Okay, so I've chewed on it, and here's what I wanted to pose as possibilities:
Take the venue off the Strip, at least for now. There are several gorgeous facilities off strip (Silverton is one of them) that I'm willing to bet aren't nearly as pricey as anything on Strip. I know Silverton isn't that far, maybe 10 minutes, from the Strip so that anyone who wants to play tourist can. Even if the facility costs aren't that much different, room nights will be cheaper, and that could help ease both the cost of going and the cost of hosting (more booked nights in the room block = better facility rate) See if maybe taking some of the formality out of it will help. Maybe an event facility not attached to a hotel, an event hall for the Gala or something like that.
Next, cross promote the hells out of it! Every single GB fan board out there should know about the convention. If there's bad blood/personality conflicts/whatever with another group, send a neutral third party to pimp the con! And while you're out there spreading the GALS love, see if anyone else is running a fan con. Ask questions, get ideas, gather intel on what works and what doesn't for them.
Finally, I'd go with what a lot of other people suggested: do a multi-tiered rate. Honestly, until the numbers start looking better, I'd say do it all a la carte. Want a weekender? It's this price. Just coming on Saturday? Cost is blah. Want a shirt? That's this much extra. Add a swag bag? That's another little bit. Now, if someone wants the "VIP" weekend membership, give that a set price that's slightly less than the a la carte pricing. It's a pain and it's annoying for the bookkeepers, but if it means butts in the seats, do it.
I know pricing/cost is a huge issue for a lot of people, including me. I have to admit, when I saw the price for the GALS con, I nearly fell out of my seat. I've been involved in the con running circuit on and off for almost 20 years, 8 of which were active involvement in planning and running of one of the oldest (and sadly, now dead) fan run scifi conventions in the South, and there's no way on the gods' green earth we could've ever asked for that kind of weekend price, even with a guaranteed appearance by someone like Gerry. To be perfectly honest, Dragon*Con doesn't command that kind of admission price and they have an entire ballroom dedicate to the sole purpose of getting autographs from celebrities. I know I'm talking about two totally different animals here, but that's where my mind first went when I cost the cost for the GALS con. It's just the way my mind works.
I KNOW what you guys are going through. Trust me, I completely and totally feel your pain. I've signed on with a group to try and launch a new convention in the area and we're looking at these very kinds of numbers. We're trying to make a successful business (because at the end of the day, that's the way you've gotta look at it) out of a crowd of people having a good time.
OH....reminds me. Start taking donations for next year's event NOW. Setup a payment plan, do a deposit, give out a select number of "lifetime" memberships for the peeps who can donate a larger amount (I think we're doing $300, and only taking 5 per year). Use the disclaimer that there are no guarantees of future conventions, or that Gerry won't do something silly like become a Tibetan monk, but assure the peeps that can donate that the funds are going to help re-launch the convention, much like a rising phoenix.
I'm sure you guys have already come up with all this, so I'll stop rambling before I really piss someone off! In all seriousness, I would love to see this thing get to be so big that Gerry has no choice but to put in an appearance
Much love and kudos to those who run this! Amy
