BotCon 2012 location & dates revealed (updated 14th Dec)

[griffin]

Registration will still be some time away, but in the next few days, the location and dates will be announced, allowing those interested to start planning the trip and book relevant hotel accommodation.

(if you are thinking about it, but aren't sure yet, book a room anyway - as it usually can be cancelled later without penalty, and saves you a good spot in case you do go)

[griffin]

If anyone here is going next year, or thinking about going, or will be trying to go, post here so that I can see what our numbers might end up being.

Also, if anyone has any insider info as to the location, but can't say anything publicly, please let me know by PM, so that I can be sure I don't miss out on the convention hotel (to book early in case it books out fast when made public).

[UltraMarginal]

After the enjoyment I had there last this year I'd love to go again, but I can't see the funds collecting in time, especially if it's towards the start of the year.

[reillyd]

I'm awfully tempted, as it would be my first time, but I'm reluctant to start booking hotels and airfaires without knowing what the 'theme' of the convention is. While I'm sure there's lots of cool things going on at Botcon, and the dealer room would have lots of treasures, I don't want to commit to that sort of cost and then find out I have absolutely no interest in the convention toys that year. For example, G2 and Animated Stuncticon sets I had zero interest in (yes I know I'm the minority there) and would have been disappointed if that was my first Botcon experience. The G1 Seekers year, by comparison, would have been absolutely mindblowing.

I have absolutely no idea what the teaser image at botcon.com is of.

How quick do hotels normally sell out at Botcon?

[Demonac]

You don't want to go to Botcon because of the toys.
They can be got from eBay far easier & cheaper than flying to the States.
Go because you want to go to Botcon.
If you have no interest in the toys, then you could sell them to recoup some of our costs.

[gamblor916]

Dallas in April? That's inconvenient (for me anyway).

[UltraMarginal]

starting the Friday the 27th, at the Hyatt Regency
300 reunion Blvd, Dallas, TX.

It's a bit Ironic that I probably won't have the budget to attend this year.:rolleyes:

[griffin]

Saw the email about an hour ago (it had only been sent 2 hours before that, so I though, I might have a good chance to book a room this year).
Went to the botcon site to get the link to the online registration link for the hotel.
Entered in the dates for the full discounted block - nothing came up.
Then tried different combinations - still nothing.
I looked on TFW2005 to see if there was any indication that the discounted block had been sold out within the first 2-3 hours. Some people were reporting that they were getting rooms after others said they weren't... so I decided to find a reservations phone number, which took a while to find on their main website, thanks to this increasingly online world we live in (13 1234 - that's the number for Australians to use).

So I was on the phone to the helpful operator for almost half an hour, as she tried to make the convention rate work for me. It ended up being a case of completely sold out, and she sent a message through to the hotel to put me on the waiting list (heaps of people cancel in the weeks leading up to the event, as most people are pre-booking on the offchance that they end up going), so hopefully that will get me onto the cheaper rate by the time the convention occurs. But in case it doesn't, I still have a reservation made at the next cheapest rate.
Oddly enough though, the cheapest regular room rate on the friday and saturday is the same as the BotCon rate, so if you get a reservation in quickly, it will only be any extra days around those two that you'd end up paying more for. Just don't expect to get a good rate if you want to stay there past sunday night...
At the time of posting this, the best room rates for a 2-person, 2-bed room, are:
Mon 23 - 199
Tue 24 - 199
Wed 25 - 199
Thu 26 - 199
Fri 27 - 129
Sat 28 - 129
Sun 29 - 239
Mon 30 - 499 !!!!
Tue 31 - 499 !!!!

Tax rate is 13%
Check-in is after 3pm, and check-out is before noon.
Cancel anytime up until 24 hours before arrival date, with no penalty.

For those wanting to make a booking through the Hyatt website, go to this link (https://www.hyatt.com/hyatt/reservations/flow1/corpCheckAvailability.jsp) and type in Dallas TX. Then when it lists the hotel options, make sure you select the Reunion Blvd one.

I've made two bookings - one by phone and one online at that link above, and they both came to the same amount for 7 nights (in 23rd, out 30th) - US$1293, which is US$1461.09 with tax.

The reason I made a second online booking - the one I made on the phone ended up being a single bed, but didn't want to risk messing up my waiting list status by calling back to alter it. I will just cancel one reservation the week before BotCon (if no one here ends up wanting it).

If anyone is keen on going, or is definitely going, make a booking for yourself as soon as you can. And let me know (post here or message me), as we might be able to pair up some people who are willing to share to cut costs, or swap reservations and cancel the more expensive ones (closer to the convention date).


Still, I think it's a shame that FunPub don't reward their long-time, dedicated attendees with advance warning of the hotel, so that too many bookings aren't wasted on people who don't end up going (but make a reservation just in case). But I guess if they did that, any one of those "dedicated attendees" would leak it to the fandom, and negate the point of it.

[griffin]

Oh, and keep checking back at the BotCon website for any addition hotel deals, as they often line up other hotels nearby, or they may even get the main hotel to release more rooms at the discounted rate later.

[Doubledealer]

Thanks for all the info Griffin. Was hoping to go to this one but it's a bit too early for my girlfriend to be able to take time off work (was hoping it would be around June or July). Ah well, hopefully 2013 is the one.

[griffin]

Just been reading more of the tfw, seibertron, transformersclub & allspark topics on BC12, and it looks like the botcon rooms sold out within 90 minutes after the email was sent out, which was still 90 minutes before I got up and saw the email (and tried to make a booking).

It also mentions that people were even able to phone in a reservation at a cheaper rate than the botcon rate, at $109... but they may have been members of something to get that cheaper rate.
If not, there would have been a lot of annoyed people if there was a cheaper rate available to everyone, than the $129 BotCon rate. (I'm assuming that's the BotCon rate, as it's the most common figure being thrown around???? ... and if it was, I don't see why Funpub weren't able to secure a rate that was "discounted" from the cheapest available rate - even I was able to get $129 rooms without the discount rate)

[griffin]

Now to start looking up flight options, and places of interest while in Dallas.
(I can understand why they are wanting this convention to be earlier than the usual mid-year timeslot, as it can get a bit warm in Texas during summer, which is our winter)

Some example flight prices from Brisbane for that week.
VAustralia - from $1,748 (Bris to LA, connecting flight at LA)
(I couldn't see if this is a sale fare though, as their regular prices in the past are usually twice this)

QANTAS - from $1,831 (Direct to Dallas from Brisbane or via Sydney - refuelling at LA)
(QANTAS is a sale fare that ends today though, so is likely to be more from tomorrow)

So it should be possible to have another round of sale fares before then, and it appears to be the off-season, so regular prices shouldn't be too bad either.


Attractions in Dallas (http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attractions-g55711-Activities-Dallas_Texas.html), for those wanting to make a bit of a holiday out of your stay there (if not stopping anywhere else while away).
The only thing that looked interesting to me on that list was the infamous Book Depository... which is kinda boring. Hope the pre-con tours are good (better than their tour of a ranch in 2005), and that there are a lot of toystore options nearby.

[UltraMarginal]

the zoo sounds pretty good

[Skullcruncher]

Dallas Segway Tours Whoot!

[UltraMarginal]

Dallas Segway Tours Whoot!

I have a friend who went on one of those in San Fran and he said it was a lot more fun than he expected..

[griffin]

It was guessed that FunPub may be able to convince the hotel to discount more rooms to the BotCon rate, and earlier this morning (at about the same time as yesterday), FunPub sent out an email to say that they had done just that.

I only just noticed it about an hour ago, so by the time I jumped online, the three main days of the convention were already gone.
AND... looking on the main Hyatt reservations website, the entire hotel is booked out on the Friday night now. The only way to get in with that night, is if there is a cancellation and you're on a waiting list.

I'm a bit annoyed that I was told that I was on a waiting list for the BotCon rate at the hotel, but must have only applied to cancellations, not an additional release of rooms, as I didn't receive any notification or offer from the Hotel.

But the good news is for anyone here who booked a room at a higher rate yesterday, can call up the 131234 reservations number and get them to re-book any cheaper rooms on the other nights, remove the expensive days from your original registration, and have them linked up so that you still get a full-running stay at the hotel.

I managed to get cheaper rates for 4 of my 7 days, and now have 4 different reservations (in 3 different rooms... )
Mon 23 - 129 (saved 70)
Tue 24 - 129 (saved 70)
Wed 25 - 159 (save 40)
Thu 26 - 199 (same)
Fri 27 - 129 (same)
Sat 28 - 129 (same)
Sun 29 - 159 (saved 80)

So now its a total, with tax, of $1167.29 (saving $293.80 - which pretty much covers the registration now).

I only updated one of my reservations, because it took about half an hour to do that. Since no one else has shown any confirmed interest yet, I'll leave the other one, as it's not worth the fuss if it isn't needed.


Flightcentre (http://www.flightcentre.com.au/) have just emailed me too, to say that they just started a sale on flights to LA from $1045 return. No details on when it ends or what travel dates are included, but best to enquire if you are interested. (the domestic leg to Dallas would be extra, but deals may be available with some airlines)

[UltraMarginal]

At this years Botcon we stayed at a non-Botcon Motel down the road that we booked through Expedia.com. it was cheaper than the con rooms and we had included breakfast and a small fridge in the room. Something to consider for those who are on a really tight budget.

the only drawback I found was not being in the actual convention hotel you missed out on things like the "Parts Party" and potentially running into one of the guests at the bar or something like that. Which I've heard of multiple times on various Transformers related podcasts.

Of course for the duration your spending Griffin, it's going to be expensive either way:D:cool:

[gamblor916]

I really want to travel but I can only say yes or no next January at the earliest.

[MindsetOverhaul]

i was dead set on going this year but then some grim sh-t went down and it all fell through the floor.
2012 isn't looking much better for me at this point. here's my fingers crossed;)

[griffin]

MAJOR UPDATE

FunPub sent out an email correction for their designated hotel (not sure what took them so long...), that mentions that the hotel was meant to charge a refundable night's rate onto a reserving credit card, but they had a glitch, so didn't.
As such, they will be charging people January 2nd (to wait until after christmas), and if you still decide to not go, you have until April 9th to get your deposit refunded.

Some of the fansites are saying that people have been able to get rooms, from those who have since cancelled because they didn't want to have the expense for something they are not likely to use (especially those who booked several rooms for anyone else who wanted one at the cheap rate, but have yet to offload them).

I had a look, and the Thursday 26th to Sunday 28th are stil sold out, but if you are keen, keep going back every few days, or around Jan 2nd and April 9th, to grab any that are returned to the discounted rate pool.


To all BotCon attendees who are holding current reservations: There was a glitch in the hotel's reservation system as it was supposed to be taking one night's deposit when your made your reservation.

Per our contract with the hotel, they need to take this deposit by charging everyone's credit card for the first night's room and tax.

In order not to impact anyone's Christmas shopping, I have asked them to hold off making the charge until January 3, 2012.

In addition, this deposit will be refundable until April 9, 2012. If you cancel after April 9, 2012 your deposit will NOT be refunded.

If you are holding any rooms "in case someone needs them" we ask you to either turn the reservation over to another party, or to release them by January 2, 2012, as we still have other attendees who need to make room reservations. Again, all rooms being held will have a one night's deposit charged on January 3, 2012.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.


Apparently they've been doing this since last year and this year's GIJoe convention.

I'm actually supportive of this sort of concept, IF it frees up more rooms for those with a high-to-definite chance of going. But perhaps it would be more of a deterrent of the "just in case" people who had little chance of going, if the refund period was only until pre-registration is opened (the April 9th deadline is only 2 weeks before the convention-rate begins, which is too late for most to be booking rooms). That way, people knowing they can't go (when pre-reg is open, or even when the brochure is online), can free up the rooms for those who are now sure that they can go (knowing the costs and what's on offer).

(since I have 4 different reservations to cover the 7 days, I'm likely to be pre-charged 2 or 4 nights... depending on how the reservation is processed)

[UltraMarginal]

I think it's pretty fair, like you said it allows more definite attendees to book a con room. for the maybe's there are other motels, it's a major city in america for crying out loud. :D

[CHILENO20]

it would have been awesome to go this year just for the sake that its another sg! though i admit, like some others here have said, that funpub is more than likely running out of themes. safe to say that ull be goin again griffin. any chance you can get us the exclusive packs while over there???

[griffin]

With today being the day the Hotel would charge deposits for room reservations, I'm thinking people who were now unlikely to be going (or not wanting to be paying anything this early) have been cancelling their reservations... because I was just able to book in for every night I wanted at the cheapest BotCon rate of $129 + tax for up to 2 people and with 2 beds. (ended up saving me $440 from my original reservation)

I then cancelled my other reservations (hopefully before they were charged to me - if not, they will be credited back later)... so if anyone later decides to go and wants to share, I can fit up to 4 people in my room, splitting the costs.

Also, if anyone right now is thinking of going, now would be a good time to get a room at the Convention hotel before they sell out again.

Or try again around April 9th when people not going cancel their reservation before they lose their deposit. (but I'd imagine more people will cancel theirs around the time the BotCon Registration is open - which should be in the next week if FunPub are accurate in their schedule)