LAC - Disorganised Mess. Yuck!

[FictionNet]

I feel bad about this thread - not least 'cos I know intentions were good. I just think some better planning would have meant for a less soul-destroying first day and I have to be 100% honest, my initial criticisms do have to stand but maybe (okay, probably) I shouldn't have vented the way I did. I'm sorry if I caused offence where it wasn't due. I can be a bit fiery when I make criticisms and I always end up feeling guilty as hell when I've cooled down.

I definitely could and should have said things differently and parts of my initial post make me cringe when I read them now. Sorry, Alex.

Anyway, yeah - I really think it's a good idea to move it elsewhere. I didn't really like that place (you may have noticed) and having conferences at hotels is a really good alternative.

And yeah, that sausage & mash was awesome

[casinobonusguy]

London in January does not work for me so I will not be going to another London Event at this time of Year.

[TheBoyMitchell]

Neil - do you have a link to that hotel you mentioned.....I haven't come across that one before

I am sure you have mush. Its the Grosvenor on Park Lane

Meeting Space Highlights

• 27 meeting rooms
• 4,003 sq m of total meeting space
• Largest meeting room is Great Room with maximum meeting space of 1,779 sq m and maximum seating capacity of 2,000
• Maximum of 29 breakout meeting room(s)

High-speed Internet access

Meeting Rooms: Wired, Wireless

Public Areas: Wireless

Guest Rooms: Wired



http://www.marriott.co.uk/hotels/eve...arriott-hotel/


IMHO - the only bad thing about Excel is that its a very hard venue to use if you want to run parties in the evening as its like a £30-50 taxi ride *each way* into the centre on London (depending on the time of day and traffic), so everyone would be spending a lot of money on cabs. Probably more than on their rooms!

[Christoff]

You are never going to please everyone so going with the majority is obvious.

I remember CAP run a Barcelona show in the Hesperia Hotels which was great as the venue was big and there was enough hotel space.

The only problem was getting from there into town - it was a nightmare.

[Spearmaster]

I wasn't there so I can't comment, I really wish I could've gone.

However, I do have one important comment from experience:

Do NOT locate yourself in an inconvenient location. If Excel is inconvenient then it is out of the question. The last three times I have been to conferences in nice but inconvenient locations (three different organizers as well), they either died the following year, or they relocated to a more convenient location.

One of them was EIG-Barcelona, which held its first event in beautiful Sitges, a good 30 minutes outside of Barcelona. It moved into the city proper the following year.
One of them was IGE - which was supposed to be in Dublin but was held at a beautiful castle way the hell out of town. They tried to repeat it but no one would go.
And one of them was the first CAC Amsterdam, which was not IN Amsterdam but in an inconvenient suburb. Needless to say it moved to the Grand Krasnapolsky after that.

I don't know where Excel is, I don't know how convenient it is to reach on the Tube, but a 30 quid taxi ride does NOT appeal to me. So if Old Billingsgate or Olympia is still reasonably convenient compared to Excel, then Excel shouldn't be considered at all.

[alexpratt]

Maybe if we did Excel we could do shuttle buses inand out of time from say 8pm - 1am - Probably won't be able to put enough on to make everyone happy but they would help a few people which is better than nothing.....Anyone want to sponsor the old double deckers....I looked at this a while ago and it wasn't too bad considering you can "wrap" the whole bus in your brand if you have the cash

That hotel by the way is too small as the sapce is spread across different rooms - We usually take around 4,000+ Sqm in one room

There is an answer somewhere

[AE-Martyn]

There is an answer somewhere

MAC = Manchester Affiliate Conference in'it

[FictionNet]

Personally, I'd rather do a bit of travelling and pay the extra travel cost in exchange for a really suitable venue.

[alexpratt]

MAC = Manchester Affiliate Conference in'it

And if we get loads of people we can call in BIG MAC

[johnbenjamin]

Just a short note to Alex/Marit/Kiera for pulling together another great conf.

I must say though that twice my meetings were disturbed by the loud music, but typing out the conversation on a notepad was fun and broke the monotony of talking endlessly.

The iGB Affiliate awards was a bit boring, but Petebox was the highlight of the evening in my view.

I missed the lunch on the first day of the conf. but i'll take the blame and will schedule meetings a bit more smartly.

The Grange City Hotel was a great location and for once I didn't complain walking to Old Billingsgate.

Marit, as always was kind enough to drop by and say hello.

The second day was a bit slow, but good enough nonetheless.

Looking forward to the next event and congrats iGB team . You can't please everyone but it was a yet another sucessful iGB affiliate conference for me.

See you guys in Prague next.

[Spearmaster]

That was tried in Dublin. Didn't work at all. Can't remember if they did it in Sitges as well.

#1 most important factor is convenience, even at the attendee's own cost.

Maybe if we did Excel we could do shuttle buses inand out of time from say 8pm - 1am - Probably won't be able to put enough on to make everyone happy but they would help a few people which is better than nothing.....Anyone want to sponsor the old double deckers....I looked at this a while ago and it wasn't too bad considering you can "wrap" the whole bus in your brand if you have the cash

[FictionNet]

I'd rather do the shuttle bus route (or make my own arrangements) than have a less suitable venue. Can people explain WHY this wouldn't work?

[casinojack]

I will be the wierd oen here. I have been to many conferences. There is always a shortage of sitting, as the botths want you to stop, rest your feet and pitch you.

Tghis was the only one I had ever been to where was free with free food! I would have preferred to buy my own food though, and did btw, as I like the small break

My only minor change would be the session, were kind of heard to hear. maybe more speakers?

Also, the dancing was maybe 5 minutes 2 times a day? No biggie for me, and was enjoyable.

[alexpratt]

Agreed Spearmaster - I am actually meeting Clarion in the next few weeks to discuss letting us into the upstairs of Earls Court or in fact the big hall belonging to Olympia - At the moment they have a block on it and so far have asid no to removing the block but I am going to be extra nice this time......

[Chips]

Alex, Marit and Kiera... you need to reach around and give yourselves a big pat on the back. Considering the huge turnout I think you did exceptional for the event.

Yes, day one was a nightmare, coat check stuffed, too hot inside, a massive level of people and the door guard was the clincher. I won't bitch much though as I was nursing the hangover of the decade Friday.

Day 2 was much better, much of it due to less people there. One issue I still have is the lack of a meeting spot for those of us unfortunate to have a mobile. I missed many people as we did not have a perfect rendezvous spot. No fault to the organizers.

Overall I thought it to be a fantastic event all around and look forward to many to come. This massive attendance was surely a learning tool for the future. More seating areas though are a must. I found it very hard to find a place to cool my heels for a bit.

[GaryTheScubaGuy]

I go to a few of these things and unfortunately there is always SOMETHING that could be better. The time and costs involved are staggering when you have that many people attending. I think Alex, Marit and Kiera did a great job.

Yes, there was no 'sit-down' areas or meeting rooms (unless you paid or went to the back food area), and I had back-to-back meetings both days so never got to see any food, and the music was a bit crazy (but fun!), and my favorite part (free drinks and easy-to-look-at booth attendants) were as good as Budapest

Not being able to hear the speakers can be a bit annoying and I only ever found one exit and one bathroom, but besides that I think it was top-ten in my book.

I made a ton of new friends, pissed a few more off (as always), met Christine and CasinoJack as well as a few others at the Sunday Meetup (Where I won one of the tournaments! - but never got the pot - Hey - who had that anyway? J.Todd and Michael and Steven Corfman were there too and its always good to see them.

Grosvenor is nice Alex but nothing beats the Excel.

Anyhow Alex, Marit and Kiera - Great job!

[tomgalanis]

For me, the affiliate conference this time around was a great reflection of London, and how business is done here.

Mini-Nazis on the door, a fast-paced, buzzing close-knit atmosphere in the conference, affiliate managers chasing down those yellow badges like teenagers trying to pull at the end of the night at the Leicester Square Hippodrome... difficult to replicate such an organised mass-hysteria anywhere else and it deserved to be found in London!

Amsterdam and Budapest are far slower paced, less crowded, more relaxed - and if you prefer doing business in that way, they're the places to go. Great to have something a bit different this time, so nicely done Alex, Shona, Marit and Kiera. Terrific job of bringing London to the Affiliate Conference. I enjoyed it hugely!

Miles better than this time last year, where the floorplan was far too spread out. You can't underestimate the importance of somewhere looking and feeling immensely busy as an incentive to do business.

[penny-slot-machines]

I have to say, I loved the fact that LAC was held in Old Billingsgate

To be able to take a break and walk down the Thames path was fantastic, there are loads of tube stop nearby, plenty of nearby coffee bars (good for more private meetings), restaurants, good selection of hotels to suit all budgets...

The main problem was probably just too many people on day 1. Day 2 was really quite a lot more chilled, I thought

All the venue really needs is a separate room for the talks - this would free up room on the ground floor and so the stands that were upstairs could be brought down to ground-floor (leaving the space upstairs for seats, tables etc)

I wonder if the Billingsgate Vaults could be used for the seminars?

If not, then I wonder if they could be used for the lunch, instead? Seminars could then be held in the lunch room upstairs

[alexpratt]

All the venue really needs is a separate room for the talks - this would free up room on the ground floor and so the stands that were upstairs could be brought down to ground-floor (leaving the space upstairs for seats, tables etc)

I wonder if the Billingsgate Vaults could be used for the seminars?

If not, then I wonder if they could be used for the lunch, instead? Seminars could then be held in the lunch room upstairs

We could use the vaults actually good point - There is also several rooms above the mezzanine which can be used for conference rooms - We used to have erveything sperate but found much of the conference was being under attended as people would just hang in the expo all day.....

[casinojack]

I had fun and met a lot of people..adn avoided fights with the drunk guys!

SUCCESS!