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Brief Rant-y Moment... Bids and Ruts
Feb. 5th, 2011 10:25 amI'm noticing a distinct pattern, when it comes to bidding for Kingdom level events. I do NOT know if it's distinct to this Region, or not.
Now, it should probably first be mentioned that we haven't hosted a Kingdom event in forever and a day. And, some of the issue is that a number of perfectly acceptable bids were rejected back when we WERE still on a rotational system and it was our turn. This has led to a distinct lack of motivation amongst the people involved. Why, after all, put the work into a bid that has no chance of being accepted. This one... will likely not be solved short of a Kingdom level intervention aimed at deliberately generating and soliciting bids from the Region. Which is, frankly, unlikely to happen and that's a shame.
However, there are other issues.
1. "We don't have a site that big." Really? In a 3 county area with a significant metropolitan center, none? See.... I don't buy into this one. Now, you may not have found one yet. And it's surely a lot of legwork to go digging out all the potential sites in an area. But a lot of this is getting stuck in a rut - You don't have to use High Schools exclusively. Sometimes the Middle Schools or Elementary Schools are actually better sites. Large churches. Community centers (and these are becoming much more common). Private buildings that might be glad of the revenue at a time when the building would normally be empty. Fair grounds. School are getting prohibitively expensive. But sometimes Hotels that have convention facilities will cut a heck of a deal.
Now, a lot of people will argue that ambiance is lacking in hotels. What, it's better in schools? If we're primarily concerned with ambiance, then 90% of our sites will be outdoors. That's a little challenging in the Upper Midwest. Yes, it's nice when we get a pretty site. But don't over look the serviceable and afordable.
I get a strong flavor that a lot of groups have a few favored sites. If those become too expensive, or are somehow unsuitable for Crown, or Coronation, or RUM or whatever - nobody is expending a lot of effort exploring other venues.
This, people, is part of why Pentamere is not getting a lot of time on the Royal Calendar.
2. "We have to budget for the feast to lose money, so that makes any site we find too expensive."
O_o There is this weird local assumption (cross-region!) that feasts must lose money. *sigh* Really, there is no earthly reason for this. But, either they don't come near sell-out or they go way over budget.
Hmmm, two fixes for that. First, cap the feast lower. You snooze, you loose. Setting an event up for 500-700 people does not mean that you need to sit 400 for feast. Anybody who isn't smart enought to prereg may just be out of luck. It isn't the end of the world. Look at past feasts for similar events in the area and see what the feast attendance was. Cap it at or near that point and be clear that you're doing so.
The other - don't allow Feast Stewards who go wildly over budget to do so. If you're going to allow them to BE the steward (Which I think is an error in judgement, personally) - be clear that anything over their allotted budget will not be reimbursed. How hard is this, really?
3. "No one will come here" - This one is a bugger. First, some groups have been TOLD by various Kingdom officers that they are not to even bid for Kingdom events because they're too far from the center of things. Now, this is just plain wrong. But as yet there has been no move from the successors of those officers at fault to really mend that fence. Why? Well, I suspect because (while they know it's not right) they don't really want to hike all the way out there either... and so they just let it lie. The other is that these groups really would have to budget for a lower attendance. It is a fact that there is not so much support from the opposite ends of the Kingdom for this Region's northermost groups that it could be expected to have anywhere near the attendance of a Kingdom event in other places.
4. "Mistress Juraissica says Kingdom bids must be done THIS way" - This makes me insane. We're developing a big issue right now, in that it's been so long since Kingdom events have been common that we have a pool of enthusiastic NoObs with no experience and a pool of very jaded experienced people with no willingness. And one is influencing the other strongly. The nOoBs haven't been around long enough to know that there are as many successful ways to run an event as there are Event Stewards. There is NO one, true way. Now, there are Things That Have Worked in the Past. And there are Things That Have Not Worked the Last Time We Did It. And that should be listened to - but isn't necessarily Holy Writ.
And here's another clue - if you always do your Kingdom bids the same way and they always "go badly"/lose money/etc.... You're likely doing something wrong. Maybe it's time to let the nOoB have a go without undue interference.
5. "Well, I want to do THIS event, so I'm just going to put together a bid for it." This seems to be more a symptom of the larger groups. Small groups - they generally discuss whether they can or cannot take on a large event. And if they decide they can - it's a group effort. With larger groups there is a greater tendency for multiple people to be simultaneously creating bids for different events. And most of the populace is unaware or ambivalent about one or more of them. The bid is "So-and-so's" bid... not the group's bid. And these leave me worrying about how much general support there is FOR the bid and whether the rank and file will step up to shoulder the burden should the Firebrand's bid get awarded.
So, end summation:
Have we, as a Region, gotten the short end of the stick rather a lot? Yep. Do we have some issues that are just a factor of location? Yep.
However - we also have a lot more problems of our own making. And a lot of them might be solved in whole or in part by groups co-hosting Kingdom events. Spread the resources, share the good event sites. And re-evaluate the way in which we plan these bids. What are necessities for a good event? And what things are we doing simply because we've always done them that way? Is there a better way? A better notion? Do we HAVE to use a school? MUST there be a feast? (Val Day survives just find on a Dessert Revel. What about a Dayboard? Or a "period-style buffet?" Cook's Symposium has been known for a Rockin' Pot-Luck) Does every event really require the usual fencingA&SHeavyYouthArcheryThrownWeaponsClassesDancing conglomeration? Or would a focus on just a few elements, done well, be better?
And why is all of this just Anathema to discuss?
Now, it should probably first be mentioned that we haven't hosted a Kingdom event in forever and a day. And, some of the issue is that a number of perfectly acceptable bids were rejected back when we WERE still on a rotational system and it was our turn. This has led to a distinct lack of motivation amongst the people involved. Why, after all, put the work into a bid that has no chance of being accepted. This one... will likely not be solved short of a Kingdom level intervention aimed at deliberately generating and soliciting bids from the Region. Which is, frankly, unlikely to happen and that's a shame.
However, there are other issues.
1. "We don't have a site that big." Really? In a 3 county area with a significant metropolitan center, none? See.... I don't buy into this one. Now, you may not have found one yet. And it's surely a lot of legwork to go digging out all the potential sites in an area. But a lot of this is getting stuck in a rut - You don't have to use High Schools exclusively. Sometimes the Middle Schools or Elementary Schools are actually better sites. Large churches. Community centers (and these are becoming much more common). Private buildings that might be glad of the revenue at a time when the building would normally be empty. Fair grounds. School are getting prohibitively expensive. But sometimes Hotels that have convention facilities will cut a heck of a deal.
Now, a lot of people will argue that ambiance is lacking in hotels. What, it's better in schools? If we're primarily concerned with ambiance, then 90% of our sites will be outdoors. That's a little challenging in the Upper Midwest. Yes, it's nice when we get a pretty site. But don't over look the serviceable and afordable.
I get a strong flavor that a lot of groups have a few favored sites. If those become too expensive, or are somehow unsuitable for Crown, or Coronation, or RUM or whatever - nobody is expending a lot of effort exploring other venues.
This, people, is part of why Pentamere is not getting a lot of time on the Royal Calendar.
2. "We have to budget for the feast to lose money, so that makes any site we find too expensive."
O_o There is this weird local assumption (cross-region!) that feasts must lose money. *sigh* Really, there is no earthly reason for this. But, either they don't come near sell-out or they go way over budget.
Hmmm, two fixes for that. First, cap the feast lower. You snooze, you loose. Setting an event up for 500-700 people does not mean that you need to sit 400 for feast. Anybody who isn't smart enought to prereg may just be out of luck. It isn't the end of the world. Look at past feasts for similar events in the area and see what the feast attendance was. Cap it at or near that point and be clear that you're doing so.
The other - don't allow Feast Stewards who go wildly over budget to do so. If you're going to allow them to BE the steward (Which I think is an error in judgement, personally) - be clear that anything over their allotted budget will not be reimbursed. How hard is this, really?
3. "No one will come here" - This one is a bugger. First, some groups have been TOLD by various Kingdom officers that they are not to even bid for Kingdom events because they're too far from the center of things. Now, this is just plain wrong. But as yet there has been no move from the successors of those officers at fault to really mend that fence. Why? Well, I suspect because (while they know it's not right) they don't really want to hike all the way out there either... and so they just let it lie. The other is that these groups really would have to budget for a lower attendance. It is a fact that there is not so much support from the opposite ends of the Kingdom for this Region's northermost groups that it could be expected to have anywhere near the attendance of a Kingdom event in other places.
4. "Mistress Juraissica says Kingdom bids must be done THIS way" - This makes me insane. We're developing a big issue right now, in that it's been so long since Kingdom events have been common that we have a pool of enthusiastic NoObs with no experience and a pool of very jaded experienced people with no willingness. And one is influencing the other strongly. The nOoBs haven't been around long enough to know that there are as many successful ways to run an event as there are Event Stewards. There is NO one, true way. Now, there are Things That Have Worked in the Past. And there are Things That Have Not Worked the Last Time We Did It. And that should be listened to - but isn't necessarily Holy Writ.
And here's another clue - if you always do your Kingdom bids the same way and they always "go badly"/lose money/etc.... You're likely doing something wrong. Maybe it's time to let the nOoB have a go without undue interference.
5. "Well, I want to do THIS event, so I'm just going to put together a bid for it." This seems to be more a symptom of the larger groups. Small groups - they generally discuss whether they can or cannot take on a large event. And if they decide they can - it's a group effort. With larger groups there is a greater tendency for multiple people to be simultaneously creating bids for different events. And most of the populace is unaware or ambivalent about one or more of them. The bid is "So-and-so's" bid... not the group's bid. And these leave me worrying about how much general support there is FOR the bid and whether the rank and file will step up to shoulder the burden should the Firebrand's bid get awarded.
So, end summation:
Have we, as a Region, gotten the short end of the stick rather a lot? Yep. Do we have some issues that are just a factor of location? Yep.
However - we also have a lot more problems of our own making. And a lot of them might be solved in whole or in part by groups co-hosting Kingdom events. Spread the resources, share the good event sites. And re-evaluate the way in which we plan these bids. What are necessities for a good event? And what things are we doing simply because we've always done them that way? Is there a better way? A better notion? Do we HAVE to use a school? MUST there be a feast? (Val Day survives just find on a Dessert Revel. What about a Dayboard? Or a "period-style buffet?" Cook's Symposium has been known for a Rockin' Pot-Luck) Does every event really require the usual fencingA&SHeavyYouthArcheryThrownWeaponsClassesDancing conglomeration? Or would a focus on just a few elements, done well, be better?
And why is all of this just Anathema to discuss?
