[ARDF] 2011 Region 2 ARDF costs, bus, and late registration

[Jay Hennigan]

One option:  Get more people.

> Event cost for 20 people (with bus) = 20*$105 + $2020 = 2100 + 2020 = 4120
> Per person (assuming 20) = $206 (again, based on rounded figures)
> 
> Organizers will be liable (will have to cover fixed costs) of ~$100 for each person under 20

Organizers will also profit ~$100 for every person over 20

Event cost for 25 people (with bus) = 25*105 + 2020 = 4645
Per person (assuming 25) = $186

> Event cost for 20 people (no bus) = 20 * $105 + $720 = 2820
> Per person (assuming 20) = $141

Event cost for 25 people (no bus) = 25*105 + 720 = 3345
Per person (assuming 25) = $134

> Organizers will be liable (will have to cover fixed costs) ~$35 for each person under 20

Organizers will also profit ~$35 for each person over 20

> Cost of the bus is approximately $65/person (assuming 20) for both days ($32.50/day). We can't go into details on how far the venues are but with $5.00 gas in our future we see that $65 ~ 13 gal gas (6.5 gal/day) for each person to drive to and from the venues.

6.5 gallons at 25 MPG = 162 miles per *vehicle* which in the case of a
sedan could take four people.  An SUV or minivan maybe six or seven.
While not going into details, 81 miles is a fairly large distance for
travel in this type of scenario.  Judging from the embargoed areas a
total of 162 miles for both days seems a bit on the high side but within
reason.  Assuming 20 to 25 competitors, five or six vehicles should be
adequate.  It's assumed that the volunteers and course setters will have
a different schedule than the competitors as they will need to be on
site prior to the competitors arriving.  Cost of gas per person assuming
five per vehicle is about $13.

> The bus will also be used to transport supplies to the event venues and can also act as a shelter in the event of a storm and provides a quick mass evacuation in the event of a forest fire. We are in a state of very dry conditions this year that can also have sudden and short severe lightening storms. The bus will also assure that all competitors arrive at both sites on time.

All good points.

> Issue 3: Late registration
> 
> Given that we started all this with the bus option the organizers were faced with steep fixed costs that we would be personally responsible for. We needed time to cancel the bus without incurring fees if we did not get at least 20 people registering.

How much time?

> The organizers are also financial responsible for unsold hotel rooms if we cancel too late.

When is too late?  What is the penalty?

> If we have the option (if we all agree) to drop the bus and drop the special room rate (after a TBD date) then we could push the drop dead registration date out. With no bus and hotel financial exposure we have alot more wiggle room.

I would think that these lead times are known and written into the bus
and hotel agreements.  If so, would you be adverse to sharing them?  If
not, then the underlying assumptions may be in error.

The room rate on the Marriott web site for the Pyramid North for those
dates is $94.99 per night, same rate fr one or two people per room. This
is with zero discounts for AAA, club programs, etc.  At the "group rate"
of $99 for double, the special rate is more than the Marriott website
price for double occupancy.  Individual hotel reservations have a
cancellation of 24 hours with no penalty.  The penalty "late" rate on
the registration form is around 75 days before the event.  This seems
excessive.

Perhaps the hotel is throwing in the use of a conference or meeting room
as part of the deal that isn't mentioned here.  If this is the case,
seeing as they really aren't offering any group rate discount to speak
of, maybe we need to get an actual group rate or back the meeting room
out of the "deal" and include its rent into the fixed costs.

There's a balance between the price, late penalty time/amount, and
number of participants.  If you make the price too high or the late
penalty too high or too early, you get fewer people.

I do have a great deal of appreciation for the effort and risk that goes
into putting on an event such as this.  However it seems to me that we
should be able to come up with alternatives that are less costly and
less burdensome in terms of an early commit time to avoid penalties.
Doing so will result in greater participation and this should reduce
fixed costs per person.


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Jay Hennigan - CCIE #7880 - Network Engineering - jay at impulse.net
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