hotels near the Hynes.
Thus my concern about hotels on the shared weekend.
Of course, AB doesn't use many of the hotels near it that are just as cheap as the negotiated con rate. I don't think we've ever stayed in an official AB hotel.
Of course, AB doesn't use many of the hotels near it that are just as cheap as the negotiated con rate. I don't think we've ever stayed in an official AB hotel.
We stayed in the Sheraton one year. Even then, if we had gone on Hotels.com, it would've been like 40 bucks a night cheaper.
The Sheraton is an average hotel that overcharges. It's only advantage over the Marriot Copley Place is that it's two minutes, rather than six, from the Hynes.
Well, Anime Boston announced its dates through 2015 on the main website and RSS feed. Pre-reg isn't open for them yet though. :P At least now people can know if it conflicts with anything else well in advance, however.
Well, Anime Boston announced its dates through 2015 on the main website and RSS feed. Pre-reg isn't open for them yet though. :P At least now people can know if it conflicts with anything else well in advance, however.
I only hope that other large conventions *coughOtakoncough* follow your lead. There's no reason for secrecy in these matters.
Does anyone recall which anime convention followed suit of PAX and mailed out badges?
I recently had a Twitter conversation with a friend about how I wish Sakura Con did the same thing. He was telling me that Sakura Con couldn't afford to mail out badges. I really wonder if that's true. Also I suggested to him that pass the word that Sakura Con should offer to mail out badges for a small fee. I was thinking about attending just Saturday only this year, but the thought of having to wait in line among a bunch of young punk kids really puts me off to actually going. I would totally pay $5 to have my badges mailed to me if pre-reg'd.
My recent experience with PAX does give me a little light as to why so many anime cons are hesitant to mail out badges.
I pre-registered for PAX, but close to the badge mailing cut-off date. I was very sure I had registered before the date, but maybe not. Either way, I never received my badges. Now, it wasn't a big deal for me to go to the registration service desk with a printed copy of my receipt and get a new badge, but I am proof that badges do get lost in the mail or don't get mailed out at all or whatever else could happen.
Now, I feel like PAX doesn't mind eating the cost a few badges for people who are trying to game the system by claiming to never have received their badges while they actually sell/give away their mailed-out badges and get new ones at con. I don't know if it's because they feel their demographic is fairly honest and not likely to do these sorts of shenanigans, if their size and sponsorships allows them to more comfortably eat the cost of stuff like this happening, or both, but it certainly doesn't seem to be a real concern to them.
Anime cons, however, seem to be operating under tighter budgets and have enormous concerns, rightly or wrongly, about people gaming the system to get free badges -- they literally count on every last badge being legitimately purchased as part of their budget planning. They also do feel that their demographics for whatever reason are more likely to game the system in this manner. Plus, at least at AB, they like having real names on the badges for emergency contact purposes in case any security situation should arise -- something that's much harder to guarantee if you mail out badges and allow their resale. Granted, this doesn't stop resale or badge swapping or whatever, but at least the real name can be checked against the badge holder's ID to see if anything fishy's going on and it may discourage folks from these sorts of games by getting them on a "naughty list" and not allowing them to attend future cons.
I'm not saying the anime con reasoning is correct or not, I'm just saying that I can understand where they are coming from. AB's solution is to make the at-con badge process as quick and painless as possible via the ExpressPass barcode system and anything else their registration subcontractor can provide. In fact, the unfortunate long lines at AB 2008 were a result of trying to streamline the badge pickup process using a custom made in-house system that, sadly, utterly failed, but did lead to adopting the registration subcontractor, ExpoLogic, to try to avoid this scenario in the future.
Now, it wasn't a big deal for me to go to the registration service desk with a printed copy of my receipt and get a new badge, but I am proof that badges do get lost in the mail or don't get mailed out at all or whatever else could happen.
They do get lost in the mail, but it's really not that big of a problem. You know already that some small percentage will mess up, so you deal with it. USPS has a procedure for this, and it's very easy to deal with. I honestly don't know why PAX is so forgiving of people who forgot badges at home. They don't have to be. If you forget your baseball of theater tickets, that's just tough shit. You aren't getting in. If I were going to allow people to get replacement badges, I would charge full price for them.
Plus, at least at AB, they like having real names on the badges for emergency contact purposes in case any security situation should arise -- something that's much harder to guarantee if you mail out badges and allow their resale.
Anime conventions do have a younger demographic, it's true. That doesn't mean they need to turn themselves into summer camps. Amusement parks, theaters, colloseums, and many other places that grant admission to a large number of minors do not do any of these things. If they are so concerned with saving money, they just need more "tough shit" rules. Anime Boston was on the right track with their policy of absolutely not replacing lost badges. More like that. The convention is not day care. It is not responsible for your children. If they go missing, if they have a problem, then the convention has as much to do with it as a shopping mall has to do with their customers.
Comments
I think a for-profit con would require all the key/senior staff to be paid. I know I wouldn't volunteer to put anywhere near the effort I do into any of the anime cons I staff if it resulted in someone else getting money for my effort while I basically get diddly squat. PAX can get away with it with Enforcers because they're not working on the con year-round. Most aren't even on duty for more than 6 hours a day at the con -- as opposed to me, where I'm pretty much on duty for all 3 days of AB plus have several months of prep work for the con.
I never said it was malicious. Khoo made the best decision he could with the information available to him, but he was definitely aware of what he was doing.
In any event, it will be interesting to see how this plays out. I hope for a relatively peaceful co-existence of the two cons.
Fortunately, panels don't need much in the way of money -- just about my entire budget is for stipends for featured panelists and maybe about $50 for office supplies at con (if even that).
Also, what is with the pile-up in March/April? They've got the right idea with PAX West on Labor day and NYCC in October. Meanwhile, Otakon is exactly one week after San-Diego Comic-Con. PAX and AB are overlapping in the same freakin' city. There are 52 weekends on the calendar, and a lot less than 52 big conventions. Seriously.
Of course, AB doesn't use many of the hotels near it that are just as cheap as the negotiated con rate. I don't think we've ever stayed in an official AB hotel.
The Sheraton is an average hotel that overcharges. It's only advantage over the Marriot Copley Place is that it's two minutes, rather than six, from the Hynes.
I recently had a Twitter conversation with a friend about how I wish Sakura Con did the same thing. He was telling me that Sakura Con couldn't afford to mail out badges. I really wonder if that's true. Also I suggested to him that pass the word that Sakura Con should offer to mail out badges for a small fee. I was thinking about attending just Saturday only this year, but the thought of having to wait in line among a bunch of young punk kids really puts me off to actually going. I would totally pay $5 to have my badges mailed to me if pre-reg'd.
I pre-registered for PAX, but close to the badge mailing cut-off date. I was very sure I had registered before the date, but maybe not. Either way, I never received my badges. Now, it wasn't a big deal for me to go to the registration service desk with a printed copy of my receipt and get a new badge, but I am proof that badges do get lost in the mail or don't get mailed out at all or whatever else could happen.
Now, I feel like PAX doesn't mind eating the cost a few badges for people who are trying to game the system by claiming to never have received their badges while they actually sell/give away their mailed-out badges and get new ones at con. I don't know if it's because they feel their demographic is fairly honest and not likely to do these sorts of shenanigans, if their size and sponsorships allows them to more comfortably eat the cost of stuff like this happening, or both, but it certainly doesn't seem to be a real concern to them.
Anime cons, however, seem to be operating under tighter budgets and have enormous concerns, rightly or wrongly, about people gaming the system to get free badges -- they literally count on every last badge being legitimately purchased as part of their budget planning. They also do feel that their demographics for whatever reason are more likely to game the system in this manner. Plus, at least at AB, they like having real names on the badges for emergency contact purposes in case any security situation should arise -- something that's much harder to guarantee if you mail out badges and allow their resale. Granted, this doesn't stop resale or badge swapping or whatever, but at least the real name can be checked against the badge holder's ID to see if anything fishy's going on and it may discourage folks from these sorts of games by getting them on a "naughty list" and not allowing them to attend future cons.
I'm not saying the anime con reasoning is correct or not, I'm just saying that I can understand where they are coming from. AB's solution is to make the at-con badge process as quick and painless as possible via the ExpressPass barcode system and anything else their registration subcontractor can provide. In fact, the unfortunate long lines at AB 2008 were a result of trying to streamline the badge pickup process using a custom made in-house system that, sadly, utterly failed, but did lead to adopting the registration subcontractor, ExpoLogic, to try to avoid this scenario in the future.