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Venue for next Autographica


swan
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The Hilton Metropole is a superb location and I sincerely hope that Autographica leave London behind and move the show to the Hilton permanently. I just like the format there - and it is easy to get to from most parts of the country.

 

I agree 100%..

 

This was my first Autographica & I thought the venue was absolutely superb & I hope that Autographica 15 next April is also at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole..fantastic job!

 

Regards,Shane :D

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Each venue has its pros and cons for me. Heathrow is probably closer as the crow flies but given I have to travel by public transport it is a bit of a pain to get to and means using a couple of buses.

 

The food is about even, Heathrow has the McDonalds next door but the food court area that has been laid on at Birmingham the last couple of shows means there is somewhere to buy affordable food at lunchtime. Birmingham is very expensive to eat in the evenings but we found a pub just down the road which was about half the price and just as good. From memory the bar prices in both are hideously expensive!

 

Both hotels have good public areas, there are a number of sofas and easy chairs dotted about the corridors and lobby of Birmingham, whereas Heathrow has the atrium area which is also good. The only downside of Heathrow is a few of the corridors are quite narrow which can cause a bit of congestion when people are queing and others are trying to get through the corridors.

 

Also it seems with Birmingham it is possible to get all the dealers in one room and all the guests in one room whereas at Heathrow its not uncommon for guests and dealers to be spread out over two or three different rooms.

 

I've not stayed at Heathrow before so couldn't say how the bedrooms compare. Have to say though I think the Birmingham hotel does need freshening up a bit, there were a few bits and bobs in my room that could have done with being fixed, nothing to worry matron about but needed looking at all the same. Have to say though the breakfast selection was excellent, but again I don't know how that compares to Heathrow.

 

I think maybe Birmingham just shades it for me, despite being a bit further away its probably as easy for me to get there as Heathrow is and I think the added space around the hotel makes it all feel a bit less congested.

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Personally I like Birmingham. Been to the other Autographicas at Northampton, Coventry and Heathrow and BHam edges it for me. The space in the hotel just works really well for the show. And just my impression, but it seemed to me like the guests seemed to like it and were probably the most relaxed compared to all the venues used.

 

Looks like next year it will be back to doing one in London next April followed by BHam later in the year. Jason posted this in one of the other threads -

 

 

we will be back next year with two event one in London and the other in Birmingham with lots of rare and great guests .

 

thanks to everyone that came to the event and enjoyed it

 

jason

 

ps one last thing General Stafford said we were a real pro outfit better than anything else he has been to and he offered contacting other Nasa guest we have been trying to have as guest at our events to tell them to trust us and encourage them to attend , and thats going to go a very long way with others from Nasa :D

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ok, i can see people arguments with both venues been the best but with so many shows around london, isnt it discriminating against those int he north and midlands? i mean we could do with shows up here and the be fair the hilton is a good hotel - so please please keep them as they are 2 autographicas in bham and one CM mids in cov or the NEC complex.

 

it just makes so much sense really

 

Mike

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ok, i can see people arguments with both venues been the best but with so many shows around london, isnt it discriminating against those int he north and midlands?

 

And to those is South Wales and the South West of England!

 

Birmingham or London take me the same time to travel. I just much prefer the Heathrow hotel.

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i think that the way to go is alternate venues each time. london. birmingham. if the event is defo going to be held twice a year then it maybe better for everyone.

 

The way that i look at it though is that you are more likely to get guests coming to london. especially actors and actresses. the main reason for this is because they have friends family or even homes there and most of the ones from the Usa would come just to see London while they worked at the event over the weekend.

 

What am generally trying to say though is, iam not bothered where it is. What I think is better is that we have to ask ourseleves where the guests are more likely to go to as a visit, especially the ones from abroad. The calibre of guests is what the shows are about. if we had to go to the outer hebrides knowing the guests would be fantastic we would go. Its not really a question of " I live in london, come here" or " birmingham is near my house brilliant" or " we have no shows here have it here". The guests i think determine the shows and it maybe that London is the best place to have the show overall.

 

If you say to most of the guests at the shows "hey fancy coming to london, nice hotel and signing a few autos" rather than say birmingham or anywhere else, this is more convienent for the guests and probably widens the pool for even more guests that are possibly not available just now.

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the point that am trying to make is not about where we as attendees would like to stay or how close or how far it is for attendees to travel. London is the more relevent place to stay for the guests, especially those from abroad. if you say to guests would you like to come to london, capital city in britain and one of the great cities of the world i think you would be able to get a different calibre of guest. you only have to look at the guest comparisons with collectormania london to collectormania midlands or manchester or glasgow.

 

Iam actually frm glasgow, so its not to do with travel issues, its really to do with a better calibre of guests and i believe london is a better venue for that reason.

 

Am sure we'd love autographica to be on our doorstep. i'd love it to be in glasgow but i know if it is in glasgow the guests would not be as good as if it were in london.

 

we have plenty of 5 star hotels in scotland too.

Edited by braveboy1
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Mind you, if you think about the events that have attracted the higher calibre international film star guests then the Birmingham events probably has a clear lead; Tony Curtis, Ernest Borgnine, George Kennedy and Mickey Rooney all appeared at Birmingham so it may not be as much of a problem from that perspective.

 

I think where London may have one selling point is if an actor lives or is based in London, it may be easier for them to do a one day appearance, such as Joanna Lumley did, or even appearing for a couple of hours like Warren Mitchell, if it means only having to travel locally.

 

That said of course we have no idea if any potential guests have been put off as a consequence of a show being outside of London.

 

Like I said earlier I'm pretty neutral as they both take about the same amount of travel time for me so I think the choice has to be wherever SM feel they can put on the best event.

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