Past Installments of Bitchy Design Queen...

BDQ on Web Page Design

Back to my non-priscilla home...

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Spacelanes

BDQ prepares for Minicon...

Well, if you've read any of my other web pages, you can see that I'm an SF fan, and that I happen to really enjoy going to Minicon. I guess it's time for BDQ to get her nails into Minicon, and by extension, other SF conventions.

I had a great time at Minicon this year. It was a lot of fun. I got to see all of my friends, and in general, the con was remarkably disaster-free. I wish I could say the same for the pre-convention services...

We're talking logistics here, baby...

The mailing/membership list was a fiasco. This is my own story:

I've spent the last three years trying to get my address in the OTML (One True Mailing List... I'd debate the "true" part at this point) corrected. The first change was lost. I can see that happening. I continued getting mailings at my old address. I registered for Minicon 32 (during Minicon 31) at my current address. I still received mailings at my old address. I re-sent in my address change through official channels (in e-mail even, so there's a record somewhere). Guess what? I started getting duplicate mailings at my old address. I resent the address yet a third time, and stopped getting any mailings at all (although housemates of mine, with the same address, who have lived at the house for both longer and shorter durations than I continued to get them). I never did receive a confirmation card, although the person whom I had registered with (and had written the check for both of our registrations) did (we live in different cities), and fortunately my name was in the registration book.

Now what could make maintaining this list so difficult? The size? I hate to say this, but while Minicon is a large convention, its mailing/membership database is minuscule compared to many commercial directories. I've been told that the problem is the mobility of fandom (a lot of fen change addresses regularly). While this can complicate directory maintenance, good database design should take this into account.

I've registered for Minicon 33 (again, at the convention). We'll see if they can fix the mailing list over the next few months...

Let's be honest about this. Room allocations were a mess. I understand that the Hotel Department took over room allocations because the Raddison overbooked for a previous Minicon. I can't say for certain whether or not the Hotel Department did a better job this year than the Rad did in the past...

The issue was timing. Or was it procrastination? I'm not sure. Room confirmations were extremely slow. Suite and cabana confirmations were a particular problem. It's bad enough not knowing whether or not you have a room when you're just planning to go to the convention. When planning to throw a party a month's lead time sometimes is not enough, and many of my friends did not receive their confirmations until a week before the convention.

I've been told that this was partially because Minicon depended on the Raddison to mail out confirmations. If the Raddison had done such a bad job in the past, why were they trusted to send confirmations?

After talking with Ish about this whole thing, I'm offering these suggestions...

• Change the request form from a suite/cabana request to a general "party room" request. You may not need a cabana or a suite to throw a party, but you do need a room in the Raddison.
• Set a deadline for party room requests. Make it early (the end of September 30 should be late enough). Make it well known. Make it stick (it's the only way people will learn).
• Set a schedule for confirmations. Get first-level confirmations out by November 15. Get final confirmations out by January 15.
• Publicize, publicize, publicize. If the first regular mailing isn't early enough, send a targeted mailing to people who have submitted cabana requests in the past.
• Include on the form a way for the party planner to show what sort of room will fit his/her needs best. Room layouts/sizes can make a great difference in how a party will be run. In extreme cases, they can make or break a party. A "Bob Tucker Porch Party" needs a first floor cabana with a "porch" or it won't work. Media and video parties seem to work well with balconies.
• Create a "Party Block." Perhaps the top 5 floors of the main tower (or however many is actually necessary). In October, assign a room in this block to each party request, and send out confirmations. State in these confirmations "You have a party room. You do not necessarily have a cabana or a suite. Further information will be provided to you by January 15"
• Provide the list of party room assignments to whomever is handling general room allocations, so they can cross-check it against their information.
• In November and December, select the parties which will get cabanas and suites. Re-assign these parties to their new rooms, and shrink the party block accordingly. Send out a second series of confirmations that say "You have been assigned a (party room) (suite) (first-floor-cabana) (second-floor-cabana)."
• Again, hand this list to the people handling general room allocations, so they know of the newly-available rooms, and can cross-check their assignments.
• At the convention, ensure that people who have requested party rooms are throwing parties. If there is no party, find out why. Blacklist planners without a valid excuse for not throwing their party. I know blacklist is a strong word, but if the policy is "you screwed up and you're not getting a cabana next year," it's better to be direct about it rather than mincing words. Medical emergencies and natural disasters are valid excuses. "Duh, I just didn't get around to putting my party together" isn't (particularly when final confirmations were mailed nearly three months in advance).

Now, my dates here are relatively arbitrary, but to me make sense. Groups who wish to throw great extravaganzas should have half a clue by September. And final confirmations in mid-January give planners a few months to re-work their plans if the room size or layout is going to make a difference.

Most importantly, this is a very aggressive schedule. Setting hard deadlines, meeting them, and in the process giving planners ample opportunity to put together good parties allows the Suite Ghods to take the moral high ground without getting it all muddy in the process.

I really like Minicon. Their staff seems to be for the most part competent. I'm not sure how the mailing list became as messed up as it is, but it can be fixed. From what I can see of the hotel allocation, the problems appear to be bugs in a new system, and while they're significant bugs, I hope a year of experience has shaken many of them out.

Next time... at the con!