Dang! You weren't kidding!

[Raymei]

Hotel rooms go a LOT faster than I thought they would (even with fair warning).
At first I thought it was just because of our Wed-Mon plans, but even doing multi-search brought up few results than I thought after this long.

I'm only my second year at Fanime, but is this how it usually goes or is this showing to be an even bigger con this year?  :)




Gotta be on my game next year, for sure.

[Kyra_Maverick]

Last year the hotels were listed around the same time they were this year, and they went fast. I booked in February and got a room at the Crowne. I think it caught housing off guard last year and they had to add an additional hotel.  More and more people attend every year it seems.

[Steve.Young]

And as more people attend each year, and past attendees return, they realize a hotel seems like a damn good idea.

[FanFicGuru]

I explained the concept in another post and it goes something like this:

Let's assume that Fanime gets 1,000 new attendees every year. Now, I don't know the exact figures but I think that a good number of these people are not only attending Fanime for the first time, they are attending their first Anime Convention. That means that A) They typically don't have as much money as your seasoned con-goer because they aren't sure what to expect and B) They don't really see the convenience or need to have a hotel room, especially if they live in the area.

So, these new attendees come to the convention, walk into the dealers room and immediately think to themselves "I need more money!" They have fun at the panels and video rooms and AMV contest and by the end of the weekend are already planning their trip for next year, including booking a hotel room.

Now, those new attendees tell their friends to come too. Some of their friends might also be new to the convention scene, but this friend, good and helpful as he is, advises them beforehand to bring enough money and also to get a hotel room. So, not only do we have new con attendees snatching up more rooms, we have hotel rooms being a good idea spread by word of mouth as well and so it spreads far beyond the 1,000 new attendees that Fanime might have in any given year.

So, it's not surprising that Hotel booking grows exponentially.

[Raymei]

I was hoping it's growing more popular  (but also afraid it might grow too fast for the con to adjust  @.@;;)
I'm glad I'm trying a different hotel (and glad I have a better idea of my battle plan next year, haha).  But I'm also glad to see that the economy obviously hasn't stopped most of the con from attending (so far --*knock on wood*--), as I'm sure at least a few of us may have been tugging at our collars at all this recession talk.

[FanFicGuru]

I was hoping it's growing more popular  (but also afraid it might grow too fast for the con to adjust  @.@;;)
I'm glad I'm trying a different hotel (and glad I have a better idea of my battle plan next year, haha).  But I'm also glad to see that the economy obviously hasn't stopped most of the con from attending (so far --*knock on wood*--), as I'm sure at least a few of us may have been tugging at our collars at all this recession talk.

Well, for the most part the recession isn't hitting the main demographic of the convention- teenagers. Granted there are a good number of us college aged and older that go to the convention, and have to have the money for badge, hotel and spending money out of pocket. However, (and staff feel free to correct me if I"m off base here) I think that the majority of con-attendees are tweens and teens who get the money from their parents or use money they get from birthdays, Christmas etc. So, the convention as a whole wouldn't suffer too terribly, as parents wouldn't scuffle too much over a $50 weekend badge for Fanime (or $55). Especially if the attendees are asking for it now, a good 4 months before the convention.

In comparison, New Year's eve party attendance went down noticeably this year. That is a demographic comprised of mainly 21+ and therefore saw a more significant decline in the face of current economic worries.

[ewu]

You know, those stats are Fanime proprietory info that I dont even have ready access to, but becasue Fanime started as and is targeted at anime clubs, our attendace seems focused around HS and College age. But in the end, a large portion of our attendees do not have full time jobs and thus less affected by the downturn.

[Rodney_Pheonix]

You know, those stats are Fanime proprietory info that I dont even have ready access to, but becasue Fanime started as and is targeted at anime clubs, our attendace seems focused around HS and College age. But in the end, a large portion of our attendees do not have full time jobs and thus less affected by the downturn.

Or in some cases more'so affected by losing jobs they would have gotten if so many other people were not out of work and eating up the base level jobs available in the market.

[Barnes]

Lucky me. I just reserved my room at the Marriott (thanks Mom!) and got the nights I needed.

"Come on! Blue Falcon!"

[Gatsby]

last year I booked my room in April and the only thing that was available was a concierge room at the Marriott. Looking back I was lucky. Not that I'm complaining, I love concierge rooms.

[Shinsengumi]

Me and my sister booked our room 2 weeks ago at the Hilton. I heard from my friend that the Hilton is already full.

[Jerry]

I got my reservation at the Mariott  :D

Watch out for for hot girls dancing in the window of the corner room ;)

Last year, one of the sexy roommates did that...

I think everyone saw her last year after the An Cafe Concert as she was dancing in her underwear for everyone to see on the Corner Room facing the street of San Carlos and Market. Everyone from the Street level was gawking and waving back at her...

I heard rumors she even waved at the Chairs from last year and this year.

Yeah, my roommates are wild like that.  :D

[Raymei]

However, (and staff feel free to correct me if I"m off base here) I think that the majority of con-attendees are tweens and teens who get the money from their parents or use money they get from birthdays, Christmas etc. So, the convention as a whole wouldn't suffer too terribly, as parents wouldn't scuffle too much over a $50 weekend badge for Fanime (or $55).

Except those parents are more likely than not effected by the dwindling state of the economy.  Teens get their money from somewhere, and parents don't typically have a "Jimmy's Anime Shenanigans" fund locked away.    ...hm.

[FanFicGuru]

However, (and staff feel free to correct me if I"m off base here) I think that the majority of con-attendees are tweens and teens who get the money from their parents or use money they get from birthdays, Christmas etc. So, the convention as a whole wouldn't suffer too terribly, as parents wouldn't scuffle too much over a $50 weekend badge for Fanime (or $55).

Except those parents are more likely than not effected by the dwindling state of the economy.  Teens get their money from somewhere, and parents don't typically have a "Jimmy's Anime Shenanigans" fund locked away.    ...hm.

It's not an "Anime shenanigans" fund, it's a "Hey mom/dad can I have $50 to get my Fanime pass?" It's a one shot deal as far as attendance goes. As for what they spend AT the convention, yeah that would be a bit more and they probably wouldn't "save" for that.

So, basically, Fanime registration and attendance probably wouldn't suffer as much.

[ewu]

No two parents are alike in thinking about funding a Fanime membership. In the end there is no guessing how it will turn out. We will see when con time rolls around.

[Mango Bunny]

I got my reservation at the Mariott  :D

Watch out for for hot girls dancing in the window of the corner room ;)

Last year, one of the sexy roommates did that...

I think everyone saw her last year after the An Cafe Concert as she was dancing in her underwear for everyone to see on the Corner Room facing the street of San Carlos and Market. Everyone from the Street level was gawking and waving back at her...

I heard rumors she even waved at the Chairs from last year and this year.

Yeah, my roommates are wild like that.  :D

Hey, I remember that! totally couldn't see she was in undies though.

[PassingTheBuck]

I explained the concept in another post and it goes something like this:

Let's assume that Fanime gets 1,000 new attendees every year.

In the early years, like five plus years ago, that might have been true; however the numbers are twice to five times that amount each year.  In 2002 the total attendance was about 4,500 (give or take a few hundred) and in 2008 it was just short of 15,000.

While you have the jest of the idea of how attendees come to stay at Fanimecon, the numbers need to be larger, much, much larger. 

The problem is downtown area only has only a certain number of available rooms each night, like 1,700 room of them to sell, this number is counting the Marriott, Hilton, Crowne, St. Claire and Fairmont Hotels.  There are smaller properties, such as the Montgomery and Ramada hotels, but they don't really off set the count enough to make it worth counting at this point.

Right now about 700+ of those rooms have been taken up and we still have 16 plus weeks to the start of the convention.  I would guess by the middle of April the Fairmont will be sold out, which means the next group of hotels will be the ones going down the light rail line.  The Hyatt and Doubletree properties and when that occurs it will open up a new Pandora's Box of issues.

If you are smart, you would book now.  Otherwise you might find yourself having to take the light rail just to get to the convention center.

C.

[PassingTheBuck]

You know, those stats are Fanime proprietory info that I dont even have ready access to, but becasue Fanime started as and is targeted at anime clubs, our attendace seems focused around HS and College age. But in the end, a large portion of our attendees do not have full time jobs and thus less affected by the downturn.

Actually the demographics for FanimeCon are well known for those who lurk in the right shadows.

The core is from 13-27 years old, with the medium age at 19.1 years old.

Ratio wise, it's almost a 50/50 split for gender.

The vast majority are from the San Jose area, followed by Santa Clara and San Francisco areas.  We have more people come from California, followed by Arizona and than Oregon.

What impact will economy have on FanimeCon?  There are way too many factors that could affect the number of attendee's, including the price of gasoline, tax breaks for big business (like the hotels, airlines and city of San Jose), how the global economy is weathering the slump too, it effects the type of people FanimeCon can get from Japan, there are the effects of businesses closing their doors for good, like production houses that make the anime's we enjoy, the voice actors out of business, the bands that play for MusicFest, and so on, and so on...

Basically, we are a cheaper entertainment than going to Disneyland for four days and unless you want to play World of War Crack for four days non-stop, it would harder to find a better time to spend with your friends.

C.

[Gatsby]

I got my reservation at the Mariott  :D

Watch out for for hot girls dancing in the window of the corner room ;)

Last year, one of the sexy roommates did that...

I think everyone saw her last year after the An Cafe Concert as she was dancing in her underwear for everyone to see on the Corner Room facing the street of San Carlos and Market. Everyone from the Street level was gawking and waving back at her...

I heard rumors she even waved at the Chairs from last year and this year.

Yeah, my roommates are wild like that.  :D

Jerry we know the only hot girl that will be dancing in the window is you in drag. ;)

[Runewitt]

I got my reservation at the Mariott  :D

Watch out for for hot girls dancing in the window of the corner room ;)

Last year, one of the sexy roommates did that...

I think everyone saw her last year after the An Cafe Concert as she was dancing in her underwear for everyone to see on the Corner Room facing the street of San Carlos and Market. Everyone from the Street level was gawking and waving back at her...

I heard rumors she even waved at the Chairs from last year and this year.

Yeah, my roommates are wild like that.  :D

Jerry we know the only hot girl that will be dancing in the window is you in drag. ;)

OHSNAP that was Jerry last year?
:: bashes head into wall ::