I'm actually all for nixing the smoking con suite - it seemed to be too much of a "I'm going to sit in here and noone will come in because I'm going to stink up the place". I had to track John Ringo down in there because that's where he was camping out - and I'm allergic to tobacco (it was my own choice, I wasn't driven in).
Well, if they want to smoke and snack, let them. Just have minimal snacking supplies.
Note, that doesn't mean we can't have an indoor smoking area - I'm just against making it a full 'lounge around' area - why encourage people to refuse to mix.
Heh.
Okay - I'll float it now, since we're getting to that stage anyway. With the sheer amount of beverages gone through by Penguicon (Rob - can you find out how much they spent?) (I'm guessing that it was on the order of 4-5k ), if we can get the hotel to not throw a fit about it, I'm all for renting one or more soda fountains from Coca-Cola (or Pepsi, but I prefer coke), and use either boxes of syrup (which require a water source), or charged cans of pre-mixed. Lisa knows how to handle both types, and I know how to handle the cans. That would bring the cost WAYYYY down, would probably be less hassle than the "dig around in the bathtub/other tub looking for the drink you want" method at most cons, and we'd just have to supply ice and cups (cups were provided at Penguicon, ice was in short supply.) It would also help reduce what Rob and I both went through - "Okay, where the HECK is the Diet Coke this time. No, not the decaffinated crap..."
I'm all for soda fountain renting. I vote boxes. The canned stuff, while more convenient, is a bit more expensive, and doesn't taste as good, in my opinion.
I don't know if I can arrange for an icemaker or not, but we can work something out. (I have a customer who is an ice seller, but he's Houston local only. However, I could possibly rent a trailer from him full of ice or something)
I'll call around.
