[Chicago] dropping the ball and all

[Ted Pollari]

On Jan 2, 2007, at 10:27 AM, Carl Karsten wrote:

> I was told at the meeting, but can't remember: what group is  
> actually making the
> commitment?

The Python Software Foundation will be the contract signer.   David  
Goodger <goodger at python.org> is our primary contact person and will  
be chairing (or co-chairing?) PyCon 2008.  The trend has been for one  
person from the local group to co-chair with the PSF person and thus  
that person would be the primary point of contact for the venue.


> I am sure it will help to get some sort of hand shake commitment
> from them so that anyone talking to a venue rep can be fairly  
> certain of what
> can be committed to.  the more info the better.  Including me  
> talking to Larry
> later this week.
> This is kinda like trying to push 2 rubber hoses together.
>
> Much like "what format to you want me to export as?"  "we can  
> import many formats.'

Agreed, but I'm sure we can put some fairly concrete numbers, mins  
and max together and can pretty solidly pull together an RFP for this  
event, based on the guidance from David, prior PyCons and all of the  
discussions on various webpages (referenced a number of times  
previously on list and on-wiki).


okay, so here's my first go at venue specifications/info (I'll clean  
it up and add it to the wiki later):



space requirements:

1 room/auditorium large enough for 600 people to meet in a theater  
style (prefereably a mix of theater and classroom, if the space is  
configurable, like a ballroom)
4 Meeting rooms: Three rooms with a total capacity approximately  
equal to that of the full assembly. One of these rooms may be the  
auditorium.
2 additional meeting rooms, 1 each for quiet space work and storage
Common area: A common area in which groups of attendees can  
informally meet and where conference registration can take place.  
Requires a number (4 or so) tables for registration.
-All/after hours work area access a big plus, else early AM to Late  
PM also okay.


network:

Simultaneous wireless connectivity MUST be available without  
additional cost to the attendees in ALL conference spaces with a  
service level agreement in place to ensure connectivity (individual  
rooms are not included in this line item)

Catering:
Currently the budget is ~$45 per day per person for conference day  
food and drink -- minimally, this should include lunch (with  
vegetarian and carnivore friendly options & beverage options) plus  
coffee, tea and water available at all times during the conference  
with some light snack in the mid-morning and mid-afternoon.   
Breakfast instead of the morning snack is a big plus, but not a  
requirement, depending on costs.


Conference Schedule & Room Commitment (per day):

For 2006 & 2007, the PSF agreed to a contract including 870 room  
nights to be held at the group rate, with more reservable as space  
allowed, and an 80% quota guaranteed by the PSF.  In actuality, for  
2006, 955 room nights were booked.  The following would be a possible  
breakdown for 2008 (almost identical to 2006):

Day 0: Arrival of organizers/Setup  15 rooms contracted/reserved
Day 1: Tutorials 				       250 rooms contracted/reserved	
Day 2: Conference    			       250 rooms contracted/reserved	
Day 3: Conference    			       250 rooms contracted/reserved	
Day 4: Conference    			       30 rooms contracted/reserved	
Day 5: Sprints    			      	       30 rooms contracted/reserved	
Day 6: Sprints    			      	       30 rooms contracted/reserved
Day 7: Sprints    			      	       30 rooms contracted/reserved
Day 8: Sprints    			      	       30 rooms contracted/reserved

for a total of 915 room-nights blocked out.



Thoughts:
If we decide to do this at a hotel and if room rates are too high  
(relative to local market conditions) and accessibility to other  
hotels is high (i.e. downtown), then we may face some difficulty in  
getting these rooms filled at the numbers listed above.  Dallas had  
the benefit that there really weren't easily accessible options that  
were significantly cheaper, so it was not a competitive market and  
most if not all attendees chose to stay at the venue hotel.


-ted



-- 
Ted Pollari
Research Programmer
Department of Health Studies
The University of Chicago
tcp at uchicago.edu
773.834.0559