If you are like The Beat, you are right now loosening up your internet connection, optimizing your browser and limbering up your fingers for Hoteloween — the annual dash for a good hotel room for San Diego Comic-Con.
We’ve detailed the horrors of this day many times in the past — thousands of eager potential con-goers confronted by the dreaded Spinning Beachball of Mission Valley for hours on end, as 125,000 people try to get one of the 16,000 decent hotel rooms in downtown SD. Jammed phone lines, lost internet connections, frustrated fans — this one’s got it all!
This year, however, a new system has been put in place — and it’s more like the “lottery” that many have called for in years past. Aspirants will get online and list up to 12 preferred hotels. A few hours later — if all goes well — they’ll be sent a confirmation email and a request for a one night deposit. The new system in theory offers more choices and will cut down on defensive booking — storing up hotel reservations in case you change your mind about the hotel you want to stay at or your buddy Paul needs a room.
While this practice is frowned on, you’ve done it, I’ve done it — every cagey SDCC veteran has done it, although in our own defense, we started doing it long before getting a hotel room became the equivalent of a rowboat seat on the Titanic. The new system is sure to draw complaints but the reports we’ve heard — exhibitors already had their hotel room lottery back in the fall — is that it’s tough but fair.
In many ways, San Diego has become one big lottery — this is just part of the evolution.
RELATED: as you can see, Thursday single day tickets sold out over the last few days and Sunday is going any day now. This raises a a whole new kettle of fish. The announcement the other day that manga legend Moto Hagio would be a special guest at the show is only the first of many expected amazing, astonishing, once-in-a-lifetime guest announcements. In fact we’ve already heard a few that are in the works, and they are fantastic.
Where the troubling part comes in is what about the true, lifelong fans who would give anything to see/meet/get autograph from Shy Superstar? With tickets already gonzo, the people who really want to get that once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet their idol? It’s going to be really difficult or impossible for them to get their hands on a pass which seems really sad. With the guest list only now being finalized there are going to be some broken hearts.
Which will probably, if things keep going this way, lead to more evolution. At least one publisher we’ve talked to is solving this problem by having an off-site event, something that will become more common practice and help turn Comic-Con week into that city-wide pop culture festival that people have been wishing for and dreading in equal measure. Comic-Con officials do everything they can to clamp down on scalping and reselling, and we’d hate to see SDCC passes going over to a Stub Hub-like system of supply and demand, but who knows.
Okay, it’s almost time for the lottery — time to run a final wind sprint and get ready for action. See you later!
Technorati Tags: Frank Miller, San DIego Hotel Rooms
I wrote up some thoughts on the new scheme last night.
I’m guessing that they found a bottleneck in their actual reservation system, so they’re setting up a holding pool so that the “live” part of the process — the part we see — can actually keep up.
3 minutes to go…
Actually finished my request within 5 minutes, now the fun part to wait and see which hotel I receive. Not worried have back-up hotel couple miles away.
That…was…vaguely pleasant? The difference obviously being that nothing’s confirmed yet but at least I’m not stuck on the auto-refresh page of doom.
Just filled out the form, it was quick to get to for a change, and now we’ll see what happens next. I agree that this system seems much more fair so far.
A breeze! In and out within minutes once it started. Fingers crossed for my top choices. Congrats to SDCC and Travel Planners…after all these years they finally put a reservation process together that was painless. Although I wonder how many showed up today totally unprepared with a top 12 list of hotels.
What happened to the Hyatt?
I was really surprised at how smoothly that went. And that they optimized the heck out of that form, especially compared to the horribly overblown 2008 version. (Beware: vaguely technical thoughts from a web developer’s perspective.)
I wish I’d gotten a confirmation number for the request, though. Just something so that I could be sure that I was in the system.
Count me as one of the “unprepared with a top 12 list of hotels.” I have an expensive room in hand and a list of top 9. I didn’t see the Manchester Grand Hyatt on the list, so I was left with 8. I filled out the remaining 4 with 2 that I knew to be downtown and 2 that I entered semi-randomly just to finish quickly.
For my 1st Hoteloween it was nerve-racking but so much better than I feared. Added to the agony of waiting is the agony of wondering whether I entered the correct dates! :-O
“and 2 that I entered semi-randomly”
…knowing that I can pass on a room if I prefer the one I already have.
After the first 7 years of no problem and past 3 of complete frustration, I’m just zenning it this year. In 2009, I picked up a room at the new Bayfront in JUNE via the system. It was better than anything else I had worked out in January when I couldn’t get through the system and had to scramble.
I like the idea of off-site events. The concentration of so many people in one building is… exhausting…? boring…? ??? Sorry to say the con has outgrown me.
Did anyone make a phone reservation? Did they actually let you pick a hotel or simply go through the same lottery process?
After I did the online reg, I called in to ask about the Hyatt and was told they did not finalize a deal with the con.
The Hyatt’s website says they are booked those days.
I wonder if more of the major exhibitors reserved the Hyatt in advance?
Nope, the Hyatt has a different convention on during the time of SDCC. And also a lot of the comics guys have been boycotting it for other reasons, so they went for more money.
Anyone else tired of John Cassaday only doing covers? It’s like, hey, either do interiors or don’t bother.
As ever, congratulations to those who’ve managed to get their desired rooms at the desired hotels… and condolences to those who did not.
[A tip for those still looking: there ARE accomodations outside the Downtown SD area. Mission Valley for one, just a couple of miles north of the Convention Center, well within rental-driving distance... or the Trolley that heads up that way and back. Plenty of hotel options there, not as 4- or 5- stars as the downtown ones, but quite cheaper.]
the off-site stuff is getting really cool lately…the Tron arcade, that outdoor Heroes kids’ park, the exclusive pool/lounge thing on top of the hotel, hotels turning their bar rooms into deco-art, etc…personally, I think it makes the whole thing funner if ‘SD Comic-Con’ expands outside of the actual convention center itself…hell, I mean why do they hold it down there in the first place? The weather there is gorgeous!
Well, the website is saying all hotels are booked for now.
If anybody wants a quiet, clean, easy to get along with roommate let me know.