72 replies to this topic

[Millwallant]

Part of my job is booking hotels. We have an agreed rate with lots of them locally and depending on what is on at the time our rate sometimes works out really good value and sometimes is well over what we'd get if we booked independently.

If a hotel has an event on the prices will go up. If they are not expecting anyone in then they will sell the rooms cheaper. Once they knew they had a booking they will have reverted to their usual rate for such events.

I honestly doubt it's Showmasters decision to increase the price. This hotel only has 100 odd rooms so I imagine they are well aware they will be fully booked very quickly and will raise their prices accordingly.

[Christoff]

Millwallant, on Aug 21 2008, 09:50 PM, said:

Part of my job is booking hotels. We have an agreed rate with lots of them locally and depending on what is on at the time our rate sometimes works out really good value and sometimes is well over what we'd get if we booked independently.

If a hotel has an event on the prices will go up. If they are not expecting anyone in then they will sell the rooms cheaper. Once they knew they had a booking they will have reverted to their usual rate for such events.

I honestly doubt it's Showmasters decision to increase the price. This hotel only has 100 odd rooms so I imagine they are well aware they will be fully booked very quickly and will raise their prices accordingly.

Well if it was the hotel that decided to raise the prices so much, can't showmasters negotiate with them or something? £19 is a lot, 2 nights at £65 is almost as much as 3 nights at what we should be paying, and £5 more per night than at northampton (and it's from the same hotel group, and Bedford Park Inn is supposed to be cheaper than Northampton Park Inn!). This is on top of the £78-£195 we're paying for the convention plus travelling to the hotel which is as Psychosis mentioned, is harder to get to.

[Jewls]

Psychosis, on Aug 21 2008, 09:11 PM, said:

Christoff, on Aug 21 2008, 09:07 PM, said:

Yes because £19 for breakfast is really worth it    I don't think it's full already, just shows it as full online because showmasters have probably pre-booked all of the rooms so only convention goers can stay.

I have to agree with this, it's an issue for me. Jason, I know you know I'm not usually one to whine and criticise - but I'm going to really struggle here. I am going to have to get an extra night in the hotel because the new location is in the middle of nowhere and nowhere near any major train routes and I had hoped that the lower price of the hotel would offset that a little for me. Not only is it no cheaper - Northampton was only �8 more expensive than the standard weekend rate would've been, whereas this is �19 more!

Edit: Obviously I have no idea whether this is down to you or the hotel (I'm guessing the hotel) - but I did want to agree with Christoff that it's going to be a problem for me.

Hi there is a direct route from London to Bedford on the 'First Capital Connect' train. Check out there website.  Hope that helps,

Julie x

Edited by Jewls, 21 August 2008 - 09:33 PM.

[pez]

Jewls, on Aug 21 2008, 10:32 PM, said:

Psychosis, on Aug 21 2008, 09:11 PM, said:

Christoff, on Aug 21 2008, 09:07 PM, said:

Yes because £19 for breakfast is really worth it    I don't think it's full already, just shows it as full online because showmasters have probably pre-booked all of the rooms so only convention goers can stay.

I have to agree with this, it's an issue for me. Jason, I know you know I'm not usually one to whine and criticise - but I'm going to really struggle here. I am going to have to get an extra night in the hotel because the new location is in the middle of nowhere and nowhere near any major train routes and I had hoped that the lower price of the hotel would offset that a little for me. Not only is it no cheaper - Northampton was only �8 more expensive than the standard weekend rate would've been, whereas this is �19 more!

Edit: Obviously I have no idea whether this is down to you or the hotel (I'm guessing the hotel) - but I did want to agree with Christoff that it's going to be a problem for me.

Hi there is a direct route from London to Bedford on the 'First Capital Connect' train. Check out there website.  Hope that helps,

Julie x

thats fine if your coming from london, but i checked from mine in newcastle, its either a two part change newcastle-london-bedford
three changes( cant remember stops) or four changes... working it out at the cheepest rate and with my traval card as well its still twice as expensive on the train than northampton ( 12 return to birmingham 7.50 return there to northampton bargan)  like others i have no choice but to stay three nights... this might put me off coming as a guest if i were to come .

[habitualangel]

Psychosis, on Aug 19 2008, 05:56 PM, said:

I don't mind the date change so much, but the venue change might have killed me here - Bedford is smack bang in the centre of nowhere. I have to change four times to get there, it's a five hour journey, it's much more expensive, and I also can't get a trip home on Sunday so that's an extra night in hotels too, and a whole two days of uni missed, vs no days in uni missed.

This is going to require some thinking.

I'm driving from Crewe if you need a lift seeing as I go through stoke on the A500, I'll be going down friday afternoon and coming back sunday after the closing ceremony

[TommyT]

Millwallant, on Aug 21 2008, 09:50 PM, said:

If a hotel has an event on the prices will go up. If they are not expecting anyone in then they will sell the rooms cheaper. Once they knew they had a booking they will have reverted to their usual rate for such events.

Although I can think of occasions when they may give a special reduced price when they have a booking on; several weddings that I can think of, plus a couple of conferences have seen the hotel doing a discount rate, no doubt because they knew they would probably be making a fortune from the formal dining and the bars, so it made sense for them to encourage people to stay there (maximise the opportunities for additional revenue generation).

Millwallant, on Aug 21 2008, 09:50 PM, said:

I honestly doubt it's Showmasters decision to increase the price. This hotel only has 100 odd rooms so I imagine they are well aware they will be fully booked very quickly and will raise their prices accordingly.

I'm actually staying at the Park Inn in a couple of weeks (at £46 per night) - I seem to remember when I was investigating my options for staying in Bedford that there were other places, but I couldn't tell you how close or how cheap.

[Psychosis]

habitualangel, on Aug 21 2008, 11:04 PM, said:

I'm driving from Crewe if you need a lift seeing as I go through stoke on the A500, I'll be going down friday afternoon and coming back sunday after the closing ceremony

Oh hello! This may help    Muchly Thanks for offering!

[jell1c4t]

As SG1 has ended now and Atlantis has just been cancelled/not picked up for a 6th season, who will be filming in Feb to clash with the event? Could we not just go back to the Northampton venue?

[Christoff]

jell1c4t, on Aug 23 2008, 04:12 PM, said:

As SG1 has ended now and Atlantis has just been cancelled/not picked up for a 6th season, who will be filming in Feb to clash with the event? Could we not just go back to the Northampton venue?

Oooh yes please   But maybe they're filming for the movie(s) then?

[DavidB]

Are you talking about moving back to the original date/venue? As the Twilight con now has that place.

[Psychosis]

Yet another reason to stab the world's worst popular writer in the eye with a pen. Or a typewriter. Or a keyboard.:jason:

(kidding)

[habitualangel]

Psychosis, on Aug 22 2008, 06:39 AM, said:

habitualangel, on Aug 21 2008, 11:04 PM, said:

I'm driving from Crewe if you need a lift seeing as I go through stoke on the A500, I'll be going down friday afternoon and coming back sunday after the closing ceremony

Oh hello! This may help    Muchly Thanks for offering!

No problem - I have spoken to you before - when you were with Matt Lewis @ gmex so if i see you at an event i'll come over and say hello

[pez]

Psychosis, on Aug 23 2008, 09:00 PM, said:

Yet another reason to stab the world's worst popular writer in the eye with a pen. Or a typewriter. Or a keyboard.:jason::jason:

(kidding)

Psychosis no dont hold back you really say what you think ....lol  

[Psychosis]

pez, on Aug 25 2008, 07:25 PM, said:

Psychosis no dont hold back you really say what you think ....lol  

*giggles* Sorry

[Mara jade]

I'd still like something from showmasters about the price at the hotel :) Just to clear things up :)

[showmasters]

all hotels want to sell rooms its simple that what they are there for

when we book an event at a hotel instead of selling the room of with the 1st 33% at a cheep price at the begging, and then when half have sold put them up to the reguler price, and then sell of the last 33% at a much higher price which is how hotels work

this way we got them to agree to charge a over all price that they needed to charge to cover the hotels costs and money needed to make it work for them and agreed this price

which is fairer for the fans and normal for all hotels, there is nothing odd going on here we just want it to be fair for everyone

i hope this helps

jason  

[Christoff]

showmasters, on Aug 28 2008, 04:29 AM, said:

all hotels want to sell rooms its simple that what they are there for

when we book an event at a hotel instead of selling the room of with the 1st 33% at a cheep price at the begging, and then when half have sold put them up to the reguler price, and then sell of the last 33% at a much higher price which is how hotels work

this way we got them to agree to charge a over all price that they needed to charge to cover the hotels costs and money needed to make it work for them and agreed this price

I'm not sure I completely understood what you said, but as for selling to some for a cheaper price, then increasing it to the normal price and then increasing to the highest price, why is it then that the "over all price" that was agreed on was the high price? A price that's £19 more per night than usual at weekends. Why not their regular price? In the example you gave that would be the average price anyway with a third of people spending less than that, a third spending the regular price and another third spending more, but we're all being told we have to spend more (a lot more).

showmasters, on Aug 28 2008, 04:29 AM, said:

this way we got them to agree to charge a over all price that they needed to charge to cover the hotels costs and money needed to make it work for them and agreed this price

which is fairer for the fans and normal for all hotels, there is nothing odd going on here we just want it to be fair for everyone

The impression I get from that is that the extra costs on top of the regular price we're paying (the extra £19 per night) is going towards booking the hotel for the convention and nothing to do with the bedrooms we're booking, but we're paying for the convention separately which I would've thought was paying for both the booking of the venue and to get the guests.

Did I understand correctly? If not would you be able to explain it a little clearer please?

[thefreckles]

Christoff, on Aug 28 2008, 10:12 PM, said:

The impression I get from that is that the extra costs on top of the regular price we're paying (the extra £19 per night) is going towards booking the hotel for the convention and nothing to do with the bedrooms we're booking, but we're paying for the convention separately which I would've thought was paying for both the booking of the venue and to get the guests.

Did I understand correctly? If not would you be able to explain it a little clearer please?

I have to agree here and think that is rather unfair.  The lower rate does actually seem to be the 'Standard' rate for the hotel, not a cheaper, limited rate.  It seems as if we are being charged a premium price for this.  All other conventions that I have been to have usually managed to organise a reduced price for convention attendees rather than an inflated price!  I'm kicking myself for not booking a room directly now when I first visited.  I could have always cancelled if no guests appealed and saved myself some (much needed at that time of year) money.  Oh well...  If 'The Hub' proves a success and I decide to give Showmasters my approval for these type of events (still very, very much up in the air after Eclipse), I'll be far more careful with booking a room in the future.  I saved quite a bit booking the Park through their website for The Hub rather than phoning them and stating I wanted to book for the con directly!  Breakfast is nice but not £21 per brek per night nicer!!!!

Edited by thefreckles, 28 August 2008 - 11:51 PM.

[Millwallant]

I thought they were saying that the £66 is the regular rate. ie. £46 when no rooms are sold, £66 when half are sold and the last remaining rooms when it looks like filling up then £86 (for example) That's what I was trying to say less succesfully in my post earlier. I book a hotel for for work that can be £45 when empty and £130 when an event is on which makes the £86 we book for amazingly good value sometimes and a complete rip off if they are empty!

It's honestly only the way most hotels are run (the easyjet method!) If showmasters didn't arrange a rate, people who were booking a week before the event when the guests were all but finalised would be complaining about being penalised with a higher price.

[Too Tall]

If you find a weekend where something else is happening and the hotel is more than a third full you'll find that the room rate will be £65.

The reason £46 LOOKS like the regular rate for a weekend is because the hotel is less than a third full on the weekends you checked, but that will not be the case on this weekend. Most business hotels are empty at the weekends, it's why they offer weekend rates to get people in.

What Jason is saying is that the average rate is £65. Also in this case you are getting breakfast for 2 people. Don't forget that in most hotels breakfast will be at least £7 per person. So that's £14 of the £19 difference straight away. But really breakfast isn't the point, the point is that...

Normally the first third (40 rooms) get it a £46.
The next third (40 rooms) get it at £65.
The next third (40 rooms) get it at £84.

Rather than the first third getting it cheaper and the last third getting a higher rate the hotel are doing all the 120 rooms at £65 that weekend.

SM are not trying to rip you off or make money out of your hotel booking. They are just trying to make it fair to as many people as possible. You can of course decided not to stay their.