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Author Topic: Skipping the banquet at HomebewCon  (Read 6819 times)

Offline hopfenundmalz

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Re: Skipping the banquet at HomebewCon
« Reply #45 on: May 23, 2016, 10:04:56 am »
Finding space for the conference is becoming more and more difficult it seems.

Part of me thinks that finding a willing local committee to get the legwork done is also a big factor.  The process for getting a future site selected isn't exactly well published, so having some available people that have done it before (at the very least in an advisory capacity) is an advantage that places that have already hosted have over new sites.

The conference is too big for just about any hotel, so it will be in conference centers. The folks I know in the Indianapolis clubs would love to host. The conference center there is large enough and has many connected hotels. The drawback is that the conference center is booked far in advance with conventions that are there every year in June. So the dates often are determined by an available slot that the city can host.

Another factor is the local alcohol laws. That takes some places out of contention.

Some locations are too expensive for the frugal Homebrewing community. Think NYC, and so on.

Air transportation is another factor. Hard to get to places like Bend OR by air for most of us (it does have an outstanding beer scene).

The AHA/BA has a lot to sort through to select a host site. One thing you can do is fill out the questionnaire sent out after the conference. That is one way they gauge interest in the potential sites and where the members become price adverse for hotels.
« Last Edit: May 23, 2016, 10:06:40 am by hopfenundmalz »
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Offline denny

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Re: Skipping the banquet at HomebewCon
« Reply #46 on: May 23, 2016, 12:29:39 pm »
Here's the conference planning doc from the AHA...http://www.homebrewcon.org/contact-us/local-committee/planning-guide/
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Offline MDixon

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Re: Skipping the banquet at HomebewCon
« Reply #47 on: May 23, 2016, 01:48:14 pm »
I think there are plenty of places to hold the conference, but the issue is the behind the scenes work which is handled by the host club(s). For instance the conference could easily be held in Charlotte with side trips to many local breweries and a pre-conference party bus to Asheville, but it would tax the clubs in NC to almost the breaking point. CBM in Charlotte has a large membership, but they put on a beer festival every year in the autumn for charity which sells 5K tickets and in May they host their homebrew competition. I just don't see them having enough gas in the tank to handle all the logistics of the conference immediately following their comp with their festival coming up a few months after the conference.

I don't actually know everything which goes on behind the scenes, but I'm told all the volunteers still pay for the conference despite many never seeing anything other than the room as they deliver beer from the central cooler. I'm not sure how other organizations do it, but it would seem to me if there was a means to not burnout while hosting the conference there would be many more places who could host.

Mike, if you think it's that easy, you should run for GC.

Did you actually read what I wrote? Where exactly did I mention anything being easy about the conference?
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Offline pete b

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Re: Skipping the banquet at HomebewCon
« Reply #48 on: May 23, 2016, 02:38:06 pm »
I think there are plenty of places to hold the conference, but the issue is the behind the scenes work which is handled by the host club(s). For instance the conference could easily be held in Charlotte with side trips to many local breweries and a pre-conference party bus to Asheville, but it would tax the clubs in NC to almost the breaking point. CBM in Charlotte has a large membership, but they put on a beer festival every year in the autumn for charity which sells 5K tickets and in May they host their homebrew competition. I just don't see them having enough gas in the tank to handle all the logistics of the conference immediately following their comp with their festival coming up a few months after the conference.

I don't actually know everything which goes on behind the scenes, but I'm told all the volunteers still pay for the conference despite many never seeing anything other than the room as they deliver beer from the central cooler. I'm not sure how other organizations do it, but it would seem to me if there was a means to not burnout while hosting the conference there would be many more places who could host.

Mike, if you think it's that easy, you should run for GC.

Did you actually read what I wrote? Where exactly did I mention anything being easy about the conference?
Yea, I re-read your post after seeing Denny's comment and left scratching my head. He must have just read the first half of the first sentence.
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Offline denny

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Re: Skipping the banquet at HomebewCon
« Reply #49 on: May 23, 2016, 02:54:24 pm »
Did you actually read what I wrote? Where exactly did I mention anything being easy about the conference?

Well, I thought I did, but apparently I didn't!
Life begins at 60.....1.060, that is!

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The best, sharpest, funniest, weirdest and most knowledgable minds in home brewing contribute on the AHA forum. - Alewyfe

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." - Bertrand Russell