|
Yeah, I got hosed. 3 hours and 20 minutes til I can access and I'm flying in so downtown is pretty much the only option. hopefully one of the people I hang out with will rent me some floor space.
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 18:05
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 16, 2024 10:27 |
|
|
I'm not overly sad we just booked early now. A friend used magic* to find a Hyatt suite using Priceline and we booked that at $320 a person. Badges went on sale Friday and thanks to lovely events happening none of us had the money for a badge so we're stuck with the higher price but at least we have one. *I say magic because I can't get the Hyatt Regency to show up on any priceline search.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 18:05
|
|
|
Kaddish posted:Last year almost everything connected was sold out in about 30 minutes. But that was with everyone going at once
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 18:05
|
|
|
2 hours 14 minutes here. This is a very worrisome process.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 18:05
|
|
|
Two full hours for me. My friends say anything from 30 minutes, to an hour, to two and a half hours. I just wanted to stay at the Omni again, drat it. 
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 18:08
|
|
|
We have no idea how many people are going in each time segment, so it might not be as dire as it seems. Will report back with what it looks like when I go a little after 1.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 18:09
|
|
|
Rhandhali posted:Yeah, I got hosed. 3 hours and 20 minutes til I can access and I'm flying in so downtown is pretty much the only option. hopefully one of the people I hang out with will rent me some floor space. There is the shuttle that is connected to someone of the outside hotels, including ones near the airport. How reliable that is IDK http://genconshuttle.com/
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 18:10
|
|
|
50 minutes for me, 2hrs 16mins for my friend. Here's hoping 50 mins is actually good enough to get a double at JW.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 18:14
|
|
|
Okay, this is weird. Both my boyfriend and another friend just bought their badges, and were able to reserve a room immediately.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 18:15
|
|
|
I took the shuttle 2 years ago when I stayed at candlewood. Was the first time they were doing it. It was reliable except for one afternoon when the driver on that shift was making pickups in the wrong place. It's definitely my plan B.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 18:15
|
|
|
morcant posted:Okay, this is weird. Both my boyfriend and another friend just bought their badges, and were able to reserve a room immediately. If true that sounds like a super lovely flaw in the system.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 18:16
|
|
|
nesbit37 posted:If true that sounds like a super lovely flaw in the system. It is definitely true - I watched him make the reservation just now, confirmation number and everything. He already had a Gencon account from last year, and so did my other friend, but yeah, that is a severe oversight.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 18:18
|
|
|
I got stupid lucky and I've got my room already. 
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 18:19
|
|
|
morcant posted:It is definitely true - I watched him make the reservation just now, confirmation number and everything. He already had a Gencon account from last year, and so did my other friend, but yeah, that is a severe oversight. That's officially some bullshit Trip Report Edit: It seems there are still plenty of downtown hotel spots left. Got a Marriott Downtown room no problem. And the site actually works reasonably well when there's not 20k people on it at once. Ego Trip fucked around with this message at 18:49 on Jan 25, 2015 |
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 18:22
|
|
|
That wasn't bad at all. Looked like there were rooms in all the good/downtown hotels still and I was able to get my 2xQueen JW room without a problem.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 19:06
|
|
|
Lawen posted:That wasn't bad at all. Looked like there were rooms in all the good/downtown hotels still and I was able to get my 2xQueen JW room without a problem. Hate you. Congrats. Going to try for JW and then Embassy. After that I'll settle for whatever.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 19:06
|
|
|
Just got in and booked at the Westin with a king room. Was hoping for other downtown options that had a breakfast and a little cheaper but I'll definitely take it. Don't give up hope, seems to be a good bit of good stuff still.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 19:14
|
|
|
I had the advantage of 4 of us going this year. One guy got a 5-minute queue, his wife a 50-minute, and me and a buddy got 3+ hour queues. We were able to use theirs to book all our rooms downtown. Omni again this year. As of right now the downtown stuff is almost gone. Everything by the airport and wherever is still plentiful.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 19:21
|
|
|
Double bed was booked at JW but I managed to get King. It looked like most of the connected hotels were sold out but I didn't dally for long. I'll probably go on the waiting list for a double and extension to Tuesday-Sunday if they're doing that this year. Kaddish fucked around with this message at 19:41 on Jan 25, 2015 |
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 19:38
|
|
|
Nothing further is available within walking distance to the convention hall. Shittiest idea ever, I've been going for 15 years and they screw me over. What the gently caress.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 20:31
|
|
|
Syntaxed posted:There is the shuttle that is connected to someone of the outside hotels, including ones near the airport. How reliable that is IDK Thanks, but I've had friends use it in the past and it sounded like it was a pretty lovely experience. It also cuts out way too early for how I do my gencon. I guess I can look into taxis or something. This sucks; I've been going since 2004.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 20:55
|
|
|
My group was all trying today, best queue was 8 minutes with everyone else 2-3 hours. The portal screwed up and wouldn't let him do anything. Tech support was "trying" last I heard but that was hours ago so more than likely we're staying out by the airport. Kinda hate that, I liked being in the Crowne last year, if I decided I wanted to walk to the room to drop stuff off/use the bathroom I could in 20 minutes round trip.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 20:57
|
|
|
Had three people in queue, got like 1 hr / 2hr /2hr15. Our 1hr got a double at the JW, (which delighted/shocked me), and by the time it got to our 2hr there was nothing left within walking distance. The object lesson this year is that everyone must poo poo or get off the pot by hotel signup day and then queue up with the zerg rush. Vacillating when the trip is in the planning stage but then jumping to get in once people are committed and the work is done is useless here, but it's something a lot of people do. Syntaxed posted:
True Dungeon is/was awesome if you could avoid pugging it. Now that there are 92 people in the adventuring parties though this is difficult. I haven't been for 3 or 4 years, since that friggin imba dracolich and the lock/tumbler puzzle.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 21:21
|
|
|
Yeah, nothing useful for me is available. How does this waitlisting thing work? I don't see an option anywhere. Edit - really starting to feel like I just pissed a hundred bucks away. Rhandhali fucked around with this message at 21:34 on Jan 25, 2015 |
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 21:31
|
|
|
I believe they will open the waiting list later this week. If it makes you feel any better I got a room off the waiting list a couple years ago. I got put on the list in January and I had a room in June or July.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 21:48
|
|
|
I thought there was no waiting list this year, you just had to keep checking back to the My Housing Portal and pray?
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 21:55
|
|
|
Hmm, yeah the wording is kind of weird. We'll have to wait and see.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 21:58
|
|
|
So tell me about options riding in from the airport area. I've heard the shuttles suck and cabs can be expensive. Is there a city bus or something?
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 22:13
|
|
|
Kaddish posted:Hmm, yeah the wording is kind of weird. We'll have to wait and see. From what I'm getting from Gencon Forum moderators it only works if you have an existing reservation. So if you don't have one of those at a downtown hotel you're hosed. Pez posted:So tell me about options riding in from the airport area. I've heard the shuttles suck and cabs can be expensive. Is there a city bus or something? Uber operates in Indianapolis that look to be cheaper than the taxi service's airport rate for hotels out there.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 22:17
|
|
|
Got in 4 minutes after noon. Westin booked and done before 12:10.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 22:21
|
|
|
The VIG gets better every year.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2015 22:30
|
|
|
The rates I saw on the conference tool were pretty ridiculous given the hotels they were at. Before the conference, I reserved a room at the Homewood Suites by Hilton Indianapolis Northwest for 189 a night. It is 12 miles away but it's basically an apartment for my wife and I for 2 days. Also achieved press pass status.
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2015 00:06
|
|
|
Solvency posted:Nothing further is available within walking distance to the convention hall. Shittiest idea ever, I've been going for 15 years and they screw me over. What the gently caress. I dunno, they have to do something. The past few years have been a cluster gently caress for housing and event reg. the convention is growing at a crazy rate. This isn't the gen con of 2003 or even 2010. I wish they would release some numbers about this and previous year badge sales before both hotel reg and event reg to get a good gauge of that growth. This system, despite the glitches, at least was an attempt at fairness through randomization. I didn't have a glitch and my parents, who are attending their first gen con since it left Milwaukee, where also able to get a room without a hitch today 90 minutes after registration opened. I don't know what else gen con can do besides set up shanty towns or move, and the second option isn't happening until after 2020'if it even happens then. Btw, I wrote gen con customer service about people buying badges after 12 and getting to get a hotel room right away. They actually wrote back to me around 2 saying they heard about it and fixed it it away. I don't know if that's true or not but I am glad they were so responsive on such a busy and probably lovely (customer service wise) day for them.
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2015 03:56
|
|
|
Edit: This was meant to be in the chat thread. My bad.
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2015 04:06
|
|
|
Uber is in Indy now, right? I imagine you can just Uber from the airport hotels for pretty cheap and they'd have not shortage of customers during the con. Probably wont be all that expensive compared to a downtown hotel anyway.
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2015 04:06
|
|
|
Syntaxed posted:Uber is in Indy now, right? I imagine you can just Uber from the airport hotels for pretty cheap and they'd have not shortage of customers during the con. Probably wont be all that expensive compared to a downtown hotel anyway. Pretty sure Uber's in Indy. We actually used Lyft last year to get to the airport on Sunday. So that's an option too.
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2015 04:24
|
|
|
head58 posted:Here's a video of how it's really going to work for us all: I knew coming in here after the housing day had gone down would produce delight. Pez posted:I'm trying to go again this year (last year was my first!) but it all hinges on whether we can get a good downtown hotel again and my wife not murdering me for going 2 years in a row. I had an absolute blast and want to make it an every year pilgrimage, only this year we're flying instead of driving from NC to IN. Syntaxed posted:Awesome the Gen Con thread. I'm going to go this year it looks like. If everyone here can't get a hotel we can all stay with Quarex, right? ARE THERE STAIRS IN YOUR HOUSE, QUAREX? And yes, go to the Auction. Go so hard. Solvency posted:Nothing further is available within walking distance to the convention hall. Shittiest idea ever, I've been going for 15 years and they screw me over. What the gently caress. Did you join the VIG lottery? I do not know if that is already over or what. PuttyKnife posted:The rates I saw on the conference tool were pretty ridiculous given the hotels they were at. Before the conference, I reserved a room at the Homewood Suites by Hilton Indianapolis Northwest for 189 a night. It is 12 miles away but it's basically an apartment for my wife and I for 2 days. Edit: Oh wait: Pez posted:I learned a lot from last year- bring comfortable shoes, try to bring my own food to avoid spending so much money on eating, and that it's pretty pointless to bring my own games since last year all my group played was stuff we bought there. I'm also debating on using a technique someone told me for saving on luggage space- take older clothes I don't mind parting with and donate them to local homeless folks before I leave, use luggage to bring back loot. That or I'll do what a lot of the neckbeards I was stuck in close proximity with last year apparently did and not change clothes for 4 days. I got married in Iceland, which we did on the condition that my parents would agree to come--my Mom was like "I've wanted to go there since 1965!" and so I was like "oh it is ON!" So my Mom has not really been known for her fashion sense for the last couple of decades; once we got a cat, she decided she needed clothes to wear around the house that would not get cat hair on them, which basically turned into her rarely dressing up. Hey, whatever; Mom Prerogative and all. But when she showed up in Iceland, she was rocking what I can only describe as "awesome hipster mom gear" like a sassy tam o'shanter and swank jackets and these cool pants and basically even my wife was like "wow, Mrs. Quarex's Mom, you look awesome!" The last day of the trip I was in my parents' room and saw the garbage overflowing with clothes. I asked what was going on, and she said she had brought clothes she didn't care about to wear so she could throw them away and bring back lots of souvenirs. And so that is how I have now forever linked Pez with the story of my mother only wearing nice clothes if she thinks they are awful disposable clothes. Dr. Quarex fucked around with this message at 04:31 on Jan 26, 2015 |
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2015 04:25
|
|
|
nesbit37 posted:I dunno, they have to do something. The past few years have been a cluster gently caress for housing and event reg. the convention is growing at a crazy rate. This isn't the gen con of 2003 or even 2010. I wish they would release some numbers about this and previous year badge sales before both hotel reg and event reg to get a good gauge of that growth. This system, despite the glitches, at least was an attempt at fairness through randomization. I didn't have a glitch and my parents, who are attending their first gen con since it left Milwaukee, where also able to get a room without a hitch today 90 minutes after registration opened. I don't know what else gen con can do besides set up shanty towns or move, and the second option isn't happening until after 2020'if it even happens then. One thing that will help is they are in the process of building another hotel downtown. Basically Indianapolis wants another Super Bowl but can't get it without at least 1 more luxury hotel and a pretty big jump in the number of hotel rooms available. Lawen posted:Pretty sure Uber's in Indy. We actually used Lyft last year to get to the airport on Sunday. So that's an option too. Uber and Lyft are both in Indianapolis now. When it gets closer to the event I will see if I can get some promo codes for you guys from all the drivers I see. Perks of working nights at a gas station near the big bar area.
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2015 04:30
|
|
|
Well June 14 is the last day to get a badge refund if you didn't get a room. I managed to go through Hilton directly and get a VERY expensive room at the Conrad. I might keep it, I might just send my badge in for a refund and cancel the reservation (no fees, unlike with Gencon's housing portal). Gencon without a downtown hotel isn't worth it.
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2015 06:36
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 16, 2024 10:27 |
|
|
My hotel booking experience was painless. $92 a night, and since I'm driving 11 hours to Indy instead of flying like a money haver, I have my own transportation!  What's another 15 miles?I'm just glad that I decided 2 weeks ago that "goddamnit, THIS IS THE YEAR" and I have literally everything taken care of.
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2015 06:56
|
|
