hotel, condo or house for vacation?

Posted on: 24 July 2015

Many anime conventions started at the small level, with college anime clubs expanding into weekend conventions, utilizing conference room space in small hotels. If your club is interested in starting on the path to someday being the next big anime convention, holding a successful anime screening is important. Many convention attendees will want to enjoy watching anime with a group, so follow these steps to make sure that you and your chosen venue are ready for your first convention.

Seating Size

If your fledgling convention has been accepting pre-registrations, this step should be fairly easy. If not, you'll need to estimate how many attendees you'll have during your con, and plan accordingly. Since young conventions rarely have the resources or space available to have vendors or art halls, assume that the  majority of your attendees will want to watch anime at one time or another. Then, work with the hotel to determine the capacity of the hotel conference rooms. If need be, you can rent more than one room. Keep in mind that you may need to reduce the number given to you somewhat, as professional conferences can sometimes fit more people per room because they're not all necessarily looking at a big projection screen. Anime viewers won't want to be parked directly under the screen, as it'll be uncomfortable and hard to see.

Projection Equipment

While you're thinking about seating, also ask your hotel about projection equipment. Some hotels will provide projectors and screens, but not all do. If yours doesn't, make sure your budget can handle renting the equipment you need. Also, make sure that your hotel is comfortable with you setting up your own equipment; some convention spaces require their union workers to set up and dismantle everything, which may cost extra.

Noise Concerns

This is also an excellent time to discuss volume constraints with your hotel. Bigger conventions have the luxury of renting out all the conference space a hotel or convention center has, but you most likely won't be able to. Because of this, keeping your volume at a reasonable level is probably required by the hotel. Find out what their limit is, and make sure the people who are running the screenings are aware and follow the rules.

Food & Drink Allowed or Prohibited

Finally, some hotels may not appreciate food and drink coming into their conference rooms. If your hotel doesn't mind, great! But if they do, you'll need to make sure your attendees aren't smuggling in food or drinks that can potentially create messes or leave stains. If your convention is issuing badges, ribbons, or another form of ID that designate that a person is an attendee, discuss this matter with the people who will be checking badges. Attendees with visible food and drink should be turned away at the door; others with large bags or purses may need to have them checked.

Running your first convention can be a nerve-wracking experience, and a lot of logistics work goes into it. However, maintaining a positive relationship with your hotel of choice will increase the likelihood of them welcoming your convention in the years to come. Don't be afraid to ask hotel management if you're not sure about something; they're there to help.