perthite

Are we in Oz launching a takeover bid for the east island??

futaris

Steels Point, Norfolk Island is the easternmost point...

perthite

All three locations have pluses and minuses.

Canberra is probably the quickest to get to for travellers from the US. It has an interesting layout, being a planned city from the start (even more so than Adelaide). It does have a fair amount to offer visitors. No real scheduled international flights there, so you would need to connect through one of the other cities. No Hilton there, but among the chains there is a Hyatt, a Crowne Plaza and a Novotel.

Darwin would offer a more different experience than the other two cities, offering tourism options somewhat different to the others. Less represented by the hotel chains, although Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inns exist there.

Perth, which I obviously have an affinity to, is better represented in the hotel areas. While further away than other cities, it does have more flight options than Darwin, and for US visitors, it may be worthwhile arriving via Asia rather than the eastern seaboard. The downside is that they would have to go through what passes for an international airport in Perth.

More than likely I will attend wherever it is

ozflygirl747

Hi everyone

Well what a great weekend not just for everyone's company but all the tips and tricks of the trade you pick up such as Myron's (AVL) US Air points bonus purchase that give you round trip F tkts USA/Europe return, Tinkybelle's (SYD) success with capitalising on mistake fares & all the other awesome hints you gather at events such as this. ^

I've voted already in the survey for Darwin 2011 but I'm slightly biased as it's been my home for the last 10 years! I'm more than happy to put my hand up and be one of the event organisers - a that that probably is slightly easier for me working in the airline industry & liaising with hotels, tour companies etc on a daily basis.

Irrespective of whether OzFest8 is held here or not - if you happen to be over this way at any stage please feel free to PM me with any queries you have on Darwin.

Glad all you folks from the US had a safe trip back home. We all really appreciate your efforts in coming all the way Downunder for just a few days! :-:

Cheers

Oz/Sarah

iluv2fly

So, any good stories? Drama?

BiziBB

What happens in Adelvegas...

ozstamps

Will, glad most folks see the simple math involved!

More to your point it would be the other attendees who would be out of pocket, not the organisers in that case. And that is not fair on them. @:-)

Using your example of the large coach like we had, the cost for that, as you correctly say is fixed in $$s, and was into 4 figures. Whether 10 people showed or 50 people, they got their bucks up front, so they are home free!

~50 members "booked" and pre-paid, so we were able to charge just $A25 a person for the full day.

Anyone who slept in, had a 'headache', changed their mind or whatever, was free to do so, but it did not impact financially on the others who DID show up.

On a 'pay as you go' system that some very strongly resisted (including some who missed the bus!) if only 25 had shown up I'd have needed to have asked those who did show, for $25 more each .. or DOUBLE what they pre-paid.

So pre-pay does seem the fairer way for the majority I feel, who do turn up for what they book for. "You snooze, you lose"!

Some folks seem to want to be able to turn up, and pick and choose at their leisure what they will attend - or not attend, no matter what they have signed up for, and pay based on that. The same handles pop up each year in my experience.

And to potentially double the cost can of course run a lot more than $25 extra. If we do Darwin as seems likely, there would be a Kakadu "Yellow River" day in there for sure I am told.

Say the tour operator quotes a flat $3,000 to take a bus/boat/guide out for that superb experience. If 30 sign up and pre-pay it is $100 each. If 15 change their mind within the last week, it is then $200 each, to pay the guy his $3,000. Ouch.

I stress that in my view the pre-pay option is not to preclude those who have genuine reasons not to make OzFest, from being out of pocket. That occurs every year, and you should not need to lose the full amount pre-paid if you cancel several weeks out, and make that clear on thread.

For this OzFest a week out from the event coaches were fully prepaid, and all dinners were prepaid, or large deposits taken, and firm guaranteed numbers made to them, to ensure our large group could secure busy Friday/Saturday spaces. And that was made crystal clear to all here - up front.

From that point on, you are financially committed no matter what, and all other attendees know THEIR cost likewise cannot increase, which is fair to those who do come, and actively support the Doo.

We are all regular flyers. It is like booking a non refundable airline ticket a week out, at that cut-off point. We all understand that concept.

Glen

ozstamps

Having experienced people on the ground is a great plus Sarah.

Maybe if you outline a rough plan of what can be done on the ground in a few days in Darwin, it might interest others?

Glen

wijomas

Well, ultimately I suppose that may be the case. However it would be up to the individual organiser(s) whether they would wear the loss or pass it on to the attendees. In some cases there may very well be a few attendees who simply do not have the financial means to pay an extra $100 as used in your example.

ozstamps

Will, well thankfully it has never occurred - to me anyway.

However it nicely underscores the wisdom of insisting upon payment up front for any major fixed price charters, a week or so before the Doo - wherever it is.

All FT doo organisers will agree I am sure.

That way if there were 15 no shows from the 30 "confirmed" in the case you use, the other 15 Flyertalkers do not suffer financially by an extra $100 each, by those others no showing - for whatever reason. @:-)

Glen

wijomas

Agreed. Pre-payment keeps everything nice and smooth (when you actually remember to charge the attendees for each event, that is! I forgot about a $12 entry fee to a winery during the NPE Do, but fortunately the Do attendees had no issue paying the extra and somehow I ended up with a $3 profit in the end? )

flashware

I hope you didn't spend it all at once.

wijomas

Sadly, it didn't even pay for one round of chips and coke.

perthite

There was, but I can't lay my hands on it at the moment (not sure what I did with it). Having said that, it seems there are others with some strange amounts posting.

flashware

I had 2,463 base points post, for 2 nights..