<VV> Parking at Buffalo convention

[Harry Jensen, CORSA Executive Secretary]

Hello--

Well, I tried mightily to stay out of this one, but I can't help myself. I 
think there are some things in this discussion which need to be said.

Yes, the convention host hotel room rates **are** expensive as are all 
hotel rates. I don't know how to tell you this, but there are no more 
$29.95 rooms left at Red Roof Inn anymore. One of the reasons for the high 
rate is that the rate pays for the 'free' facilities the convention uses at 
the hotel. The facilities used include the room the vendors use and the 
parking lot the swappers are at, every group meeting room, every event 
participant meeting, not to speak of the hospitality room and the parking 
areas. None of the convention registration fees are spent on hotel meeting 
rooms other than amenities like microphones and other A/V equipment.

The Buffalo convention uses a downtown location. This fact alone makes the 
convention a lot more difficult to put on (items like: parking, parking, 
space for concours, car display, parking, parking,...). As it turns out, 
there really were no other choices of hotels if we were going to Buffalo.

I understand budgets as I have a daughter in college. Guys, there are 
people with **money** and those without. Most all of us belong in the later 
category. None of us are going to spend a month in the host hotel **or** 
the Red Roof Inn even if it was $29.95 a night.

But those who do not stay at the host hotel for whatever reason, do not 
contribute to the cost of those meeting rooms and other hotel facilities 
used by the convention. Perhaps there should be an additional registration 
fee for those who do not stay at the host hotel, but register for the 
convention, to help guarantee things like parking and the like.

After the downturn in the travel industry following 9/11, hotel properties 
came up with new and creative ways to limit their expenses. One tactic is 
to add an attrition clause to the hotel contract. Basically that means that 
if CORSA says we are going to use 300 rooms per night and we fall below a 
percentage of that number, CORSA is liable for that room. We have been 
fortunate so far as it only cost us about $2000 at one convention, but it 
is a threat which could cost the convention **big** money someday, 
especially if folks don't support the host hotel. There are a lot of 
reasons why the attrition clause is bad for the hotels and for CORSA, but 
that is a topic for another post.

Convention Chair Chuck Facklam wrote an article on alternate hotels for the 
April Communique. I would encourage you to read it when you receive that 
issue. The members of the 4 Clubs deserve credit and your thanks  for 
putting together what is shaping up being a great convention.

Take care...

--H

CORSA responds to member input. Members say they want to have their 
conventions in 'vacation' spots, we have the convention in the 
Buffalo/Niagara area. Hotels with the convention facilities we need are 
harder to find in vacation areas. Lower supply typically means higher prices.


At 03:53 PM 3/21/2006, Tony Underwood wrote:
>At 09:47 hours 03/21/2006, mhicks130 at cox.net wrote:
>>OMG!  It's true what they say, Corvair people ARE cheap (like there was 
>>any doubt).  ;)
>>
>>mike
>>
>>
>>
>> >------------------------------
>>I'm with Smitty!  The host hotel is too expensive and, if I come to the
>>convention at all, I will be staying at a campground or Motel-Sucks.
>
>
>
>Do the math.   Even at 80  bucks/day (cheap for many host motels who end 
>up with 'Vairs in the lot for a week) the monthly rate for a single room 
>with two beds in it is still 2400 bucks.    That's more money than I make 
>in a month.
>
>And that doesn't include anything resembling the sort of meal you'd get 
>from your own fridge, for cheap.
>
>
>If I have the choice of spending close to a C-note on a room for the 
>night, and buying no parts, or spending half that on a room at the 
>Scottish Inn down the road and the other half on those obscure 
>hard-to-find Vair parts, which line do you think I'll be standing in...?   ;)
>
>
>...the bucks saved are better spent on the vendors.    Besides, I have 
>Corvairs.   I'm cheap by default.
>
>
>tony..
>
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|--------------------------------------------------------------
| Harry Jensen  mailto:corsa at corvair.org
| CORSA Executive Secretary
|
| Corvair Society of America (CORSA)
| P.O. Box 607, Lemont, IL 60439, 630.257.6530  fax 630.257.5540
| http://www.corvair.org
|--------------------------------------------------------------