So after fighting with this damn thing for nearly 5 hours on anything you can possibly think of, I managed the Doubletree. But I wanted Fairmont. There's usually a waitlist for hotels so is it up yet and how do we get on it?
Email FaniHousing [at] cmrus [dot] com to get on the waitlist.
waitlist never becomes public at all..
its better to have it secretly, but if you manage to be in the waitlist, there may be a slight chance you could get in.
Hey, having one hotel is alot better than having NO hotel!
theres always the room sharing thread but I am guessing you like it better off living in a hotel you admire so much (cannot blame you).
So I sent an email asking to be placed on a waitlist (like I do every year due to traffic overload on the housing website), only to be told that in order get onto the waitlist this year, I have to reserve a hotel room through housing first, but since there are no more rooms available, I have to get on a waitlist for a room, but in order to get on the waitlist, I have to reserve a room through housing first, but there are no rooms left, so...
Is this some new policy or something?
There are actually rooms still available at the Four Points and the Doubletree.
Quote from: dj seifer on November 11, 2014, 10:40:57 PM
So I sent an email asking to be placed on a waitlist (like I do every year due to traffic overload on the housing website), only to be told that in order get onto the waitlist this year, I have to reserve a hotel room through housing first, but since there are no more rooms available, I have to get on a waitlist for a room, but in order to get on the waitlist, I have to reserve a room through housing first, but there are no rooms left, so...
Is this some new policy or something?
Quote from: ewu on November 11, 2014, 11:53:43 PM
There are actually rooms still available at the Four Points and the Doubletree.
Just checked it right now - every hotel is marked as unavailable for the days I'm looking for (Thurs. to Mon.). Still doesn't explain why I have to reserve a room before I can get on a waitlist.
What are the chances of someone being able to get their hotel when they're on the waitlist? I was lucky to snag a hotel that's near the convention before fanime got all of them. I didn't want to have the hassle of not having a hotel nearby at all. I've been going to this particular hotel ever since 07 and I'm not gonna be changing hotels anytime soon. while the hotels were jaw-dropping expensive without the fanimecon hotel rate or discount (was around 300$ a night) I rather have a safety net then not having one at all. I was REALLY lucky to even get the same hotel at the fanimecon rate but with all the server crashes and screwup I'm still not 100% sure whether or not I actually snagged the room reservation...
I've always managed to get a room via waitlisting, though I've always aimed for the Fairmont. Other hotels may differ.
Let's face it, Fanime has outgrown San Jose.
Quote from: aetherltd on November 12, 2014, 10:04:03 AM
Let's face it, Fanime has outgrown San Jose.
Kinda hard to disagree with this. I doubt it's moving anytime soon, though.
Quote from: dj seifer on November 12, 2014, 12:31:07 AM
Quote from: ewu on November 11, 2014, 11:53:43 PM
There are actually rooms still available at the Four Points and the Doubletree.
Just checked it right now - every hotel is marked as unavailable for the days I'm looking for (Thurs. to Mon.). Still doesn't explain why I have to reserve a room before I can get on a waitlist.
I was told the same thing. So I booked a room at the airport doubletree, a place I have no intention of staying to get on the wait list for a hotel near the convention... I got on the wait list last year, but I don't remember if I had a room somewhere before that.
Having to have a room *somewhere* before you can get on the wait list would explain why even the further away rooms are completely booked so quickly...
This policy should ensure a lot of scrabbling near the cutoff dates to cancel rooms without penalty.
Quote from: aetherltd on November 12, 2014, 10:04:03 AM
Let's face it, Fanime has outgrown San Jose.
A more correct term is that Fanime has consumed San Jose. with each year, it takes more and more of downtown. And now it is going even beyond that.
I've heard staff say they don't want to move because the next biggest place is the moscone in frisco, and it is not exactly to their liking.
How soon until FanimeCon gets big enough to take over the local cinema? "That'll make for nice viewing.
Second year in a row, im on the waitlist :/
Quote from: Glitch on November 12, 2014, 05:02:19 PM
Quote from: aetherltd on November 12, 2014, 10:04:03 AM
Let's face it, Fanime has outgrown San Jose.
A more correct term is that Fanime has consumed San Jose. with each year, it takes more and more of downtown. And now it is going even beyond that.
I've heard staff say they don't want to move because the next biggest place is the moscone in frisco, and it is not exactly to their liking.
I wouldn't mind Moscone, but the decision isn't up to me. :P
Moscone itself is nice but SF is so expensive... :-\
Quote from: kookiekween99 on November 12, 2014, 08:05:14 PM
Quote from: Glitch on November 12, 2014, 05:02:19 PM
Quote from: aetherltd on November 12, 2014, 10:04:03 AM
Let's face it, Fanime has outgrown San Jose.
A more correct term is that Fanime has consumed San Jose. with each year, it takes more and more of downtown. And now it is going even beyond that.
I've heard staff say they don't want to move because the next biggest place is the moscone in frisco, and it is not exactly to their liking.
I wouldn't mind Moscone, but the decision isn't up to me. :P
The price for moscone is very expensive, and hotels WILL be more pricier than the ones in san jose!.. ALSO even though it's bigger, the venues are going to be hard to seperate from each other.
The biggest problem is traffic, and Raised ticket price!....
MOscone is nice, but i don't think i want to experience another horrible moment like wondercon did! (when san francisco held that)
Quote from: Hachimitsu-ink on November 13, 2014, 12:31:51 AM
Quote from: kookiekween99 on November 12, 2014, 08:05:14 PM
Quote from: Glitch on November 12, 2014, 05:02:19 PM
Quote from: aetherltd on November 12, 2014, 10:04:03 AM
Let's face it, Fanime has outgrown San Jose.
A more correct term is that Fanime has consumed San Jose. with each year, it takes more and more of downtown. And now it is going even beyond that.
I've heard staff say they don't want to move because the next biggest place is the moscone in frisco, and it is not exactly to their liking.
I wouldn't mind Moscone, but the decision isn't up to me. :P
The price for moscone is very expensive, and hotels WILL be more pricier than the ones in san jose!.. ALSO even though it's bigger, the venues are going to be hard to seperate from each other.
The biggest problem is traffic, and Raised ticket price!....
MOscone is nice, but i don't think i want to experience another horrible moment like wondercon did! (when san francisco held that)
That's a good point. I was trying to research how much it cost to rent the Moscone, but I couldn't find any info.
Quote from: Hachimitsu-ink on November 13, 2014, 12:31:51 AM
Quote from: kookiekween99 on November 12, 2014, 08:05:14 PM
Quote from: Glitch on November 12, 2014, 05:02:19 PM
Quote from: aetherltd on November 12, 2014, 10:04:03 AM
Let's face it, Fanime has outgrown San Jose.
A more correct term is that Fanime has consumed San Jose. with each year, it takes more and more of downtown. And now it is going even beyond that.
I've heard staff say they don't want to move because the next biggest place is the moscone in frisco, and it is not exactly to their liking.
I wouldn't mind Moscone, but the decision isn't up to me. :P
The price for moscone is very expensive, and hotels WILL be more pricier than the ones in san jose!.. ALSO even though it's bigger, the venues are going to be hard to seperate from each other.
The biggest problem is traffic, and Raised ticket price!....
MOscone is nice, but i don't think i want to experience another horrible moment like wondercon did! (when san francisco held that)
I also heard that the hotels aren't connected to the convention center. At least I think a staffer said that.
Hmm I seem to have some confusion over how waitlists work. I'm panicking a bit, so I apologize if I don't make any sense in the following text.
I contacted Housing because I wanted to add a different room from Thursday to Friday. I provided them an existing reservation (my Thursday to Sunday & checkout Monday - confirmation #) because they said I needed to have registered through Fanime prior to being placed on any hotel waitlists. I simply provided the above as proof that I made a prior reservation. They have accepted my request to be placed on the waitlist, but the followup email said, "This is an ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ONLY of your request to change your existing reservation id xxxxxxxx for the FANIMECON 2015. Your waitlist request is on file and is currently pending, subject to hotel availability. If FanimeCon Housing is able to make the change(s) you requested, a revised confirmation will be sent to you indicating that your waitlist request has been filled." With that said, here's my question:
Does this mean they will:
1) Add a separate reservation (i.e. I keep both my old reservation along with getting my new one?)
or
2) They will replace my existing reservation with the new one?
I'm worried because I was under the assumption that they will add new reservation on top of the one I had. However, if it's #2, then they will replace my Thurs-Sunday (Depart Monday) reservation with a Thursday-Friday one...
It wouldn't make sense if they replaced reservations, because, for example, what if a person wanted to extend their reservation by a day? By the email's wording and logic, it would imply they will replace the person's original Saturday-Sunday (checkout Monday) stay with a new 1 Friday-only (checkout Saturday) one. Any clarification on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
So you just wanted to add an extra room from Thursday to Friday? If that is correct and housing rep clearly understood you wanted an extra room then you would be ok. For now.
So yes they will add another reservation to your existing one.
However, you'll have to wait to see if there would be one once the deadline has past. Cause that's when lots of other reservations get canceled.
To ensure there is no confusion, I suggest you call the service number. The operators are very helpful and have access to much more than the online system. They should be able to clarify any confusion and rectify any problems.
800-924-4232 (US & Canada)
415-979-2282 (International)
Quote from: StrawberryCafe on November 13, 2014, 04:32:02 PM
Hmm I seem to have some confusion over how waitlists work. I'm panicking a bit, so I apologize if I don't make any sense in the following text.
I contacted Housing because I wanted to add a different room from Thursday to Friday. I provided them an existing reservation (my Thursday to Sunday & checkout Monday - confirmation #) because they said I needed to have registered through Fanime prior to being placed on any hotel waitlists. I simply provided the above as proof that I made a prior reservation. They have accepted my request to be placed on the waitlist, but the followup email said, "This is an ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ONLY of your request to change your existing reservation id xxxxxxxx for the FANIMECON 2015. Your waitlist request is on file and is currently pending, subject to hotel availability. If FanimeCon Housing is able to make the change(s) you requested, a revised confirmation will be sent to you indicating that your waitlist request has been filled." With that said, here's my question:
Does this mean they will:
1) Add a separate reservation (i.e. I keep both my old reservation along with getting my new one?)
or
2) They will replace my existing reservation with the new one?
I'm worried because I was under the assumption that they will add new reservation on top of the one I had. However, if it's #2, then they will replace my Thurs-Sunday (Depart Monday) reservation with a Thursday-Friday one...
It wouldn't make sense if they replaced reservations, because, for example, what if a person wanted to extend their reservation by a day? By the email's wording and logic, it would imply they will replace the person's original Saturday-Sunday (checkout Monday) stay with a new 1 Friday-only (checkout Saturday) one. Any clarification on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
So just to be completely clear on this years wait list policy. To be added to the wait list you must have an existing fanime hotel reservation thru the online system. Since all the hotels available in the online system have been booked now no more people can be added to the pool of people who can be added to the wait list. So if you as of today do not have a room reservation you cannot be added to the wait list. People can be added, but only those who already have a reservation. If a room comes open at your requested hotel the reservation is moved from the hotel originally booked to the wait listed room. Son even once added to the wait list the original room reservation must be maintained in order to actually get the wait listed room.
I just want to make sure that I understand the policy.
thanks.
Quote from: vralls13 on November 13, 2014, 09:41:41 PM
Since all the hotels available in the online system have been booked now no more people can be added to the pool of people who can be added to the wait list.
Try changing the dates of the reservation request. Rooms should become available.
Quote from: ewu on November 13, 2014, 09:53:54 PM
Quote from: vralls13 on November 13, 2014, 09:41:41 PM
Since all the hotels available in the online system have been booked now no more people can be added to the pool of people who can be added to the wait list.
Try changing the dates of the reservation request. Rooms should become available.
Ok,this week, maybe. I checked fri-mon just now and *all* are booked. But that aside, at some point in the not too distant future they will be all booked. What will happen then, will anyone be able to be added to the wait list after that time.
I'm just looking for clarification of the policy on the wait list please.
Quote from: vralls13 on November 13, 2014, 10:04:20 PM
Ok,this week, maybe. I checked fri-mon just now and *all* are booked. But that aside, at some point in the not too distant future they will be all booked. What will happen then, will anyone be able to be added to the wait list after that time.
You didn't actually ask a question about what you need clarified.
If you want to get on the waitlist, book a hotel from Wednesday to Thursday, there's still plenty of rooms left for that night.
I was able to confirm - the date of the placeholder reservation does not need to be same as the desired dates. Just be sure to cancel the reservation by the cancellation date. Or pick dates you are ok with. OR! be ok with the cancellation fees.
QuoteTo get on the waitlist, they just simply need a reservation. For example if they have a reservation confirmed for May 23-24, they can get on waitlist for arriving May 21 and departure May 25.
Admiral Donuts' suggestion is sound.
Quote from: Admiral Donuts on November 14, 2014, 05:32:44 AM
If you want to get on the waitlist, book a hotel from Wednesday to Thursday, there's still plenty of rooms left for that night.
The small catch 22 is that rooms really become available after the cancellation date. We are trying to address that problem, but that won't pan out until at least next year.
So if you do not get the desired room for the desired date by the cancellation date, I suggest you cancel your reservation. Then, check to see if any open up after the cancellation date.
Quote from: ewu on November 13, 2014, 08:36:46 PM
To ensure there is no confusion, I suggest you call the service number. The operators are very helpful and have access to much more than the online system. They should be able to clarify any confusion and rectify any problems.
800-924-4232 (US & Canada)
415-979-2282 (International)
I've called the hotline as per your suggestion and had my waitlist request cancelled & reverted back to my original reservation. I suggest doing the same for everybody else, regardless of what your inquiry may be. They are more responsive there (whereas it has been over 30 hours since I last sent my urgent email without yet a reply).
The email regarding the "request to change your existing reservation" was correct. Those of you who want to simply extend your stay may learn from my mistake and not give them a reservation that you want to keep, as they will take it as you want to swap reservations instead. Their reasoning for this was "to avoid double booking." You should follow what everybody else is saying, and book a "random" room at any available hotel just to have a "filler" swap-able room for the waitlist.
In any case, I changed my Marriott King w/ Rollaway rsvp (Thurs - Sun; depart Mon) to Thurs night only (depart Friday), and requested to swap the new one for one at the Hyatt King or Marriott King w/o Rollaway. I'm most comfortable at the Hyatt anyways, so I'll be staying there for the rest of the weekend. Best of luck to anybody who are waitlisted for Marriott w/ Rollaway for Fri-Sun. I hope somebody here have that spot for themselves now :D
Quote from: ewu on November 14, 2014, 01:08:56 PM
QuoteTo get on the waitlist, they just simply need a reservation. For example if they have a reservation confirmed for May 23-24, they can get on waitlist for arriving May 21 and departure May 25.
Admiral Donuts' suggestion is sound.
Quote from: Admiral Donuts on November 14, 2014, 05:32:44 AM
If you want to get on the waitlist, book a hotel from Wednesday to Thursday, there's still plenty of rooms left for that night.
Y-you noticed me... EWU-sama...
Quote from: Admiral Donuts on November 14, 2014, 09:30:14 PM
Y-you noticed me... EWU-sama...
I prefer the title of Sauron..... ;D
Quote from: Admiral Donuts on November 14, 2014, 05:32:44 AM
Quote from: vralls13 on November 13, 2014, 10:04:20 PM
Ok,this week, maybe. I checked fri-mon just now and *all* are booked. But that aside, at some point in the not too distant future they will be all booked. What will happen then, will anyone be able to be added to the wait list after that time.
You didn't actually ask a question about what you need clarified.
If you want to get on the waitlist, book a hotel from Wednesday to Thursday, there's still plenty of rooms left for that night.
The question is what happens after *all* the rooms are booked? Will anyone be added to the wait list after that?
thanks
Quote from: vralls13 on November 15, 2014, 12:52:14 PM
The question is what happens after *all* the rooms are booked? Will anyone be added to the wait list after that?
thanks
I am reasonably certain that wed night will not sell out....but we do have increased demand this year...
This is a stupid way to even have this so called waitlist.
If a person does not have a hotel room, and everything is full, then he or she should be able to go onto this waitlist. This wouldn't be fair to others as the system crashed within minutes for the start of hotel reg, and I understand there aren't that many hotel rooms, but for people with reservations for hotels, they are lucky. True some people want to change their reservation dates, or give the reservation to other people, but it's not fair to those who do not have hotel rooms.
This is something you have to look at, and may lose people this way.
So it's now about two months to Fanime. Been checking the hotel registration page off and on, no signs of any freed up rooms whatsoever. Tried calling hotel reg, they tell me that I still need a hotel reservation to get onto the waitlist, which I couldn't get day of because the hotel reg site kept crashing the day rooms went up. Once I could actually connect, all the rooms were taken. This is utter BS. I've never had to deal with this for previous Fanimes - what happened? Why are you not allowed to waitlist if you weren't able to get a reservation? Isn't that the whole point of waitlisting? My group has all but decided to skip Fanime this year in favor of AX just because of this hotel reg nonsense.
Quote from: dj seifer on March 24, 2015, 12:52:01 AM
So it's now about two months to Fanime. Been checking the hotel registration page off and on, no signs of any freed up rooms whatsoever. Tried calling hotel reg, they tell me that I still need a hotel reservation to get onto the waitlist, which I couldn't get day of because the hotel reg site kept crashing the day rooms went up. Once I could actually connect, all the rooms were taken. This is utter BS. I've never had to deal with this for previous Fanimes - what happened? Why are you not allowed to waitlist if you weren't able to get a reservation? Isn't that the whole point of waitlisting? My group has all but decided to skip Fanime this year in favor of AX just because of this hotel reg nonsense.
I'm sorry you have decided not to come to Fanime. However, please note the following information. You only need a reservation to get on the waitlist, any reservation, for any day. You do not need a reservation for the dates that you desire.
Quote from: ewu on November 14, 2014, 01:08:56 PM
I was able to confirm - the date of the placeholder reservation does not need to be same as the desired dates. Just be sure to cancel the reservation by the cancellation date. Or pick dates you are ok with. OR! be ok with the cancellation fees.
QuoteTo get on the waitlist, they just simply need a reservation. For example if they have a reservation confirmed for May 23-24, they can get on waitlist for arriving May 21 and departure May 25.
Admiral Donuts' suggestion is sound.
Quote from: Admiral Donuts on November 14, 2014, 05:32:44 AM
If you want to get on the waitlist, book a hotel from Wednesday to Thursday, there's still plenty of rooms left for that night.
The small catch 22 is that rooms really become available after the cancellation date. We are trying to address that problem, but that won't pan out until at least next year.
So if you do not get the desired room for the desired date by the cancellation date, I suggest you cancel your reservation. Then, check to see if any open up after the cancellation date.
Quote from: ewu on March 24, 2015, 01:11:27 AM
I'm sorry you have decided not to come to Fanime. However, please note the following information. You only need a reservation to get on the waitlist, any reservation, for any day. You do not need a reservation for the dates that you desire.
I appreciate the help, but it doesn't do me much good when all the hotels are marked as unavailable.
I just checked
right now.
For 5/20-5/21 the following hotels have availability:
Double Tree
Holiday Inn San Jose Airport
Hyatt Place San Jose Downtown
Fairmont
Use such a reservation to get on the waitlist.
Quote from: dj seifer on March 24, 2015, 01:45:42 AM
I appreciate the help, but it doesn't do me much good when all the hotels are marked as unavailable.
Quote from: ewu on March 24, 2015, 03:24:34 AM
I just checked right now.
For 5/20-5/21 the following hotels have availability:
Double Tree
Holiday Inn San Jose Airport
Hyatt Place San Jose Downtown
Fairmont
Use such a reservation to get on the waitlist.
Just keep in mind that if you do not cancel that reservation (and thereby remove yourself from the waitlist) by 4/26 you will have to pay a penalty. With that in mind I'm not sure how useful the waitlist is as no one has any reason to give up a good reservation until then.
Quote from: dj seifer on March 24, 2015, 01:45:42 AM
I appreciate the help, but it doesn't do me much good when all the hotels are marked as unavailable.
Quote from: ewu on March 24, 2015, 03:24:34 AM
I just checked right now.
For 5/20-5/21 the following hotels have availability:
Double Tree
Holiday Inn San Jose Airport
Hyatt Place San Jose Downtown
Fairmont
Use such a reservation to get on the waitlist.
I tried to book a 1 day reservation, but it wouldn't let me select a departure date. Not sure if it's a website bug or what. I did end up getting a room for the days I needed at the Holiday Inn, so not a complete wash. Thank you for your help and I apologize for coming off like an angry old coot. Hotel registration for this year felt so much more frustrating than previous years.
Quote from: dj seifer on March 24, 2015, 10:24:17 PM
Quote from: ewu on March 24, 2015, 03:24:34 AM
I just checked right now.
For 5/20-5/21 the following hotels have availability:
Double Tree
Holiday Inn San Jose Airport
Hyatt Place San Jose Downtown
Fairmont
Use such a reservation to get on the waitlist.
I tried to book a 1 day reservation, but it wouldn't let me select a departure date. Not sure if it's a website bug or what. I did end up getting a room for the days I needed at the Holiday Inn, so not a complete wash. Thank you for your help and I apologize for coming off like an angry old coot. Hotel registration for this year felt so much more frustrating than previous years.
I think it comes down to the convention's continued growing pains. Been attending for over a decade now and without a doubt the demand for hotel rooms was at an all-time high. The day the hotel rooms went live for reservation was extremely taxing on the servers and the phone lines assigned for reservations were ringing off the hook/busy all day long. Not that it makes it any better, but if it FEELS like hotel registration was very different compared to previous years, I honestly believe that's because it IS very different from previous years just based on sheer demand. I hope you and your group have a good fanime regardless. If last year's registration team was any indication, you certainly won't be waiting too long for your badge! ;D
Quote from: ewu on March 24, 2015, 03:24:34 AM
I just checked right now.
For 5/20-5/21 the following hotels have availability:
Double Tree
Holiday Inn San Jose Airport
Hyatt Place San Jose Downtown
Fairmont
As of today, the DoubleTree is full for Thursday night. (I have Fri-Sun booked, and am still trying to get Thursday.)
I really hope that people start dropping their rooms soon so the waitlist starts doing what it needs to. I'm sure there were people who reserved like 5 or more rooms that they don't need. They're trying to sell them off to other con people. It's totally unfair but we all know it happens.
Please remember that the cancel date on hotel rooms you're not going to need is April 24th! Don't forget or you'll get charged!
The kicker is of course, as soon as you give up your room reservation you fall off the waitlist. So the whole process is a big game of chicken, with the room fee as the head smacking ending if you loose...
The staff from facebook said that the convention mainly consists of locals and that not mainly people stay in hotel rooms. Really now? As far as I'm concerned the convention has plenty of elbow grease and plenty of room to fit attendees. The con is not gonna sell out anytime soon. Yes. Locals are a good thing but if you only rely on locals the convention probably wouldn't be this size now. People who usually drive or even fly all the way to San Jose tend to spend more. And if there's no hotels available. There's no chance of getting into the con. People are sick and tired of having to fight for or play the waiting game just to get to the con. Either we get more hotels or you might as well cap the con as far as I'm concerned. And so far. Getting hotels early seems to be the ONLY thing fanimecon is doing right. But they still have to fix their crappy hotel registration system...
Quote from: citrus on April 02, 2015, 12:26:46 AM
The staff from facebook said that the convention mainly consists of locals and that not mainly people stay in hotel rooms. Really now? As far as I'm concerned the convention has plenty of elbow grease and plenty of room to fit attendees. The con is not gonna sell out anytime soon. Yes. Locals are a good thing but if you only rely on locals the convention probably wouldn't be this size now. People who usually drive or even fly all the way to San Jose tend to spend more. And if there's no hotels available. There's no chance of getting into the con. People are sick and tired of having to fight for or play the waiting game just to get to the con. Either we get more hotels or you might as well cap the con as far as I'm concerned. And so far. Getting hotels early seems to be the ONLY thing fanimecon is doing right. But they still have to fix their crappy hotel registration system...
While I'm sure many locals attend the convention, I have a hard time believing that "not many people stay in hotel rooms". Fact is you have people flying from all over the US, and even from other countries to attend the convention. And actually, I've even known locals to get rooms for the convention because they would much rather be somewhere within walking distance, vs drive 30 minutes and fight over a parking space. Also, if the hotel traffic wasn't high, rooms wouldn't be selling out in a matter of 2-4 hours. (Yes there are scalpers, but I think the growing number of actual attendees are the real culprit.) I remember back in 2010 you could wait about 6-8 hours after hotels went live, and still had a good chance of getting the Fairmont, St. Claire, or maybe even the Marriott. These days, you have to be on it the minute hotel registration goes live.
But now, you also mentioned the bad hotel registration system. I agree that it's not handling the load, but fact is Fanime can't fix that because it's run by a third party called CMR. If Fanime insists on keeping CMR, then that service needs to get a server upgrade so it can handle the traffic. Otherwise though, it's time to move to a site that can handle housing without crashing 3 minutes into going live. Fact is CMR could handle the traffic until 2013 when the room frenzy wasn't so extreme, but now with thousands of people hitting the site the second it goes live...it just isn't up to the task anymore.
As much as I hate having to deal with CMR and think that Fanime should upgrade, I don't think that's the main issue here. The problem is why CMR can't handle the workload -- there simply aren't enough hotel rooms for everyone who wants one, which leads to the mad rush. I don't know what Fanime can do to solve this problem except move to another city, but that's the crux of it. CMR is, of course, extremely infuriating and the outages and crashes make the hotel rush much worse, but I doubt that things would be /that/ much better with a working system that sells out of hotel rooms in a few minutes. Of course, the lack of crashes would be less frustrating and less time-consuming, and it would be a huge improvement, but if there aren't enough rooms...people still aren't going to get rooms, working system or not.
How do other cons deal with this? Just sell out of hotel rooms immediately and that's that? Do some other system so that people are more likely to get into rooms, such as a staggered release system or a lottery for the highest-desirability rooms (though a lottery sounds DISASTROUS given Fanime's track record...)? Have more shuttles, better-working shuttles, and more rooms further out from the hotels? there has to be a solution, short of Fanime creating its own small colony somewhere.
I feel bad for all the people on the waitlist who have to gamble on whether to stay with their reservation that they don't want and hope someone else cancels. I've been lucky to not have to deal with that yet (knock on wood). Do we have any answers from Fanime staff on why a reservation of some type is needed to get on the waitlist? Because this system does not seem to be working.
If I had to guess (and this is purely a guess, I have nothing but assumptions to base this on) as to why you need a reservation to get on the waitlist, I would say that the system needs to have your information to assign the new room to you. Without your information to tie the room to you, it would just be floating free in the void. And I doubt CMR has a different system that would just store your name and credit info indefinitely, waiting for a room that may never become available. While you're sitting on that bogus reservation that you don't want, it gives CMR a reason to hold onto the necessary information to transfer you to a new room if it becomes available.
I suppose they could email people on the list and ask if they want this room and have them fill out the reservation then, but that opens up other questions like how long should they hold that room for you?
Basically it's an imperfect system anyway you look at it.
Quote from: citrus on April 02, 2015, 12:26:46 AM
The staff from facebook said that the convention mainly consists of locals and that not mainly people stay in hotel rooms.
Ha ha ha ha ha.
Did one of them really say this? You should screencap it for posterity because it's one of the most ridiculous staff responses ever.
You couldn't book online this year unless you pre-registered (which was a mistake) and hotels still sold out near-instantly.
But no,
nobody stays in hotels.
I come all the way from Indiana and have since 2003. It's really stressful not knowing if I'll get the hotel room I want much less a hotel room at all. :-\ Don't much like the idea of being roomless during a vacation.
Quote from: Purelovely on April 06, 2015, 08:33:28 AM
I come all the way from Indiana and have since 2003. It's really stressful not knowing if I'll get the hotel room I want much less a hotel room at all. :-\ Don't much like the idea of being roomless during a vacation.
i would just go ahead and search other surrounding hotels as a back up. Most hotels if not part of a group/convention have a DOA or 24hr cancellation policy (given they are not made through a 3rd party site) you can chose and book a hotel you like with flexible cancellation policy and cancel it if you do end up getting a room at your desired location. I would find a place ASAP as surrounding hotels will only raise their rate higher closer to the event dates. thats my 2cents from a guy thats worked in the travel industry and hotels for 3+ years
At least two people on the waitlist for the Doubletree got messages from Fanime housing today. The waitlisted reservations were accepted and confirmed.
Quote from: Purelovely on April 06, 2015, 08:33:28 AM
I come all the way from Indiana and have since 2003. It's really stressful not knowing if I'll get the hotel room I want much less a hotel room at all. :-\ Don't much like the idea of being roomless during a vacation.
Yeah, my group drives up from Los Angeles. We've pretty much given up entirely on the con hotels in favor of a better deal maybe ten minutes away. I'd need to double check, but I believe this year we've got a 2-bedroom suite with full kitchen for 5 people for roughly $150/night for five nights (We come up Thursday, leave Tuesday.) Split 5 ways, that's maybe $200 per person for the full con counting the hotel and splitting the grocery cost.
Sure, we gotta deal with paying for parking at the con, but with that kitchen and my sister's crockpot, we save a small fortune on food since we can just toss a cooler in the car with sandwiches for lunch, and set the slow cooker up so we have a fresh hot dinner when we get back to the hotel in the evening. Only time we have to eat out is our annual post-Fanime trip to this one hotpot place after the con wraps up Monday.
Has anyone got their hotel room or their room extended since the last day to cancel was on the 24?
I figured this week they'll start updating reservations. (I'm just guessing. I don't know if CMR works over the weekends.)
Quote from: ShikiIchijo on April 26, 2015, 08:14:59 PM
Has anyone got their hotel room or their room extended since the last day to cancel was on the 24?
I figured this week they'll start updating reservations. (I'm just guessing. I don't know if CMR works over the weekends.)
I'm wondering this too. I have the Fairmont (king bed) for Thursday through Tuesday but I want Marriott. We got on the waitlist the first day of hotel reservations. What hotel are you waiting on? I hope you get through the waitlist. We have less than a month now.
Quote from: Purelovely on April 27, 2015, 06:48:46 AM
Quote from: ShikiIchijo on April 26, 2015, 08:14:59 PM
Has anyone got their hotel room or their room extended since the last day to cancel was on the 24?
I figured this week they'll start updating reservations. (I'm just guessing. I don't know if CMR works over the weekends.)
I'm wondering this too. I have the Fairmont (king bed) for Thursday through Tuesday but I want Marriott. We got on the waitlist the first day of hotel reservations. What hotel are you waiting on? I hope you get through the waitlist. We have less than a month now.
You're not only one...although I'm just looking to add Thursday since when I got my hotel reservations Thursday wasn't available for some reason, and that was on the 1st day.
Quote from: ShikiIchijo on April 26, 2015, 08:14:59 PM
Has anyone got their hotel room or their room extended since the last day to cancel was on the 24?
I figured this week they'll start updating reservations. (I'm just guessing. I don't know if CMR works over the weekends.)
Yup
Mine went from Mon-Tuesday to Thursday to Monday for a double bed at the Hyatt.
Just yesterday, I got into the Ramada room that I want. Yay!
I almost sent an e-mail to CMR asking where I was on the waitlist.
Since the last day to book a room is quickly approaching, I'm sad to say I have given up hope of my waitlist request being fulfilled. I've got Fairmont from Friday to Monday, but really wanted Hyatt Thursday - Monday.
Fairmont looks really nice and spacious, so I hope my defeat with the housing situation this year doesn't taint my experience too much.
Well, at least you're not stuck in the hinterland of the Doubletree, where each time you decide to take a break in your room, it's an hour-long voyage, round-trip. Waitlist completely failed me this year :-\