Post #275423 by Swanky on Fri, Dec 29, 2006 6:04 AM

I have always thought staying in the city made things prohibitively expensive. Maybe this is a mis-conception. If so, then that may be something you should actively tackle. It may be that a room in the city is the same as the Yankee Clipper at Hukilau, but, if you looked around a little, you could get a room in Lauderdale for much much cheaper. Knowing that may be a big factor.

I know there were those pushing for Tease-O-Rama to come to NYC when I was at the one in New Orleans, and putting performers in rooms and getting a turn out was a big reason they said no.

I am all for events on this side of the country. I have been working on a new event in Illinois for mid-May. The folks are more spread out over here, but, there are fewer things for them to do tiki-wise, so, they will go further out of their way. But also consider that 50% or more of the attendees at Hukilau are Floridians. That percentage grows every year as the event gets bigger. Locals make it a success in the end. People stayuing in the hotel are mighty important though. Locals who stay in the hotel are best. If they are taking the bus to your event, you have a whole other dynamic to consider to make it all work.

I'd be happy to tell you what I know about these things. I learned a lot of it from Otto and then from just doing it.