Re: COMMON rates

My two cents would be that there are a lot of people who seem to think they
know the "solution" to this problem. I would suggest that COMMON is ~not~
trying to create a problem for its members - instead, they are trying to
provide the maximum benefit. I suspect their trade-offs are more along the
lines of charging more for the conference vs. letting the hotels charge that
much for the rooms. Can I suggest that all those who are not in the
conference business, all those who do not understand the logisitics of
running a conference, and all those who are applying their own solution take
one step back and look at it from the perspective of COMMON?

I guess this is why we have so much maintenance code in this industry -
everyone knows better than the experts :-)


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Paul Nelson" <pnelson@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: COMMON rates (was RE: Congrads John Earl!)


> >3)  If I'm not mistaken, the conference is off season for Florida.  This
> >means that there s/b room for negotiation.  While the conference itself
> >probably couldn't move, the accommodations s/b a large enough carrot /
> >stick.
>
> The week we're there is still considered "in season"
>
> <rant on>
> The fact of the matter is that costs simply keep going up, and that the
> attendance keeps going down. If people would just remember that COMMON is
a
> user group and not a capitalistic venture like other conferences, perhaps
> they'd have a different perspective. Whether we are self managed or hire
an
> association management company, we have our monthly "nut" to cover, so
> prices must be set accordingly.
>
> Maybe it's just me, but I've seen this thread doing mostly bellyaching
about
> the costs. I haven't seen one point brought up about selling management on
> the benefits or anybody volunteering to help revise the curriculum or get
> involved in the planning. COMMON is crying for volunteers.
>
> As the saying goes "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the
> problem."
>
> If people aren't willing to pitch in and help, then COMMON will disappear,
> and with it would go the most cost effective venue for education in the
> industry. Period.
> <rant off>
>
> I'm going to watch my son's ball game.