World Fantasy convention 2013

[Jo Zebedee]

From their own website



Looks more like the cash cow model rather than luckless amateurs. I can say they will definitely NOT be getting extra money from me, even if Stephen King was doing a kaffeekwotsit on exactly the sort of thing I'm writing now.

(hoping this doesn't mean I'll get kicked from KMQ's shindig as an agitator)

Surely it's just a nice Irish attitude to a deal being changed.

Seriously, there should have been something in the t&c to say there would be extra charges for certain events.

Anyway, I'll bring a packet of Hobnobs for us, Alc, and we can sit in the entrance hall.

 

[alchemist]

Now that I've made up kaffeekwotsit, I'll have to stock up on Wotsits too. Hobnobs and Wotsits are two of the three main food groups (Coke/Diet Coke the other) so we'll be grand.

 

[Kissmequick]

I'm not having a kafflewhateverthehellitis. All are welcome AND it's free! Agitators welcome.

And to be fair, a fiver will get a coffee and not much else at the hotel (£3.70 in the bar for a coffee. Not much cheaper locally either cos it's the posh end of the Lanes. Now if you go to the student end of the lanes, inland, it's cheaper, and to my mind more interesting. Just make sure you don't get lost! It's easily done...if in doubt, head down hill, you should end up on the seafront)

PS I think Monster Munch counts as a food group also.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Sauvignon is another food group, surely... I have accomodation with breakfast included. It's astounding how long I go without eating with a breakfast in me.

 

[Ursa major]

At £1.30, that biscuit had better be a "duchy original".

 

[Boneman]

When I tried to attend a free kaffeeklatsch at Worldcon 2011 in Reno, I was told the list to attend was available on the day. When I got there I was told it was three days previously... so I had to ambush Patrick Ropthfuss on the way to his. Hell, if I thought offering $8 to one of the attendess to buy their seat, I'd have done it! Those were just round tables in the entrance to the Con, with a roped-off bit. I'd pay £5 to sit with Pat for an hour, in a swish room at the top of the Hilton, drinking coffee and eating as many biscuits as I could.

Hotels don't give out rooms for nothing and, whilst I see some of the arguments (I did scroll down the comments on John Scalzi's blog) I don't buy many of them (pun unintentional). Bad planning by the organisers? Possibly. But if they had extra room hire to pay for the KKs, and it was included in the Worldcon fee, than I think there'd be more of an uproar from all those denied access to them. I paid $75 for a single day membership at Reno, and it was one of the worst-organised events I've ever been to. But worth it for the ten minutes Pat gave me on my own, signing my books and chatting.... He was late for his KK...

So, I've put my name down to attend one, and you can be sure I'll get my money's worth in coffee and biscuits, let alone access to the author for an hour. I wait to hear if I'm one of the lucky ones, and I guess I'm lucky to be attending (only got my membership late, courtesy of a drop-out), and I'm hoping to sneak in a hip flask, and dose our coffees liberally - now that would be a relaxed KK!

ps: having areas inaccessible for wheelchairs, however, is unforgiveable, and I find that one astonishing in its sheer unbelievability.

 

[Anne Lyle]

Fab.
Ah, haven't seen Twitter. Oh, dear. I hope some voices are denigrating the hotel for charging a fiver for tea and biscuits. I might, in the interest of fairness.

Scott Lynch has blogged to say that he turned down the offer of a KK in Brighton when he was told it would be a paid event, implying that the organisers knew about the charges well before it was announced. He's thinking of having a free off-site meet-up with fans instead, because he's awesome like that

Also, FWIW, those who partake of alcohol will be happy to know that book launches usually involve free wine. I can't promise that there'll be one for mine and Wes Chu's launch, as I haven't heard anything from Angry Robot, but I'd be surprised (and disappointed) if there were no such launch parties at WFC.

 

[Kissmequick]

ps: having areas inaccessible for wheelchairs, however, is unforgiveable, and I find that one astonishing in its sheer unbelievability.

I find that far more scandalous than asking people to pay the price of a coffee and biscuits for, er, coffee and biscuits tbh. Yet everyone seems to be complaining about the money, not the lack of access for people who've paid their ticket and should be able to get anywhere in the con.

 

[Anne Lyle]

ps: having areas inaccessible for wheelchairs, however, is unforgiveable, and I find that one astonishing in its sheer unbelievability.

The organisers have just tweeted to say there was a misunderstanding with the hotel staff - the KK room has lift access.

Having been to a few hotel-based conventions in the past few years, I can attest that staff vary hugely in their helpfulness...

 

[Kissmequick]

The organisers have just tweeted to say there was a misunderstanding with the hotel staff - the KK room has lift access.

Just came to say the same thing!

Having been to a few hotel-based conventions in the past few years, I can attest that staff vary hugely in their helpfulness...

Hah, yeah, the usual Brighton hotel for Fantasycon has been...variable in helpfulness.

 

[Anne Lyle]

I think the Brighton seafront hotels are particularly bad because it's been a holiday resort since at least Victorian times - they are very set in their ways and don't see why every room should have, say, an iron and ironing board...

 

[Donna Scott]

I will be going to WFC, arriving Friday morning, leaving Sunday afternoon.

I am surprised that they have decided to charge for KKs, but relieved that at least all parts of the hotel are now accessible... (hopefully I'll be fully mobile by then, but right now, I can't use stairs very well).

Incidentally, if my legs are fully functioning by WFC, I'm going to go for this.

It's a 5km run on Saturday morning at 9am round the park, which is 1 mile inland from the seafront. If you want to take part and would like a time, then join Parkrun (for free!!), and bring along your barcode!

Back to the KK thing... £5 is an awful lot for coffee and biscuits. Hell, £3.70 is a lot for a coffee from the bar... but you'd think for a room with a guaranteed number of takers, there would be a concessionary rate, not an increased one. If I book tea, biscuits and coffee for a library event, they charge £1 a head to cover costs, and a more mercenary outfit running at 200% markup might charge £3... so this is extortionate. And, it's a bit weird, for a con that's going to be mostly attended by industry professionals...


If they are charging £3.70 for a coffee, I'm worried it will be over £4 for a beer...
I'll ask my Brighton-based friends where they recommend for cheap drinks/eats.

 

[Kissmequick]

It will probably be over £4 a beer -- it's over that in my local and I'm not far away. It's not a cheap area (£3.70 for a coffee isn't all that much more expensive than some of my local cafes), and this is a hotel, so they do charge more (This sort of hotel, they get a lot of people with expense accounts....)

Here's a menu for one of the bars. It's over £4 for a small bottle of beer, not a pint

Often at cons they do have some sort of con-rate though, so mayhap it'll be a tad cheaper.

ETA: And yeah, there's loads of places to eat/drink about that will be cheaper. But like I say, it is not a cheap area, especially not near the seafront.

 

[Donna Scott]

Incidentally, I'm not blaming the committee or saying they shouldn't charge anything necessarily - I think they chose to have the coffee available, and then they passed on the charge, but I can't claim to know the actual costs or processes involved. All I know is, I will be partaking of as much on the cheeeep as possible.

 

[Donna Scott]

It will probably be over £4 a beer -- it's over that in my local and I'm not far away. It's not a cheap area (£3.70 for a coffee isn't all that much more expensive than some of my local cafes), and this is a hotel, so they do charge more (This sort of hotel, they get a lot of people with expense accounts....)

Here's a menu for one of the bars. It's over £4 for a small bottle of beer, not a pint

Often at cons they do have some sort of con-rate though, so mayhap it'll be a tad cheaper.

ETA: And yeah, there's loads of places to eat/drink about that will be cheaper. But like I say, it is not a cheap area, especially not near the seafront.

Blooming heck!

£15 for fish and chips!

Luckily, I know of a chippie on the seafront that does amazing fish and chips.

As for the hot drinks... I think I'm bringing my travel mug.

 

[Kissmequick]

Hehe yeah

But hotel prices...like I say, there's plenty of other places to eat and drink. But don't expect it dirt cheap (well, maybe if you go to the more studenty areas). Everyone always thinks we're rich down here in the south, and then I tell 'em the price of a pint....

 

[Anne Lyle]

I always buy my fish'n'chips on the seafront and eat them on the beach - sitting in a hotel eating them off a plate when the sea is 50 feet away feels ridiculous!

Which shop do you go to, Donna? I've always been to a little one on the seafront, about 200 yards along from the Britannia (turning right out of the hotel), as it was handy - don't know the name, though.

 

[Donna Scott]

I don't know the name either - but blue and white tiles, with one entrance towards the front and another to the side (right-side, facing), cafe running to behind the counter and a few tables and chairs outside.

 

[Donna Scott]

Actually I think this is it - 7 ship street.

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?oe=&...gl=uk&ei=S2lBUvWDCsHE4APBwIG4Cw&ved=0CLsBELYD

 

[Susan Boulton]

I am not thinking of the cost to be honest. I am blowing part of my inheritance. My mum passed away in October last year. She left very little of monetary value, but what she did has allowed Kath and I to go to WFC and Loncon3 next year in a bit of style. I think she would have approved of us enjoying ourselves. Heck, next time both Cons get around to the UK I will most likely be 70 plus, so I intend to enjoy both.