Colossalcon 2018

Got 2 rooms B|

We dem lodge bois. BE MAD

>>9552886
Got a room and I'll be back as Little Mac.

>MFW

I know quite a few people who are also trying for rooms that I know pretty well, however i'm distrustful to a fault.

Trying to call internationally is pointless, the signal just gets dropped automatically.

>>9552966
forgot gif.

How many failed calls you guys up to? 390 here. Haven't had this much frustration since one time I tried to order pizza.

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Called for 2.5 hours and finally got through only to be told that the 4-day rooms are sold out.

>>9552975
Got a lodge after 370 calls

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I got a room, ur all niggers

that was worse than dragoncon, and that's saying some shit.

>>9553016
It's still the most fair way

You fuckers better not book up entire hotel; save some for us 3 nighters.

>>9553063
I think there are rooms saved for just 3 nights

If not you're fucked

>>9553082
I tried to ask the employee if they had rooms specifically set aside from 3-days, and they didn't give a response. Presumably, they have no idea.

Pragmatically, why would they do that? They can probably just expect to fill everything for 4 days as opposed to 3, which would just leave some vacancy.

>>9553063
Its Sandusky. Make a point to go to Cedar Point or put-in-bay on wednesday.

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As someone who has been going to this con since before it was even 7k, I'm kind of amazed how fast it grew in 5 years.

At least there's East now.

>>9553099
If my job allows me, I certain will try, but I manage a grocery store in a major tourist hotspot. That comes first (unfortunately)

is it still worth calling?

>>9553363
It's worth a shot. The 4-day rooms are probably all gone, but you can still try for a 3-day room.

The person on the phone said that you could also try calling on July 12th, I guess that is when the open the block up to non-convention room reservations or something like that.

>>9553374
The site lists it as leftover rooms for a minimum 3 night stay. The whole hotel is blocked.

>>9553035
No, the most fair way would be to have a functioning phone tree where you could keep your place in line and a staff who knew what they were doing. Instead we got a tree that would keep you on hold indefinitely or continuously kick you back to the main menu to start over. Once I got through, the rep wanted me off the phone so quickly she only told me of one type of room that was available, and she would only confirm availability of other room types if you asked for them by name - asking if there were larger rooms would net you a "no".

>>9553466
Idk man..I was told there were only huts availabe...got put through to another employee, asked again, and she said there was still a lodge I could get

>>9553466
Lmao like the resources required to do that is huge. Or requires a ton of coding that they would prob have to pay for. Like the queue for Hamilton tickets was done well but like 100000+ people is worth more than the like 10000 that colossal gets.

>>9552886
My sister and her roommates were on the phone for, I have no idea how long.

She was smart and made a reservation at one of the other hotels during all this just in case.

But man, Colossal isn't worth this hassle to be honest.

As a con, it's garbage, the only reason to go is for the drinks and the pools.

>>9553171
Same. I missed last years because of deployment, and can't do this year but I recall a couple years ago, being in the hot tub on like day 3 and some dude came out and said the pre-rooms sold out in an hour.

I didn't even know it was announced.

My first year going was just from me being in Ohio at the time and googling anime cons to see the local schedule. No problems for badges or hotels.

>>9554104
As a person with access to Fanime and AX and Sakuracon yearly, the only real added thing is the drinks and pools. Esp the late night waterparking that they started the last couple years. otherwise there's not real much point to it b/c there's better cons for the money.

Yeah, this is too much work to even try to get a room. Rooming off-site and driving in isn't an option I can't drink or hookup or party or waterpark comfortably not getting to walk back to my room. It completely ruins the party con feel.

And the worst part is they're not going to do anything about it. Their rooms are selling out in a day and that's all they care about. Colossalcon has officially plateaued.

>>9554170
Plateaued and can only go down hill from here.

>>9554170
not to mention that 75% of the hotels in the area are roach and bed bug infested which makes staying somewhere else completely unpalatable. its kalaharicon or no con.

>>9553605
No I mean the rep told me that they only had x room type, but then I asked "well what about y room", and only then did she check the system and confirm that they had y rooms. It wasn't a computer problem, it was laziness.

>>9552975
Between all of my friends, about 3,000 and didn't get a room. What a waste of time. We'll probably just go back to the great wolf lodge again, we had a good time at that hotel as well.

>>9554170
>Yeah, this is too much work to even try to get a room.

I don't think it was that bad. I was calling 4 different numbers on a revolving basis for about 1 hour while browsing the chans, then I got a representative and promptly secured a room within 30 minutes. It's certainly better than standing in line all day.

>>9554345
Finally someone in the thread gets it. Linecon last year was fucking horrible.

There's no other way to do it than the way it was just done.

>>9554367
>There's no other way to do it than the way it was just done.
>Every other competitive con hotel manages to use a system that isn't a complete shitshow

Passkey is a thing that exists, folks.

>>9554482
You're right. It's been so long since I managed to a room through their website that I forgot it was even a thing.

Instead of getting busy line beeps on the phone you get cannot access site because of the traffic, haha.

Also I feel like it would make it too easy for one person to get multiple rooms which would suck

>>9554487
I would rather click a reload button on my computer ten times, than call a busy number two hundred times.

That being said, I've booked through Passkey for competative hotels probably a dozen times in the past few years and have never had an issue. Got multiple hotel rooms for cons for no problems at all; I know Passkey was troublesome maybe four or so years ago but nobody I know has had a problem with it for ages. Maybe it's just you?

>>9554487
>easy for one person to get multiple rooms which would suck
The Kalahari let me book five rooms at once on Saturday. They were not enforcing the one room per person rule, probably because they would not sell suites to people.

>>9554367

my linecon was spent next to a dude playing chill music on a portable speaker and having my room buddies bring me drinks, chatting with people in line and making new friends.

calling in was a shitshow of hangup redial hangup redial because the fucking phone line exploded.

would linecon again in a heartbeat.

I saw someone on Facebook mention something about a lottery. That actually wouldn't be a bad option at this point because calling in and actually getting a rep is just a matter of luck. I was on hold in what I thought was a queue but it got dropped. At least with a lottery everyone who wants a room has a fair chance.

>>9554649
But then it's a case of who has the most friends/family members. Just flood with names to increase your chances.

>>9554170
>And the worst part is they're not going to do anything about it. Their rooms are selling out in a day and that's all they care about.
Because they ultimately can't. It's not really an instance of "that's all they care about", the con has tried to find solutions and make alternatives, but there's only so much they can do.

The con can't do anything about the hotel selling out. Word has just spread so fast that the con experienced exponential growth and the Kalahari is just a resort, not one of those major chain hotels, so it doesn't have the same amount of room to accommodate tons of people.

Colossal reserves room blocks at surrounding shitty hotels and organized the shuttle system to help with transportation, but they also have to compete with the early summer Cedar Point crowd and bike week.

The only thing the Kalahari could do is build more rooms, but that would probably be a waste because they don't really fill up like they do on Colossal weekend. Prior to Colossal, they weren't getting enough business and were in the red; the con pretty much financially saved them and is their most profitable weekend.

What can they do? Wheel in mobile homes in the empty lot across the street just for that weekend? Set up mud huts in the field? Go full hippie Burn mode and make a campground out by the villas so we all have to deal with more unwashed con ass?

>>9554482
That would eliminate one mess, but exacerbate another. Rooms would likely sell out faster and easier. People would still cry bloody murder over not getting a room and blame the con. It would eliminate the lines and the long phone wait, but it would make the whole process even more competitive.

Ideally the only solution is to accept the reality of the situation, or forego Ohio Colossal for East like a bunch of people are doing (I mean that's a huge part of the reason East was created afaik).

>>9554715
>Rooms would likely sell out faster and easier
While true, people generally view it as a "fairer" system, which is why cons use it. 99% of the complaining on Facebook is not the fact that the rooms sold out within a few hours, but the fact that it was viewed as an unfair process because it was impossible to queue up and even once in a queue people were never connected or restarted. With booking online using a robust site like Passkey, yes, you are going to sell out within minutes and you will miss out if you are not ready when the clock strikes, but you won't get anywhere near the amount of outcry Colossalcon is seeing right now. It's the best option to an unsolvable problem.

>>9554823
>viewed as an unfair process

What was unfair about it? The bottom line is that the phone system is no different from a Passkey or lottery system in terms of fairness. No one had an advantage over another. You either got a lucky roll or you didn't. You can improve your chances with multiple phones, same as using multiple computers.

>>9555113
>What was unfair about it?
Passkey and other booking sites like the one ReedPOP uses sells rooms in order, either by people entering a queue or by accessing the site first. There's no lottery involved with these sites.

Out of my friends who were trying to book rooms, four of us were able to get through and book and four never got through to an agent. two of those four that failed were calling non stop, one of them was on two phones. it stinks that there aren't enough rooms for everyone to get one but not everyone is gonna be happy no matter what. I'd rather fail to get a room after a couple of hours sitting at home mashing the call button on my phone than give up half a day at the con and fail. there's literally not enough rooms to go around, and the people who don't get one think it's not fair but at least with the phone system you don't have to be at the con to get a shot at a room for the next year

stupidest thing about this whole system is the rush creates a panic and everybody books whether they're 100% sure they're going or not. then people cancel rooms later and they drop out of the con block and normies pick them up. if people could just book them at a normal pace it wouldn't be such a panic.

alternatively, kalahari should do what marriott dragoncon did: prepay, full stay, nonrefundable. fewer "omg gotta get a room in case I can go!" people taking slots from anyone who's committed.

>>9555171
that would ruin a lot of people's ability to go. Also there is a deposit first night per room that has to be put down and a cancellation policy in place (that could prob be stronger).
like when people have to put down 200$ a room it's sorta hard for people to just drop. i know people that didn't even try to book because they couldn't afford it even though they wanted to go.

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RIP 3 day people.

Now we have to hope we get lucky with room drops

>>9556154
What's stupid is that if people cancel their rooms, they never go back into the con block - you have to pay rack rate. That's never made sense to me, since Colossal buys out the entire hotel.

>>9556154
I like how they thought there would be any leftover in the first place. Four expensive nights or nothing...

>>9553063
Well you got fucked

>>9554170
Red pilled as fuck.

>>9554715
Or they can cap attendance. Thus fixing some of the ghosting and crowding problem. Then tie booking to your badge number. If you per reg you get access to book early. Thanks for supporting the con. Mag and shuto do it. It's not that crazy of an idea. a 20k con doesn't work in a place as small as the Kalihari.

I'm actually super bummed I couldn't get through before they were sold out. I usually do panels and workshops but there's no way I can manage it if I can't stay at the hotel. No, loading up my equipment in the car and making trips constantly isn't an option. Think they'll do anything for panelists?

>>9556493
Ghosting? It's kinda impossible to ghost the actual con.

>>9556690
The con chair posted in the Official FB page that they only reserve a small number of rooms for Staff and guests. So no, sorry =(

>>9556493

>shuto
>doing anything good ever

>>9556776
If it ever rains one of these years it will be an actual tragedy. The con is over flowing to the point a large number have to be outside. Every single photo gathering is outside. Even with that the hallways are still stuffed to bursting.

>>9556929
A broke clock is still right twice a day anon.

>>9557249
I can't even imagine how disgusting it will be when it's both rainy and hot outside. Most photoshoots cancelled and every sweaty weeb crammed inside, most without rooms to shower in.

>>9557250
You're right anon, the game room is good, and uh... the market near the con center is pretty good.

>>9556777

I was shocked that they keep guests and staff offsite in order to keep more rooms for attendees. That's extremely unusual for cons; definitely made me respect the con chair a lot more for his priorities.

>>9558160
where did you read that? lol

>>9558160
i read that too. it's nice that they started doing that but it's probably more about costs than convenience for the attendees. it also explains why staff never show up to their shifts on time too. this year i cant tell you how many times a line for an 18+ panel was late because the id checker hadnt arrived.

I'm loving this asthma girl who's acting like she was screwed out of a room, refuses to stay offsite, and is shitting up the Room and Ride share page with her demands and generally shitty attitude, and then being surprised no one wants to deal with her.

>>9558297
you reading the same thread anon? more people like her attitude than not, power to her.

>>9556467
Immediately made a post on the google docs as soon as I saw
Fuck
Anybody got room for 2? I'd much rather not get stuck with obnoxious teens at thw gwl like before.

>>9558160
>keep guests and staff offsite
Staff has rooms at the Kalahari. Idk about guests. They don't reserve a whole lot of rooms though and never have, and typically it's only for department heads and those under them, so smalltime volunteers/gophers don't get staff rooms. The whole security team had their own villa a couple years ago.

Otherwise higher-up staff, who absolutely need to be on shift at specific times, could risk being late due to shuttle reliability and parking issues.

>>9558287
I think that has more to do with under-staffing issues. Colossal tends to attract volunteers that have the work ethic of an overexcited puppy.

>>9558297
She's 24, so she could have easily, kindly asked if there were any parent-run rooms with minors that could use some extra supervision, because she's guaranteed to get a smoke/alcohol free room from that, but nah, had to be cantankerous about it.

>>9558102
Market near the con center? With the parking situation being so bad + bike weekend I normally make it point to not travel off site.

>>9558059
No disrespect to yall but I'm going laugh if 2018 is year colossal gets drenched.
>lighting means all the coswhores have leave the waterpark. Thats is indoors and out. They close both.
>rain means all photo gatherings are canceled. Only so many people can gather under the over hang infront of the tall grass. Most will try to find shelter inside.
>although many will go back to their rooms many more will have wait for a shitty never on time shuttle to do the same.
>the ADD staff will quickly throw up their hands as they'll have to process x3 the number people through check points.
>many will drink more out of bordom. So you'll get drunk bros and whooo girls in over crowded halls. Fun.
It will be the mess to end all messes.

>>9558713
The uh, shit, I'm actually blanking on it because I stopped going to Shuto. There's a big building like, 60 seconds from the con center exit by the food court, it's kind of a permanent farmers market? But with a bunch of independent restaurants.

IDK there's a BBQ place and its awesome.

>>9558713

As long as tokyo attack is there im good.

>tfw East room block is now sold out, too
Granted it's not the entire hotel, just the room block they reserved.

>>9558713
>With the parking situation being so bad + bike weekend I normally make it point to not travel off site
They were talking about Shuto, not Colossal.

>>9559200
They're talking to the kalahari about expanding the block. Must happen yesterday, before I went to bed it was still open and I wad going to book this morning.

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>>9559200
God Dammit why did I wait

>>9559210
>They're talking to the kalahari about expanding the block
Yeah, honestly I was expecting East to get pretty big even on its first year due to Colossal Ohio's fame but didn't expect them to fill up a room block already. I wouldn't doubt people who lost out on Sandusky rooms decided to suddenly flood towards East instead.

Since it's only July I'm wondering if they'll fill up the next room block they open up, especially since "the room block filled up" tends to force people who were on the fence into panic mode and reserving rooms thinking they'll sell out again.

>>9559412
Lol don't worry too much about it. It's just the discount block that got sold out, not the whole hotel. They'll have the other block opened back up in less than a week probably.

>>9559763
nope, it's up now, I booked a room at the Colossal rate

>>9559200
I hear stories from shuto but I've never been

im really hoping to go to colossalcon, what are the chances of me being able to get a Hut if someone cancels on going?

>>9558893
>>9558102

Lansing City Market! :)

>>9563750
The thing about cons that sell out hotels so fast is that a lot of people reserve just so they know they'll have a room and end up cancelling last minute. There's a Facebook group (Colossalcon room and ride share) you can keep an eye on and there may be a few posts looking to sell off rooms they won't be able to use starting around next spring, or you can just keep trying to call in and the closer it gets to con time, you may get lucky.

East thread for you fuckers, since I want to discuss East and this is primarily a Sandusky hotel banter thread.

>>9566334
>>9566334