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Managed to book a room right away, no site crashes or anything! Either they've learned how to handle the traffic, or there's not as many people booking rooms right now.

I stayed at the Fairmont this year again.

Pros:

1. Check in was quick and easy. I got their early, too early because they didn't have my room type I originally booked available, so they offered to upgrade my room at no additional charge.*
2. Quiet area not by the elevator was appreciated.
3. Decent view from the window.
4. Room service was great.

Cons:

1. The room they "upgraded" me to was meh. I originally booked a room with a king bed and was "upgraded" to a queen deluxe room. It was just me by myself so it wasn't a huge deal but the room itself wasn't anything special or more deluxe from the Kings I've stayed in previously. Room seemed it was the same size, just a smaller bed.
2. Elevator con this year seemed worse than previous years imo. I normally didn't have an issue getting to where I needed to go but this year was pretty bad. Granted, this wasn't 100% the hotel's fault but still felt it was worth mentioning.
3A. The bathroom. By far the worst bathroom experience so far. The faucet covers for the bath were literally falling off. I would easily take them off with no force, especially since they were already loosened off the wall when I got there. I didn't use the bath so not a huge deal to me but still.
3B. The water temperature was pretty bad this year. It was mostly hot but every minute or two it'd have 10-15 seconds of cold water. That's never happened before when I've stayed there. Pretty big con in my books.
3C. The toilet paper rolls. Everyone knows it's over, not under, however whoever was there before me (or maybe room service did) put it under. This isn't a serious con but one I feel may sway people either way. jkjk.
4. I was somehow checked out without me personally checking out. I waited in linecon to checkout on Monday just to be told I was already checked out. I was confused, I informed the service desk person that I haven't checked out yet and asked if there was some magical automated way I could have accidentally have done it even though I know I was never in any kind of area/position anywhere to accidentally checkout. I was assured it couldn't have been done automatically and had to have been done by someone personally. I did get a text about using the express checkout where I would text them the email I'd like my receipt and when I'd be checking out but I never did that so idk. If I would have known I was already somehow checked out, I wouldn't have waited in line forever.

Overall, I was still pleased with the Fairmont. Nothing I could really complain about. I plan on sticking with them next year and years after with the exception of I'll wait for my original room I booked rather than being "upgraded." Or at least check out the "upgraded" room first and decide if I want to stay there or wait until my room becomes available.

I've never had an issue checking in a couple of hours early, I've only used the Fairmont though. I doubt most hotels would have a problem with it as long as the previous guests (if any) have already checked out and the room has been cleaned/checked out by hotel staff before letting someone else in it.

Going to the transportation tab of the hotel will show if shuttles are available. It shows shuttles are available for Holiday Inn.

I waitlisted last year, got my first choice. No hassles or anything.

Got my registration confirmation email at 12:36PM and I was given the 1PM timeslot on Wed 1/17 to book hotel.

I just checked my email and sure enough, I'm off the Wait List as well thankfully.

Can confirm, was on the waitlist day two or three and haven't gotten any word back about getting moved. :/

Weiss Schwarz, I would recommend looking into one of the local hotels not affiliated with Fanime while you wait for Friday to roll around. I know there are a few hotels in the downtown area that don't offer Fanime discounts and had rooms open when I checked earlier today. AirBNB is also an option that I know people have fallen back on in the past.

That is definitely a good idea, one that I thought of but couldn't really find much that fit what I was after. I know I can't be too picky but still.

~~~

At this point, I'll be at the mercy of the waitlist. I have no idea how well it works out for people but guess we'll see in my case.

Only ONE good spot left on my preferred list, logged in RIGHT on the DOT of my booking time, and of course it says overbooked right after I select it!  -_-

I sincerely hope they have a wait list for the others in case of cancellation...

If not, it'll be a longer walk to and from all the action.  Not terrible overall, I'd just rather leave most of the walking for the Con itself.

Fairmont? That was my preferred hotel. It's crazy just how quickly they all went away.

Just keep trying, they site is playing nice every few minutes.

Even though my day to pick my hotel room isn't until Friday at noon, I decided to take a peek at the site right when it went live just in case someone goofed and made it open access. No luck there but man, have rooms started filling up quick and become unavailable already. And despite this new route they're going for people to reserve rooms based off prereg days/time, it doesn't help too much since the site is still constantly crashing. Although, I will admit, it's doing better than it did back in 2014 when I last went.

So, how's everyone doing with booking your rooms? Get your first choice in hotel/room? Crossing your fingers and toes that your preferred hotel/room is still there when your day/time opens?

14 hour later edit: Honestly, I'm split on how things were handled this year. For people that know they're going to go early on so they can preregister right away, it's great. But for someone like me, that didn't know he was going to be able to go until Dec 29th and registered then. It's... not so fun. I've been watching the hotel site like a hawk since it went live, knowing I can't even pick anything until my day/time slot opens (which is Friday, 10AM PST), just watching as a good 95% of rooms are filled within the first two hours. I'm willing to bet little to no hotel rooms will be available when my time comes to pick a room for me and a friend I'm bringing (to his first con btw), especially for the specific days we'll be staying. I went to Fanime in 2014 and while the system then was literally first come first serve for everyone, I felt that way was fairer because everyone (well, everyone that was keeping a good eye on the fanime announcements) knew when housing opened, they could make plans to be available around that time to try and snag a room. Sure, it was chaotic with the site crashing like crazy. If I'm not mistaken, it took me almost two hours to get my room last time, but I got exactly what I needed so I had no complaints because I felt as though I earned it. I didn't just have a spot reserved for me. The two hours was worth the wait compared to the two DAYS of waiting I'm doing. Rather than now, sitting, and waiting, watching as less and less rooms become available and there's not a thing I can do about it.

Is this way fair for everyone? Nope. Was the previous way fair for everyone? Nope. There's not a single way every person can be pleased with either system. Both have their flaws that there is literally no way to balance it to be fair for everyone. I get that. But at least with the previous way, it was  every man for himself. Those that were persistent in trying and didn't give up more than likely got what they wanted if they were on time and stuck with it. Now, this reserved waiting is like those flash passes at amusement parks (if those are still a thing), you're in line just watching as people pass you up with no way to do anything about it.

Don't get me wrong... I know it sounds like I'm complaining and it sounds like I'm throwing in the towel. But I'm not complaining (in the normal sense of the word, it's weird) and I'm sticking through this because my friend and I have bought our prereg badges. We've bought our plane tickets already. I'm going not only for the con but mainly to see some people I know and want to hang out with again while I'm in the area. Even if I don't get exactly what I want, I still feel as though I've got wiggle room to at least get something good enough to have some kind of a fun time while I'm out there.

Just got the email with my priority booking window assignment,  Wednesday the 18th at 7am.  I'm guessing a lot of people have this same window, since I'm sure a lot of people did the same thing I did and registered as soon as registration went live?

I registered on Dec 28th and was given Friday at 10AM as my day/time slot so there's no telling. I can only imagine it'll still be crazy and luck of the draw for people to get what they want though.

Edit: Then again, I really have no clue as to how many people preregistered compared to how many normally do, or how to compare it to previous years for everyone fighting for rooms at the same time. It'll be interesting, that's for sure.

Good news, everyone! /Prof. Farnsworth voice

Just to be on the safe side, I emailed the Famine peeps and had this conversation: http://i.imgur.com/OsxKoOh.png

So it looks like there may be a small glimmer of hope for anyone that was in the position I was in.

That's what I figured. Luckily, I have a friend that preregistered and has worked a deal out with me to try and get a room but was hoping to try and get one myself just in case. Thanks for the help though! Guess we'll find out what happens when hotel reservations open up.

Quick question, I'm looking to attend Fanime 2017 (kind of a last minute decision) and I see this year they're giving people that register early first dibs on hotel rooms. When is/was the window for early registering, have I missed it? Or if I were to register now, would it be early enough to have a shot at getting a room early?

[Motoko]

I have yet to get my email conformation either. I see the amount for the registration has been deducted from my bank account though. Perhaps it's lag, but I find it weird someone earlier mentioned they didn't get their email but someone else in their family did when they registered. I'm pretty patient though, so I don't mind waiting.

If it matters, I registered shortly after the registration site went live, I'd guess no more than 30 minutes.

Motoko: Are you referring to this in the opening post?

Q: I Pre-registered at the convention last year and was wondering how I am able to confirm that.

A: FanimeCon's Pre-Registration from the last day of FanimeCon 2013 accounts will be loaded into the server soon.