Dear J,
For some people, NEST is a large expense. I and the others who make up the NEST
team feel that the costs are pretty reasonable, especially considering the costs of
other weekend long events at hotels (which often run $200-$500 per person), and
even the weekend camping events run $49 (if you tent) to $400+ in shared cabins,
with $85 for your food costs on top of that.
A single NEST registration was $90, $100 & $115 for the entire weekend, and much
of the food/drink was included. Floating world in NJ has a similar scale to NEST, and
still costs more, $119, $145, $175, $225. You pay for all your own meals.
Summer camp starts at $380, REQUIRES 4 hours of chores, or charges you $60
more, and each additional day costs $115 or more.
It's really easy to put on a small event, and to charge a similarly small price. Also,
as the events get larger and sell out hotels, it's a lot easier to negotiate far better
room rates. BDSM events tend to pull in more people than tickling events, although
I think the ones which have been going for any length of time have all seen consistent
growth. Sadly, NEST is still a medium sized event, and as such, gets squeezed by not
having enough attendees to fill the entire hotel (although perhaps someday) and hotel
costs tend to be expensive, not to mention the mandatory 17% tax paid on rooms,
meals, etc.
I appreciate that people want to come, and are concerned about the cost. For the
last 4 years I have offered volunteer spots to people who cannot afford to come,
and generally, the people who ask are not really interested in doing any work, which
makes that a really bad fit. Occasionally people donate toward the cost of someone
coming. When that happens, I often see what can be done in terms of concessions
with rooms, but that isn't always welcomed, either.
I put NEST on as a labor of love. I spend at least 240 hours on it before the event
itself, and I pay for everything but my registration, so my hotel room, my food, my
travel costs, etc. come out of my own pocket.
There may be hotels which are less expensive, and do not have the space for classes,
parties, etc, which are also located in Philly, and reasonably easy for people to get to.
I'm certain that I could hold the event in NJ again, which was done to keep room costs
down, but that space really didn't fit the needs of our group.
It's possible that our Sunday parties go back to being held at an offsite location, but
that isn't a certainty now.
I decided to mail this to you, as well as posting it in the NEST subforum, so that
people can get an understanding of what it takes to put on this event, and hopefully
so that the cost of it seems more reasonable to them.
I'll welcome positive, constructive and innovative solutions for lowering the costs. It's
possible that by not offering any food/drinks during the event, and only having people
bring their own, the costs can drop by $13/person. Other suggestions are welcomed.
If you go to other weekend long hotel events, or similar, what do you pay? Is that
a fair rate?
Lee
For some people, NEST is a large expense. I and the others who make up the NEST
team feel that the costs are pretty reasonable, especially considering the costs of
other weekend long events at hotels (which often run $200-$500 per person), and
even the weekend camping events run $49 (if you tent) to $400+ in shared cabins,
with $85 for your food costs on top of that.
A single NEST registration was $90, $100 & $115 for the entire weekend, and much
of the food/drink was included. Floating world in NJ has a similar scale to NEST, and
still costs more, $119, $145, $175, $225. You pay for all your own meals.
Summer camp starts at $380, REQUIRES 4 hours of chores, or charges you $60
more, and each additional day costs $115 or more.
It's really easy to put on a small event, and to charge a similarly small price. Also,
as the events get larger and sell out hotels, it's a lot easier to negotiate far better
room rates. BDSM events tend to pull in more people than tickling events, although
I think the ones which have been going for any length of time have all seen consistent
growth. Sadly, NEST is still a medium sized event, and as such, gets squeezed by not
having enough attendees to fill the entire hotel (although perhaps someday) and hotel
costs tend to be expensive, not to mention the mandatory 17% tax paid on rooms,
meals, etc.
I appreciate that people want to come, and are concerned about the cost. For the
last 4 years I have offered volunteer spots to people who cannot afford to come,
and generally, the people who ask are not really interested in doing any work, which
makes that a really bad fit. Occasionally people donate toward the cost of someone
coming. When that happens, I often see what can be done in terms of concessions
with rooms, but that isn't always welcomed, either.
I put NEST on as a labor of love. I spend at least 240 hours on it before the event
itself, and I pay for everything but my registration, so my hotel room, my food, my
travel costs, etc. come out of my own pocket.
There may be hotels which are less expensive, and do not have the space for classes,
parties, etc, which are also located in Philly, and reasonably easy for people to get to.
I'm certain that I could hold the event in NJ again, which was done to keep room costs
down, but that space really didn't fit the needs of our group.
It's possible that our Sunday parties go back to being held at an offsite location, but
that isn't a certainty now.
I decided to mail this to you, as well as posting it in the NEST subforum, so that
people can get an understanding of what it takes to put on this event, and hopefully
so that the cost of it seems more reasonable to them.
I'll welcome positive, constructive and innovative solutions for lowering the costs. It's
possible that by not offering any food/drinks during the event, and only having people
bring their own, the costs can drop by $13/person. Other suggestions are welcomed.
If you go to other weekend long hotel events, or similar, what do you pay? Is that
a fair rate?
Lee
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