A personal favorite of mine that I have attended since the beginning, Steamcon, a Seattle-based Steampunk convention held in late October, has gone under.
“It is with profound regret and sadness that I must announce that Steamcon in no longer a viable organization,” says the last post made on steamcon.org by a primary organizer, “Our debts are too great a hurdle for us to overcome. “
Last year for Steamcon V, the con had moved to a bigger, more expensive hotel– one with more space– and if you know anything about how the hospitality industry works, you know that they nickle-and-dime you for pretty much EVERYTHING they can. These event spaces are geared towards corporate events, where all the attendees are being paid for by their company to be there (Kitchen Appliance Corporation of America, INC., Etc.), complete with the company rental car, business class airfare, and a credit card to purchase food, drink, and entertainment with.
They are NOT, however, geared towards artist-or-enthusiast run events that fundraise to maintain their existence, with (maybe) the help of a few guardian angels sponsoring the event that make sure things get paid for on time.
Getting to the point: Most conventions take out what is called a “room block” for their event; A guarantee that a certain number of patrons of the event will take advantage of a reduced rate and pay to stay in a hotel room during the con. It helps pay for the event because it covers a lot of the rental costs for the space that the convention organization would otherwise have to cover. A room block usually consists of an expected dollar amount that will be purchased from the restaurant or the bar that the hotel operates, as well. Most of the time, this is a huge help for everyone to make sure the rental gets paid for. When the room block doesn’t get met, however, either by other people occupying those allotted rooms at the higher rate because they’re not there for the event, or by patrons of the event staying elsewhere, the money the hotel would have otherwise made by having those rooms occupied by event patrons MUST BE PAID BY THE EVENT ORGANIZATION IN FULL.
As Such, we meet the demise for Steamcon VI. Too many rooms to fill, not enough people staying at the hotel for the event… Poof! A whopping Hotel Room and Food Penalty of $37,000. Add on a few grand in taxes, and you have an event that is completely in the red and with no way out.
How is that POSSIBLE, you ask? Thirty-Seven THOUSAND dollars?
It’s a pretty insane amount of money.
Even after fundraising events and sales on registration, Steamcon had to file bankruptcy. Not many people have 40 Grand just lying around– and when you add in the costs of maintaining the organization and producing the convention the next year, it becomes virtually impossible. That forty thousand is going into a vortex that will never, ever, ever spout it back out… The Hotel Industry.
Instead, patrons are going to put their money towards new and upcoming events, such as ‘Steamposium 2014‘ Which magically popped up soon after the demise of Steamcon was announced publicly, slated for the end of September.
Coincidence? Ha!
The moral of the story is this: Bunk with your friends when you go to a convention. Pitch in to get a hotel room together, at the convention, and enjoy it in-full! It’s not the easiest expense on your wallet, but if you want the convention to stay, you should sponsor it in the little way that you can. If you can’t do that, volunteer for the con to earn your badge! It’s worth it, and you will ALWAYS meet cool people that share your interests.
Having a hotel room at a convention is great, because not only is it a place to lay your head after evening festivities, it is a place for room parties, changing costumes/cosplays, taking a breather from the crowds, using the bathroom, and storing everything you want to have with you at the convention. (Trust me- it’s more than you would think!)
END RANT! Sponsor your local cons! WE NEED YOU!
The Sphere of Geekery 