Hotels....

[ewu]

Fanime staff have been monitoring these threads, but some of the posters are correct: no announcements have gone out regarding housing. No information in the public sphere is confirmed. We are working to make sure that the messaging is consistent but as you can see, there have been some hiccups. There are announcements in the works, so please stay tuned for those.

[echoshadow]

Fanime staff have been monitoring these threads, but some of the posters are correct: no announcements have gone out regarding housing. No information in the public sphere is confirmed. We are working to make sure that the messaging is consistent but as you can see, there have been some hiccups. There are announcements in the works, so please stay tuned for those.

Thanks for the update.

.......
Also, for a last note, it has been confirmed that badges are needed to get hotel rooms, and each badge, regarding group registration or not, will have a confirmation number when receiving the badge email.....

Are you 100% sure of this? I ask because I see zero official post on the main web site and all other media sites. The only info that was there was from last year's ordeal.


And lastly @Amanojaku,
Ha! Nailed it. So I'm now a troll for complaining? ROFL.
hugs and kisses.

[Amanojaku]

So I'm now a troll for complaining? ROFL.

No, you're a troll for trolling.

[Glitch]

Since the 19th is one day away, I'm really doubting hotels go up that time.

I'm guessing they're still figuring out the way to make this work with press,industry and vendors. Having been press since 2012, I really hope that specific part is worked out.
My guess is that they could hold aside a small section of rooms for those people.

[BunofGovt]

I'm hoping for clarification on the badge requirement.  I pre-reg'd last year and I've got a confirmation number from that, but no badge ID number I guess.

[SweetNiar]

Fanime staff have been monitoring these threads, but some of the posters are correct: no announcements have gone out regarding housing. No information in the public sphere is confirmed. We are working to make sure that the messaging is consistent but as you can see, there have been some hiccups. There are announcements in the works, so please stay tuned for those.

Can someone at least confirm that they are not going up tomorrow?  Cause if thats true, it be nice to have notice of when they go up at least a few days in advance :)

[ewu]

we are not going up tomorrow.

[Angelx624]

Yeah, I was hearing rumors about Fanime hotels suddenly going up tomorrow. Glad they were false.

[YaoiCat]

Finally an announcement!   I'm glad we finally have an official update! Although, I wish they had announced this a month ago when registration went live ... if I'd have known that my ability to reserve a hotel room depended on when I registered, I would have registered right away.

I'm also wondering if this new system means that rooms can potentially sell out before they even become available to people who registered later than others?

[pantsu]

Although, I wish they had announced this a month ago when registration went live ... if I'd have known that my ability to reserve a hotel room depended on when I registered, I would have registered right away.

I'm also wondering if this new system means that rooms can potentially sell out before they even become available to people who registered later than others?

Both of these things are EXTREMELY important points.  Messy though the old hotel reg was, it did give everyone a chance to get a room.  Now, we're looking at possibly not even being able to get a room even WITH "priority," which is pretty crappy IMO.

[Nina Star 9]

The priority system seems like a good way of doing this, but I'm also wondering about the selling out before people who are registered have their window.

A little frustrated that this was not announced sooner, so that people could know to register right away. Will be super frustrated if I still can't get a room even with this system. And what does this mean for people who registered for entire groups and need multiple rooms? I'm not in that situation, but I'm wondering if it is based off of number of registrations (as in, number of times through the system, so once for a large group) or number of actual badges bought?



Also, can any staff member confirm if it's based on when the registration process was started, or based on when it was completed?

I started my registration back during the $55 price window, but didn't complete it until now (during the $65 price window). However, I was still able to register at the $55 price, making me think that my registration slot has been counted as far earlier then the time I actually paid for and finished my registration. Is it this time, the time it was started, that counts for my hotel registration window, or is it the much later date that I actually completed the process at?



I'm glad that this con is implementing a change, though. Let's hope this helps the situation, since the previous system was clearly not working at /all/.

[pantsu]

An additional HUGE issue is that we don't even have hotel prices yet.  Frankly, I'd like to know those WAY before I buy my badge so I can get "priority" booking....but Fanime's forced my hand with this.  Here's hoping the hotels haven't jumped up a massive amount of $ per night since last year.

[Amanojaku]

Pleased with this announcement; hopefully it will mean I won't be stuck way out at the Double Tree 3 years running.

[TC X0 Lt 0X]

Yeah it makes me pretty sour that it depends on when I registered my badge. I have at least one person in my general group that registered before the end of last year, but still I have a lot of people I need to get into rooms, so I am hoping we have 1 or 2 more people able registered too.

I just finished my registration as an all else fails, but I doubt by the time it gets to me on the list that there will be any rooms left in the general vicinity.

[Kyra_Maverick]

An additional HUGE issue is that we don't even have hotel prices yet.  Frankly, I'd like to know those WAY before I buy my badge so I can get "priority" booking....but Fanime's forced my hand with this.  Here's hoping the hotels haven't jumped up a massive amount of $ per night since last year.

Someone on the facebook post replied to me about prices. She had just returned from another convention in the area and hotel prices were about $10 higher per night for most hotels. Obviously we won't know if this will apply to fanime, but that's probably a decent number to make estimates off of until actual info is released.

[citrus]

Have you guys READ the complaints about this whole new system on facebook? A LOT of people are complaining about it. There are those, who believe this is a good system and says this will give them a chance to actually get a hotel they like and is close to the convention center especially for artists. But from what I'm reading. There are MORE complaints then there are compliments. Because of this new time stamp system this puts off a lot of people who wants to come to the convention. 55-65$ for a badge? Great! Now where are we going to stay? Like some have complained. Each year registration gets more complicated and hectic.

How are people suppose to have fun or attend a convention when there is NOWHERE for them to stay? This system sounds pretty decent but there are SO MANY FLAWS WITH IT.

Fanime is HOPING this new system will reduce traffic or prevent scalping but the problem is... who's to say it will work reduce or prevent all that? There is NO GUARANTEE this will work and like I said the staff is HOPING this will work. I will say this... I maybe one of the more cynical forums members. I've done a lot complaining and for the most part I've decided that I'll still attend Fanime due to many reasons. That doesn't mean I'll stop complaining. It just means I'll try to complain less and even I do I'll do it that sounds more rational instead of mindless bashing.

Even to the positive attendees who love the convention. You CAN'T deny that this new system is flawed and may or may not improve the registration as a whole. I had majors complaints about fanime. 1. is that registering the hotel is getting worse each year 2. Fanime's communication with the attendee's were abysmal during 2015 and the past years. But 2015 I have to say was their WORST communication when it comes to answering attendee's questions and concerns. I commend Fanime for actually getting info and ACTUALLY communicating some of the attendee's on facebook, forums and other social media this year. Let's just see if the staff will actually respond to concerns in the upcoming months...

Oh and one more thing. Technically you can still snag a hotel that's either SUPER far away from the convention or you can get their regular nice hotels WITHOUT the discounts which I should say if you were going to stay for 4 nights without discounts it's going to cost 1-2 grand at most...

[fanimefreak]

Selfishly, I am very happy about badges being required for hotel reservations as I have had my badge the moment registration opened.

But, I feel the communication could have been better. Had Fanime staff announced the change before registration began it would have allowed for betterms planning. Those who come from out of state or out of country don't typically get their badges until they have accommodations secured. Good luck to them getting housing without already having a badge and having anything available when their hiusing block opens

[Nina Star 9]

citrus>
I'm trying to withhold judgment on the new system until we have more information and see it in action, but I'm not entirely entirely happy about it either. I'm happy that the con seems to be actually trying to make a change, and I'm trying to be optimistic that this will be a good change (I think that it'll likely benefit me and people like me, at the least), but I know this con, and the new system has the potentially to really screw a lot of people over. The lack of communication is especially frustrating. (I posted a big rant about this on tumblr yesterday, actually)

If this were another con, I'd trust that they could get AA selections done with enough time before hotels go up that artists could be in a special priority group, but I foresee issues there. This still doesn't answer the question of press, dealer's, and other special categories. A lot of people who wait to find out about guests, panels, and other events before registering will have a harder time, as will out-of-state people who don't buy a badge until they can get a hotel.

I'm also wondering if special accommodations will be made for those with disabilities who may require a closer hotel, but I don't know if those have ever been made in the past.

I mean, the hotels will open up to the general public eventually, but since this system is so new, there's no telling whether they will all sell out before then. If this system works, it may help to reduce hotels panic in future years, which may help the situation, but who knows.

Really, a lot of this could be solved with making badges refundable up to a certain date. It won't fix all the potential issues, but it'll fix some of it. Communicating a lot of this a lot earlier, and having solid plans in place (that have been made public) for particular concerns, as well as overall improved communication and timing (such as getting AA stuff done earlier, getting press and dealer reg up earlier, etc.) would solve most of the issues with this system.

But trying to stay positive: I'm glad that they're trying to do something about the hotels situation, and I hope this works. I think that this system still favors those who attend regularly or who are relatively local and know they are coming (or aren't out a whole lot if they can't get a good hotel room). But it's at least an effort.


I'd still like to know about those of us who had started the reg process early without paying, and paid later. I was able to get the December price, even though I paid yesterday, so I'm assuming that places me earlier in line than if I had started the process yesterday, but I'm not sure.

I'm also not sure if I just found a loophole for those who want to wait until they can get a hotel or on other information before they buy a badge , if it's true that you can start reg without paying and still get your place in line

[Amanojaku]

Just because a lot of people complain doesn't mean the complaint is valid.  Most people also say they hate paying taxes.  Human nature is to complain; it makes us feel better when things don't go how we want them to.

I don't think one can fairly decide that this new system is worse until we've actually experienced the results.  Every system has flaws, and I don't think anyone has denied it.  Obviously hotel registration has been a hassle the last few years as the convention has grown; how about we try the wait and see how this works method out before we rant and rave? 

There will always be a lack of hotels, that is just a reality that will exist unless San Jose wants to build more hotels, or hotels offer more discounted room blocks for the con.  There will always be people who can't get a room because they've all sold out.  So, they have tried try to develop a system that more fairly decides who does or doesn't get a room.  Is registration date more fair than who squeaked through the overloaded website first?  Personally, I think it is.

[Konekogami]

Just because a lot of people complain doesn't mean the complaint is valid.  Most people also say they hate paying taxes.  Human nature is to complain; it makes us feel better when things don't go how we want them to.

I don't think one can fairly decide that this new system is worse until we've actually experienced the results.  Every system has flaws, and I don't think anyone has denied it.  Obviously hotel registration has been a hassle the last few years as the convention has grown; how about we try the wait and see how this works method out before we rant and rave? 

There will always be a lack of hotels, that is just a reality that will exist unless San Jose wants to build more hotels, or hotels offer more discounted room blocks for the con.  There will always be people who can't get a room because they've all sold out.  So, they have tried try to develop a system that more fairly decides who does or doesn't get a room.  Is registration date more fair than who squeaked through the overloaded website first?  Personally, I think it is.

I have to agree with all of this.   A lot of people are saying that this new system is unfair to people who pre-registered later, but you know what else is unfair?

Having a better connection than other people ( One year, I was at a coffee house when Fanime housing opened, now the site crashing in 10 seconds is bad enough, imagine that with the wireless going out every 30 seconds.  Yup )

Knowing lots of people who will help you reserve your room

Not having school, work, responsibilities that would keep you from being online/on your phone the moment housing opens.

Reserving 10+ rooms in order to scalp them to attendees.

All of those things can be considered "unfair" as well.