Monday, May 20, 2013

Time is up for rooms at the CLW 2013 Host Hotel

Please note that the Crowne Plaza hotel is now Completely Sold Out!

If you were still waiting to get a room at the hotel, I need you to contact me immediately so I can make a list for a neighboring hotel. We have been contacted about a discounted rate if we have several people who still need rooms. Please do not wait until the last minute to be put on the list as the event taking over the Crowne Plaza is potentially going to spill over to some of the other neighboring hotels as well.


Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Costumers' Lost Weekend 2013 Hotel Update - Very Important!

This last week has been a bit of a roller coaster ride.  We've had some great announcements and some surprises.  Thankfully though, even the surprises already had contingency plans formulating due to word getting around about what we are doing and other businesses wanting to get involved.  I hope to be able to make more exciting announcements in a week or so, but for right now, the most important business involves hotel room reservations at our host hotel, the Crowne Plaza.

As you all know, we were given a very nicely discounted rate for our event attendees to encourage overnight stay at the hotel.  What you may not know is that we were only guaranteed a small number of rooms at that rate as a complimentary gesture.  These rooms are not bound by contract.

According to my contacts at Crowne Plaza, we no longer have the luxury of waiting until June to reserve our sleeping space in the hotel.  We will be sharing the hotel with a large event which has reserved all the remaining space.  As such, once our rooms in our complimentary block are sold, there will be no more discounted rooms available.  In addition, there may very well be no rooms available at the Crowne Plaza at all.  And if that wasn't enough, because our room block is complimentary and not contracted (contracted room blocks mean the DFWCG guarantees the purchase of that number of rooms and is responsible for paying for the rooms not rented in the block), we run a risk of having our complimentary room block sold out from under us the closer it gets to our event date.

Have you made your reservations yet?

If you have not made your reservations yet, please be aware of the following changes:

  • June 7, 2013 is still the final deadline for reservations on the discount code DCG.  After this deadline there will be no more rooms given out at a discount.  
  • May 15, 2013 is a new deadline for a guarantee for our rooms in the discounted block.  After May 15th, the Crowne Plaza may exercise their right to sell rooms in our block to people paying full price for the other event.  There is no guarantee that they will or won't do this, but please be aware it may happen.
  • The Friday night complimentary block was much smaller and is already sold out.
  • Once we sell out our rooms in the complimentary block, we are not guaranteed to be able to acquire any more rooms, even at the full price rate.
  • Full price rate is $139-$159
When making your reservations, if you have trouble with reserving over the internet, please call the front desk directly at 972-980-8877.  If you still have trouble reserving a room, request to be transferred to Priscilla Johnson.  Then, please e-mail me to be put on a reservations waiting list.  I will then respond to you with information for the contingency plan I am working on now at the Residence Inn next door.  

Thursday, May 2, 2013

You asked for it, we got it!

When Costumers' Lost Weekend began as tiny hope and then developed into determination, the CLW committee put out a survey of the kinds of panels our potential attendees wanted to attend.  Far and above the other requests, hat making panels were the popular choice.  Not just one kind of hat panel, but several kinds of hat panels requested several times over.  Unfortunately we couldn't make a hat panel happen last year.  But this year we have delivered!

Sharon Sullivan of Dream Hats fame has graciously agreed to teach us the basics of buckram hat blocking.  If you've attended All-Con, or Anime Fest, or Fen Con in Dallas, then you've likely seen Sharon's work in person.  You can also see her hats year around at Dallas Pin Up in Deep Ellum.

Follow her Facebook page for all sorts of hat inspiration photos and also for pictures of her adorable cats.