[Ghm-discuss] Fwd: Re: Possible GHM 2018 accommodation

[Ander Juaristi]

Forgot to forward to list.

-------- Mensaje Original --------
Asunto: Re: [Ghm-discuss] Possible GHM 2018 accommodation
Fecha: 2018-01-10 10:27
De: Ander Juaristi <address@hidden>
Destinatario: John Darrington <address@hidden>
Responder a: address@hidden

Not much, really.

From the last time I posted my spreadsheet here, I contacted 7-10 new 
places (can't remember the exact number, but something on the lines).

I failed to update the shared TXT so I apologise for that. Let me 
summarize the current status here.

The landscape is a bit disappointing, to be honest. There are lots of 4- 
and 5-star hotels in the city, as well as tiny B&B youth hostels, but 
there doesn't seem to be nothing in between. 4- and 5-star hotels are 
expensive. The cheapest one I've found charges 180€/night.

All of the B&B hostels I've found (and I've seen many), such as the "A 
Room in the City" and the "Downtown River" mentioned early in this 
thread, require you to sleep in a shared room with *at least* 4 people. 
You said, John, that a 4-star hotel isn't something you're against but 
would definitely make a very different GHM. Well, that's my posture in 
this case too: I'm not entirely against this kind of B&Bs, but bear in 
mind it would also make a very different GHM. In addition, most of these 
places expect guests to cook their own food, and none of them has a 
meeting room or a similar place where talks can be given.

Then, excluding the B&Bs, from the 7-10 new places I contacted, half of 
them have less than 6 rooms. They're small hotels, they can serve food, 
etc. But as I said, just 6 rooms the biggest of them. I don't think 
hosting the people over them all is an option because these places are 
scattered all around the area (most of them in small villages). 
Furthermore, I don't think they have a place where a talk can reasonably 
be arranged in front of a group of people.

For the other half, I've discarded some places for several reasons. For 
one specific place, an answering machine told me they were closed until 
March 31 and there was no other way to contact them. Others rejected my 
proposal, either arguing they were full or that they were simply not 
interested in hosting an event (looks like tourism is giving far more 
money).

So my list of places is now basically narrowed down to three:

 - There's a place (not in the city but in a nearby town) that seems a 
good fit at first sight. I contacted them back in early December and 
they were interested a priori, but told me they would need to know the 
exact dates (even though I told them initially I didn't care much about 
the dates as long as it took place on a summer weekend). I proposed them 
31 August to 2 September and told me they would not arrange events those 
days. Then I proposed them 18 to 20 May and told me they were fully 
booked those days. The only option I have is to continue begging them 
their available dates ("Please, please tell me which days you're free 
and I will choose among them"), which I did in the beginning and didn't 
seem to work.
 - I asked for exact prices to two other hotels in the city. They're 
located quite far from the centre, and that makes me think they'll be 
cheaper than the others. I wrote them both on 18th December, and since 
then got some mails from internal sales reps telling me they were 
working on it, **but no reply yet**. FYI, I screened these hotels in 
person before writing to them, just to see whether they would be 
interested in hosting the event and they both said definitely yes. I 
just wrote them saying I need the info ASAP.

If the above options don't work in the end then I guess I won't be able 
to offer anything but just a meeting room (my employer would probably be 
happy to arrange that) and GHM would have to take place as it was done 
in previous years: we just provide the talks and the venue, and let 
people on their own for accommodation and food.

Regards,
- AJ

El 2018-01-09 12:52, John Darrington escribió:
> Hi AJ,
>
> Have you got any further with this?
>
> If GHM is going to happen this summer, we really need to get some 
> definite
> arrangements organised very soon.
>
> Happy new year.
>
> John
>
> On Fri, Dec 08, 2017 at 10:04:20AM +0100, Ander Juaristi wrote:
>      Good, we're starting to reach consensus. This is good news.
>
>      This is what I shall do once I get back home next week:
>
>       - Try reaching those places by phone, and get some exact figures, 
> like
>      price, etc.
>       - Try harder looking for more similar places in the area, so we 
> have
>      more options to choose from.
>
>      Jakub's text version is updatable by everyone, I think, so I can 
> post my
>      updates there if you prefer.
>
>      Regards,
>      - AJ
>
>      El 2017-12-07 21:10, John Darrington escribi??:
>      >I had a brief look at the list and the websites.  IMO these 3 
> seem
>      >like possibilities:
>      >
>      >https://www.downtownriverhostel.es/en/
>      >http://www.urbanhousesansebastian.com/
>      >https://www.aroominthecity.eu/
>      >
>      >So perhaps if you're in the region you could check them out.
>      >
>      >Most of the others are a bit too up-market for us I think 
> (~250EUR per
>      >person
>      >per night + food + conference room).    We can talk about 
> arranging
>      >that sort
>      >of GHM, but it would certainly be very different from any we've 
> had in
>      >the
>      >past.  Personally I would prefer to keep the price down so that 
> the
>      >event is
>      >accessible to as many people as possible.
>      >
>      >J'
>      >
>      >
>      >
>      >
>      >On Thu, Dec 07, 2017 at 07:57:02PM +0100, Jakub Macha??ek wrote:
>      >     Hi
>      >
>      >
>      >     Without google:
>      >
>      >     https://pad.riseup.net/p/0VZCFaNyJatM
>      >
>      >
>      >     <https://pad.riseup.net/p/0VZCFaNyJatM>
>      >
>      >     Cheers