Gary Con V March 14-17, 2013!

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Melf, Aug 3, 2012.

  1. Melf

    Melf Administrator Staff Member

    Greetings All,

    The dates are official. Gary Con V will be March 14-17, 2013 at the Lodge in beautiful Lake Geneva, WI. The Lodge is ready to take your room reservations now. Just call (800) 225-5558 and tell them you are part of Gary Con to get the special $89/night room rate. If you want to stay and play a little longer, take advantage of the $49 rate on Sunday night.

    We are working on some webiste upgrades as well that will improve your overall registration experience. more information will be forthcoming from the High Chancellor if Information Management (aka Donal).

    Luke
     
  2. ErikinOregon

    ErikinOregon Level 0 Character

    Booyah! Already reserved my room! I am coming in on the 12th!
     
  3. sniderman

    sniderman Chevalier

    Yes! I just did a fist pump and high-fived my wife. She has no idea why.
     
  4. chainsaw

    chainsaw Troubadour

    Cool. Just reserved my rooms, as I'm sure they will go more quickly than ever this year. Looking forward to it.
     
  5. mark

    mark Spellbinder

    Huzzah! :)
     
  6. grodog

    grodog Troubadour

    Great news, Luke. Is there any chance you guys can get an early-bird $49 rate for Wednesday night as well?
     
  7. Dregg

    Dregg Level 0 Character

    WooHoo!
    Have my hotel room and will be at my first GaryCon next year!
    Planning to run some Tales From the Fallen Empire scenarios and play with some awesome people.
     
  8. caalas

    caalas Level 0 Character

    Room booked from Wednesday through Sunday. Can't wait to play.
     
  9. geekpreacher

    geekpreacher Spellbinder

    As I mentioned on Facebook, I have booked a room and if all goes well my wife will come with me this year. It will be great to have her with me. We'll be coming up on Wednesday so looking forward to seeing everyone.
     
  10. sniderman

    sniderman Chevalier

    Booked my room for Wednesday arrival through Monday check-out, but was told by the front desk that she didn't see a $49 Sunday room rate charge on the GC contract. (?!?) So I currently have a full day's charge for my Sunday stay. Is that lower rate something that's still in the works, or was "Holly" incorrect when she told me this?

    I still have my reservation set, but I just need to know what to do on my end to secure that Sunday rate!
     
  11. prolificvoid

    prolificvoid Troubadour

    I was wondering the same (in fact, I'll have to call again, as I was supposed to receive an e-mail confirmation yesterday, but haven't), but when I began running the numbers I came up with the hypothesis that I'm getting the $49 Sunday rate, but since I'm currently scheduled to check in Wednesday (a day early) and not checking out until Tuesday (a day late), Sunday is at the $49 rate, and the Thur/Fri/Sat are at the $89 rate, but Wed and Mon are at (what is presumably the normal) $109.
    Like this, it all works out to an average of $89/night (plus the obligatory fees/taxes totalling $20'ish/night, based on the total quoted).

    Hopefully that little tale was comprehensible, but if you didn't get that Sunday rate - especially having been told as much - you may want to follow up on that.

    I've even contemplated calling and (politely, of course) inquiring regarding that Wednesday and Monday, whether I couldn't get that $89 rate - ala, "So...do you have a pretty high demand for rooms here in mid-March for Wednesdays and Mondays, that you really have to charge $109?"

    Regardless, I haven't gotten the e-mail and wasn't verbally given a confirmation number, so I'll need to follow up on that.
     
  12. sniderman

    sniderman Chevalier

    Yup, I mentioned Gary Con when I booked, and my confirmation even says "Group Rate". But when I ran the numbers, it seemed I was being overcharged. Called the hotel not more than 10 minutes later and asked if I got the Gary Con rate and she said yes. Asked about the further-discounted Sunday rate, and she seemed confused. She basically said that she didn't have any such thing on her records. Didn't want to kick up a fuss at this time (I have 7 months to get it worked out), but I thought it was odd that she flat-out denied that there was a special Sunday rate. Wanted to check here, and also find out if anyone else encountered this issue.
     
  13. grodog

    grodog Troubadour

    Oddly, I thought my Weds to Sun rate did include the discounted Sunday rate, but I didn't receive an email confirmation of the reservation yet. Will ping them and let you all know if I had or hadn't gotten the discounted Sunday rate.
     
  14. Melf

    Melf Administrator Staff Member

    Thanks for raising this issue to our attention. I called and checked with the Sales manager BEFORE I put out the $49 Sunday rate. I assure that it is in the contract and we will work with the hotel to get it in their computer system properly. :evil:

    The hotel adds in about $10 resort fee and taxes to the room charge. So James' estimate of +$20 per night is fairly safe for planning purposes. This is the best rate available at a venue in Lake Geneva. I think we would be hard pressed to match it even if we moved to Milwaukee.
     
  15. caalas

    caalas Level 0 Character

    I hope there's a way to always keep it in Lake Geneva. Having it at the event horizon of RGPs makes coming all the more fun. That being said I'm hoping that the Con grows so big it has to move... someday.

    BTW, I was at my FLGS Tuesday night playing boardgames and mentioned GaryCon to the other players. Seeing that the store is only an hour from Lake Geneva I was surprised to hear that they had not heard of it. Will there be an official poster that could be sent to local game stores or available to regular attenders to put up at their FLGS? Also, contacting podcasts about mentioning the Con would be a good thing in the next few months. I know that a lot of times they mention Cons but only a week or two before the event which isn't really that helpful.
     
  16. Melf

    Melf Administrator Staff Member


    Caalas,
    That is the problem we are struggling with in all honesty. Keeping Gary Con in Lake Geneva means keeping it relatively small. I hate to turn people away, but at some point there will have to be a decision made to cap the numbers of badges or move to a larger site. I have my fingers crossed that the Geneva Ridge will ececute their planned remodel and add rooms and convention space. That would make staying in Lake Geneva much easier.

    We haven't agressively advertised because we are pretty close to that max capacity point and word of mouth seems to be effective. I believe we have gone from 150, to 240, to 400, to 500 over the 4 years. GC V may reach 600 without any advertising. With that said- yes we can put out a flyer so you and others can share it at your FLGS. I hate to see guys in the local area miss out on such a great con.
     
  17. Melf

    Melf Administrator Staff Member

    Sunday Room Rate Update:

    I spoke to Autumn today at the hotel. She will ensure that the front desk staff gets the word on the $49 rate and make sure it is in the system properly.

    Luke
     
  18. caalas

    caalas Level 0 Character

    What if we all just crashed at your brothers house? Dibs on the couch!

    Seriously, what a great problem to deal with (says the guy not dealing with it...) you've come a long way since the VFW hall just a few years back. I'm assuming the cost of the Grand Geneva will be prohibitive? There does seem to be a full circle theme between your dad and GenCon in the 1970s and his family and GaryCon in the 2010s.
     
  19. geekpreacher

    geekpreacher Spellbinder

    I love the Con and when it grows that will be even better. The key to GC's success, from my vantage point, is the feeling of community that is present. There are great opportunities to sit down and just "hang out" with people who started our great hobby.

    I've had the pleasure of coming to know some of these great folks over the past few years and when I see them at GenCon we usually have a few minutes to talk but schedules are so packed it's hard to connect. People go to GenCon for one type of gaming experience and people go to GaryCon for another type of experience. The GenCon experience is the grand expanse of geekiness and gaming and the GaryCon experience is one of community, fun, and old school gaming.

    Both of these are valid Con experiences but one lends itself to a much larger venue (GenCon) and the other works best in a small venue (GaryCon). As someone who works with and on organizational models, it's tough trying to juggle these experiences. I believe this is why Cons such as North Texas RPG Con (which I've yet to attend) and many other Cons like these will always have a place. They're a great way to keep this feeling of community alive and I will always do my best to support the large scale grand expanse of geekdom as well as support the smaller, more community minded gatherings.

    As always, if there is anything I can do to help please let me know. Thank you guys once more for making me feel at home every time I come to Lake Geneva.

    Derek
     
  20. mark

    mark Spellbinder

    Thanks. I'll wait until next week to make sure they adjust my reservation price. Is Wednesday also $89 to encourage early attendance? I don't remember if I paid full rate for Wed last year.
     

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