Would you like to help plan, organize, and create the Pacific Northwest’s premier science-fiction and fantasy convention? Norwescon is always looking for volunteers, and our monthly Convention Committee planning meetings are a great way to get involved! Come pull back the curtain, meet the masterminds behind the event, and find out where your particular talents can be put to use!

November’s Norwescon 35 planning meeting will be held:

DATE

Saturday, January 7th, 2012

TIME

10:00 a.m.–12:00 noon: Executive Team Meeting
12:00 noon–1:00 p.m.: Lunch break
1:00 p.m.–4:30 p.m.: Convention Committee (ConCom) Meeting

PLACE

Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Seattle Airport
18740 Pacific Highway South
SeaTac, WA 98188
206-246-8600

For directions and a map, please see the hotel’s website.

NOTE: There is a discounted charge of $8.00 for parking.

Please consult the hotel readerboard when you arrive for the location of the meeting room.

PLEASE NOTE: Staff who wish to receive a t-shirt, or who wish to have their name and position title printed in the acknowledgement pages of the large glossy souvenir book: The close of the January Concom meeting is the deadline for Enrollment forms. Forms must be completed, signed, paid for and received by the Secretary’s assistant by the end of the January meeting.

(Enrollment forms will be accepted at the February meeting, but t-shirts and printing will be based on the available data from January.)

Also: remember to WAIT for your photocopied receipt when submitting your form at the Enrollment desk.

FUTURE EVENTS

• February meeting: 2/18/2012
• March meeting: 3/17/2012
• Norwescon 35: 4/5-8/2012
• Post Con Meeting: 5/12/2012

Norwescon 35, in conjunction with the DoubleTree by Hilton Seattle Airport, is pleased to announce that Maxi’s Lounge will be open Friday and Saturday nights for the exclusive use of Norwescon 35 attendees. Maxi’s will provide a new and exciting space for all attendees over 21 (with ID and Norwescon badge) to drink, eat, dance and hang out. It will be open both Friday and Saturday night starting at 9 p.m. As with any bar, you must be recognizable as the person you your ID — no masks or feature-obscuring makeup.

We have two nights of exciting activities and entertainment lined up for you. Get on the first elevator you can, take it all the way to the top, and join us at Maxi’s Lounge for an evening you will never forget!

If you want to do more than just come to Maxi’s Lounge and have fun, we have openings for assistant coordinators to help set up and run the fun events being held in Maxi’s Lounge. We are also looking for DJs to light up the dance floor. If you are interested in these positions or you just have some great ideas, please contact us at vicechair@norwescon.org.

The Norwescon room block has been sold out since early November — but if you missed out on staying at the DoubleTree by Hilton Seattle Airport, this doesn’t mean you won’t be able to stay close to the convention! In addition to the already announced Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center, Norwescon has made arrangements with three other nearby hotels. Here’s the full lineup of alternate lodging possibilities for Norwescon 35:

• The Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center, just up the road from the DoubleTree, has set up a room block for $120 a night for one to four people (the same rate as the DoubleTree’s room block), plus the following perks:
  • The guest rooms will be double KING rooms, providing larger beds and more comfort. This is the Hilton’s premium room type and generally their most expensive room!
  • All guests staying at the Hilton will be offered a complimentary continental breakfast each day in a private Norwescon Hospitality/Lounge room.
  • Complimentary shuttle service between the Hilton and the Doubletree will be available each day for guests to get to and from the convention.
  • The Hilton will honor the same parking rates as the Doubletree: one complimentary car per room, each additional car will be $8.00 per night.

  Norwescon and the Hilton are happy to be able to offer these perks to those guests who didn’t get space at the DoubleTree. Use the group code “NRW” when booking your room to be sure you get the Norwescon rate.

• La Quinta, 2824 S 188th St, 206-241-5211 (distance: 348 ft.). Rate: $119. Mention Norwescon when making your reservation.
• Coast Gateway Hotel, 18414 International Blvd, 206-248-8200 (distance: 0.1 miles). Rate: $89. Ask for Tonya De La Cruz or Michelle Fischer and mention Norwescon when making the reservation.
• Holiday Inn Seatac, 17338 International Blvd., 877-573-2822 (distance: 0.9 miles). Rate: $89. Use code “INC”. Includes breakfast buffet for 2.

A change is coming in the way we reserve rooms for Norwescon. It is a significant change for our members but we believe it will help us make more convention rooms available for our members at the cheaper convention rate.

This year, for the second year in a row, Norwescon’s room block was sold out in November, six months before the con. Our members are forced to reserve early or risk being shut out. Current policy allows these reservations to be snapped up for free, and then cancelled with no penalty as late as 48 hours before the convention.

With early reservations come last minute cancellations–lots of them. In recent years Norwescon has lost hundreds of room nights in the last weeks before con. The room block for Norwescon 34 fell from a peak of 2,078 room nights down to 1,673, with 255 room nights lost in the final two weeks before con. This total barely exceeded our contractual obligation to book 1,620 room nights at the convention.

That was a good year, however. In 2008, 2009, and 2010, cancellations caused the room block to fall even farther–below our contract obligation, down to 1,603, 1,437, and 1,610 nights, respectively. The Doubletree could have, but did not, enforce penalties against the convention during those years.

The worst part about last minute cancellations is that cancelled rooms do not go back into the room block. Instead, the hotel resells these rooms at a 40% (or higher) premium over the convention rate–or else the rooms remain empty. This is not what we want. During Norwescon we want to fill every room possible with Norwescon members who are paying the Norwescon rate.

The Doubletree is not a villain here–they have been very willing to work with us. Norwescon has been the victim of its own growth and success. We have decided to make a change in an effort to make this better.

Starting with Norwescon 36, we have asked the Doubletree to collect a one-night room deposit when the room is first reserved. This deposit will remain fully refundable until 90 days before the convention, which for next year would be Friday, December 28, 2012. By agreement with the hotel, all rooms cancelled by this date will be returned to the room block and made available for reservation by other Norwescon members.

This year, the room block for Norwescon 36 in 2013 will be open on the last day of Norwescon 35, which is Sunday, April 7, 2012.

We know it is an inconvenience to pay for a hotel room months before it will be used, and that this change will present a difficulty for some. We believe, in the end, this will make rooms more available for our members at the cheaper convention rate.

To ask questions or provide feedback, please write to us at hotels@norwescon.org, or contact Norwescon through our social media sites.

Norwescon 35 is pleased to offer our annual Guest of Honor Awards Banquet on April 5th, 2012, from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM in Grand Ballroom 2. This is a great way for our members to start off the convention by wining and dining with our Guests of Honor. We look forward to you joining us for a delicious dinner and hearing what our guests have to say. Come and learn about the scholarships Norwescon is donating, and perhaps you will even win a raffle prize!

Ticket and menu information can be found on the Banquet page.