STAR NON-attendees……two questions

[HawkGTRider]

. 

PS  The original post about costs mentioned $100 rally fee, I don't think I've ever seen anything that high even for STAR, maybe $50 or a bit more, but it could be I just haven't noticed (and only did one STAR in the past 4-5 years).

Hi, Steve, Just an FYI, STAR registration at Cape this year was $80.

And the registration fee included a $15 gift certificate to Lambert's as the "lunch ride"...the home of the throwed roll. The lunch has been an option in many of the past years, so you could consider this STAR registration to be $65.
When you consider that the final banquet cost per person was close to half of the remaining amount (and the food was far better than most years...but a similar cost to some years when the dinner was not nearly as good), the remaining amount covered little more than the meeting room rentals (for registration, door prizes, seminars), etc....very little of which is provided by event venues. If anyone thinks convention centers do any of this for free, I think you'd be surprised.

With our typical numbers of participation, we're small fish to some venues. Too big for the small places, and way to small to get any economy of scale.

[Larry Fine]

The original post about costs mentioned $100 rally fee, I don't think I've ever seen anything that high even for STAR, maybe $50 or a bit more, but it could be I just haven't noticed (and only did one STAR in the past 4-5 years).

As I remember, there was a list of options, the least expensive of which was $100.

I'm sorry I can't be more specific, but I believe food and shirt choices were part of it.

[Patmo]

The original post about costs mentioned $100 rally fee, I don't think I've ever seen anything that high even for STAR, maybe $50 or a bit more, but it could be I just haven't noticed (and only did one STAR in the past 4-5 years).

As I remember, there was a list of options, the least expensive of which was $100.

I'm sorry I can't be more specific, but I believe food and shirt choices were part of it.

Shirts and hats are always sold at STAR, along with raffle tickets.  But they are not part of the registration, they are all optional. The final banquet is always included in the rally fee.

We also always have a discounted price for early on-line registration…usually it’s $10-$15 dollars.  We normally open that up sometime in early January and don’t cut it off until the end of May.

Most years in the past we also had an optional Tuesday lunch ride and tickets for that were sold separately, like those other things.  We found that approximately 95% of the attendees purchased the optional lunch ride, so we raised the STAR rally fee this past year by $10 and included it at no additional charge. Next year we may go back to making it optional.  It’s not really a money maker for the club. 

We’ve really worked hard to keep the hotel costs down, while still trying to include breakfast and a really nice banquet meal in package. Some of the hotels have included breakfast in their room rates, but not all. Some years we have had to pay for the breakfasts out of the rally fees. That certainly cuts into the profits from the event. We could certainly cut back on a lot of things and reduce the rally fee costs.  We could stay at cheaper hotels and eliminate the banquet. We could cut out seminars, door prizes, awards, meetings, etc.  But that isn’t what the membership tells us they want in a NATIONAL rally. They tell us that they want those extras, and are willing to pay a little extra for them. For those that don’t…we have the local/regional rallies.

(I might also point out that it’s been SEVERAL years since we raised member dues…..but that is a whole different discussion for a different time and place.   )

[STLTHMSTA]

Did everyone for get about the daily drinks, breakfast was mentioned and evening "snacks" included? Yes, that's a Drury thing and can't always be included but as we said, it varies. That was a great plus if you ask me. The social areas are also a plus. TM

[Ride4MS]

"Snack". It was more like a meal each night, that the menu rotated each day. I have never been to a hotel that gives that much food and that many free drinks each night either. That was a money saver, not having to go somewhere for a large meal.
I also heard that was a Drury thing. I would be in favor of trying to use more Drury Inns for future STARs and other rallies. If the club tries to use them more, maybe they will give a discount. If not, I think it is worth a little extra $. After all, it is only once per year, and we just have to save for the big event.

[stevegrab]

. 

PS  The original post about costs mentioned $100 rally fee, I don't think I've ever seen anything that high even for STAR, maybe $50 or a bit more, but it could be I just haven't noticed (and only did one STAR in the past 4-5 years).

Hi, Steve, Just an FYI, STAR registration at Cape this year was $80.

Thanks Fred, as I said I hadn't recalled paying a fee that high in the past. $80 is higher than I recall, but also a full $20 from 100.

Thanks to Geoffrey for the other info. Yes the lunch ride as well as any merchandise (shirt, hat etc) were always extra. And the rally fee I recall was usually around $50 at most.

I remember one year at STAR (Lexington 07?) the breakdown of what your fee covered was printed on something (maybe back when we had a separate ticket used to attend the banquet). And the cost of that meal was pretty high. One person I know who came had to ride back on Wednesday, could not stay for the dinner. When they saw that info they asked "how come I couldn't pay a reduced fee for the event since I wasn't eating at the banquet". I explained it would probably make things more complicated, but they could ask a member of the EC or people planning the event.

I'm a pretty frugal person, some would even say cheap. I've never considered the registration fee for our events to be that expensive.

[stevegrab]

A couple more things, regarding keeping cost down.

Lunch ride - I'd agree with going back to having the lunch be optional, let those who want to attend pay the extra fee. Most I rode with usually attended, but it would be good to have that option.

breakfast - as we saw at Canaan Valley that was just too expensive, but as a regular STAR attendee and somebody who usually stays at places with a free breakfast (juice, coffee and cereal are enough for me, its what I eat home) I was a bit surprised to not hear anything at hotel check in, or when I went thru event registration. When I heard later what the costs were and the reason to not include it, I agreed entirely. I think we ate breakfast buffet the first day, then ate other items (from pastry to a more full breakfast) at the little cafe in the lobby area. While I enjoy a good breakfast occasionally, its not something I need to (or should) eat every day for several days straight.

Lastly, the free beverages and snacks sounded excellent, never seen that over the many STARs I attended. Many times the snacks at the welcome reception (if there were any) were gone quickly if not at the front of the line. But in Avon (2012) I remember they had a pile of sandwiches from the Subway in the Christie Lodge, and extras were even put out a couple other times. Its nice to not have to go out for every meal at an event, but I also know most hotels don't give out lots of free food, I've talked with somebody at work who organizes our conference for our software users and have heard how the food (breakfast, lunch and often a morning and afternoon snack) can really cost a lot.

[Ride4MS]

I agree with Steve, this year the breakfast was way more than I usually eat, so I had to restrain myself or I would have been tired all day and gained a lot of weight.
On the Tuesday Lunch Ride, I did like the location and food this year, as I have no restrictions on the type of food. But, I do not know if they have gluten free or a veggie diet type food. I had heard the past few years from a few people that did not go on the Lunch Ride for that reason. Just something to think about in the future. In a year where you had to pay up front for the Lunch, it made no difference. But, this year, when it was a discount type of meal, it would not help those people.