Norwescon 36 Room Cancellation Policy
A change is coming in the way we reserve rooms for Norwescon. It is a significant change for our members but we believe it will help us make more convention rooms available for our members at the cheaper convention rate.
This year, for the second year in a row, Norwescon’s room block was sold out in November, six months before the con. Our members are forced to reserve early or risk being shut out. Current policy allows these reservations to be snapped up for free, and then cancelled with no penalty as late as 48 hours before the convention.
With early reservations come last minute cancellations–lots of them. In recent years Norwescon has lost hundreds of room nights in the last weeks before con. The room block for Norwescon 34 fell from a peak of 2,078 room nights down to 1,673, with 255 room nights lost in the final two weeks before con. This total barely exceeded our contractual obligation to book 1,620 room nights at the convention.
That was a good year, however. In 2008, 2009, and 2010, cancellations caused the room block to fall even farther–below our contract obligation, down to 1,603, 1,437, and 1,610 nights, respectively. The Doubletree could have, but did not, enforce penalties against the convention during those years.
The worst part about last minute cancellations is that cancelled rooms do not go back into the room block. Instead, the hotel resells these rooms at a 40% (or higher) premium over the convention rate–or else the rooms remain empty. This is not what we want. During Norwescon we want to fill every room possible with Norwescon members who are paying the Norwescon rate.
The Doubletree is not a villain here–they have been very willing to work with us. Norwescon has been the victim of its own growth and success. We have decided to make a change in an effort to make this better.
Starting with Norwescon 36, we have asked the Doubletree to collect a one-night room deposit when the room is first reserved. This deposit will remain fully refundable until 90 days before the convention, which for next year would be Friday, December 28, 2012. By agreement with the hotel, all rooms cancelled by this date will be returned to the room block and made available for reservation by other Norwescon members.
This year, the room block for Norwescon 36 in 2013 will be open on Sunday, April 15, 2012, the Sunday after Norwescon 35 ends.
We know it is an inconvenience to pay for a hotel room months before it will be used, and that this change will present a difficulty for some. We believe, in the end, this will make rooms more available for our members at the cheaper convention rate.
To ask questions or provide feedback, please write to us at hotels@norwescon.org, or contact Norwescon through our social media sites.
Guest of Honor Banquet Tickets Now Available
Norwescon 35 is pleased to offer our annual Guest of Honor Awards Banquet on April 5th, 2012, from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM in Grand Ballroom 2. This is a great way for our members to start off the convention by wining and dining with our Guests of Honor. We look forward to you joining us for a delicious dinner and hearing what our guests have to say. Come and learn about the scholarships Norwescon is donating, and perhaps you will even win a raffle prize!
Ticket and menu information can be found on the Banquet page.
Rudy Rucker on io9
Author Rudy Rucker mentions winning the Philip K. Dick Award in 1989 in this excerpt on io9 from his recently published autobiography, Nested Scrolls.
Once I got rolling, I wrote Wetware at white heat. I wrote the bulk of the first draft during a six-week period from February to March of 1986, although the full process took about five months. I made a special effort to give the boppers’ speech the bizarre Beat rhythms of Kerouac’s writing — indeed, I’d sometimes look into his great Visions of Cody for inspiration. Wetware was insane, mind-boggling, and, in my opinion, a cyberpunk masterpiece.
I dedicated it to Philip K. Dick, placing my dedication above a quote from Albert Camus’s essay, The Myth of Sisyphus. The quote: “One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”
A couple of years later, in 1989, Wetware would win me a second Philip K. Dick award.
This award ceremony would be at the smallish NorwesCon SF convention in Tacoma, Washington. It wasn’t like the artists’ loft in New York at all. It was in a windowless hotel ballroom with a dinner of rubber ham and mashed potatoes.
We like to think our food offerings have improved over the years. 
Artists’ Alley Now Accepting Applications
We have just opened up applications for the Norwescon 35 Artists’ Alley! Artists, this is a great opportunity to show your art, give demos, and talk with fans old and new! Policies, an online application form, and a link to an old-fashioned snail mail application form are now live on the Artists’ Alley page. Applications will be accepted until February 3rd, 2012.
December ConCom Meeting
Would you like to help plan, organize, and create the Pacific Northwest’s premier science-fiction and fantasy convention? Norwescon is always looking for volunteers, and our monthly Convention Committee planning meetings are a great way to get involved! Come pull back the curtain, meet the masterminds behind the event, and find out where your particular talents can be put to use!
November’s Norwescon 35 planning meeting will be held:
DATE
Saturday, December 10th, 2011
TIME
10:00 a.m.–12:00 noon: Executive Team Meeting
12:00 noon–1:00 p.m.: Lunch break
1:00 p.m.–4:30 p.m.: Convention Committee (ConCom) Meeting
PLACE
Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Seattle Airport
18740 Pacific Highway South
SeaTac, WA 98188
206-246-8600
For directions and a map, please see the hotel’s website.
NOTE: There is a discounted charge of $8.00 for parking.
Please consult the hotel readerboard when you arrive for the location of the meeting room.
FUTURE EVENTS
- January meeting: 1/7/2012
- February meeting: 2/18/2012
- March meeting: 3/17/2012
- Norwescon 35: 4/5-8/2012
- Post Con Meeting: 5/12/2012
ConCom Group Photo
The yearly ConCom group photo will be taken at the December meeting. If you’d like to be part of the group shot published in the program book, you’ll want to be at this meeting!
Open Positions are still available in several departments!
A few of the key positions we’re still trying to fill are listed below, and many more departments need your help.
Come to the meeting to connect with our Personnel department and discover how YOU could be instrumental in making our beloved convention happen.
Programming Department
Pro Social Coordinator
Stage Management Staff
Guest of Honor Liasons
Opening and Closing Ceremonies
Special Events Department
Masquerade Head Den Parent
Sunday Event Coordinator
Midnight Movie Coordinator
Publications and Promotions
Publications Assistant
At-Con Promotions Lead
Ad Designer (Outgoing)
Vice Chair Department
Maxi’s Lounge Coordinator
