FADS National Comp Packages

[TinyDancer109]

Any other FADS dancers unhappy about this?

I hear that they now are forcing you to buy the package for the FADS national comps rather than choosing a la carte.

Their reasoning is because they guarantee a certain number of rooms to the hotel and dont always fill them up, so they need to do it. However, if this is the case, I can see why they would require for you to book the hotel thru them, but i don't see why we have to get the entire package.

As much as I prefer booking the hotel myself because i normally am part of participating vacation clubs/timeshares or am just plain able to find a better deal... i understand the hotel bit. But I just cant justify buying a $45 breakfast when all I eat is one banana or bagel.

I also dont see how they can claim to have so much trouble financially organizing comps... independent comps can do it, why cant they?

I know some people have written comp organizers about this.

 

[etp777]

Heh, don't look at me, I certainly can't afford the national comps.

That being said, the package prices do come down from corporate. Studios of course add on top of them to cover their own expenses, but I saw the price sheet from corporate for one of the ones last year when I was working on computer for an FA studio, and let's just say they're not cheap.

 

[TinyDancer109]

right, my issue is not with the studio, but with how the comps are organized... if they dont change their policy, i may have to tell them purely out of principle that i wont be doing anymore FADS comps... only independent.

 

[nimmity]

I travelled with my FADS studio in march to a regional comp and was unimpressed. I had a great time and loved it but I would never do it again. We were given a flat rate and at the time of purchase that was for 3 full days, all meals and a day trip out sight-seeing.
By the time we went it had turned into 48hrs fly in dance fly out. The comp did not put on lunch so we didn't eat. Nobody even mentioned a refund. Needless to say I wasn't very happy.
Its not in my nature to make a fuss but as I'm leaving my studio I may well mention a few things to the manager before I go!

 

[etp777]

The regional comps are controlled at a lot closer (regional ) level, so there you do have a better say in complaining. Luckily, no need to ever fly for ours. Even in worst traffic, it's less than two hours between the two most outlying studios in our region, and our regional comps are pretty much in the middle of the region, so not too hard for anyone to get there.

 

[singndance]

In the three years I've been competing, the policy in our studio has always been that to go to the competition, national or regional, you must buy the package. The package price is adjusted based on the number of days you compete. So if you are only attending one day of a two day regional competition, for example, you are charged less.

Nimmity, I don't blame you for being upset, what happened to you certainly doesn't seem right.

 

[TinyDancer109]

singndance, i am surprised to hear that! at my studio, we have always been given the option of a la carte. until now (which my studio manager claims is coming from the fanchise, not him).

 

[singndance]

Yes, TinyDancer, it is not popular with the students. Obviously the franchisee has had the option to price the comps as they see fit for their business, and maybe now that's changing.....but at our studio, that has been the rule for years.

 

[jump'n'jive]

i can ask a local franchisor this to clearify if you would like. either they are giving you a line or this really is happening. either way if you would like i will found out

 

[TinyDancer109]

thanks jump'n'jive!

 

[TangoRocks]

I haven't been to a competition but I know my friends who competed always had the a la carte option you mentioned--and some used airline/hotel points to stay even at the event hotel for cheaper than the franchise "deal" Safe to say that this new policy is going to have a negative impact on participation. I can understand hotel deals, and a few conventions I went to had penalty clauses for under-utilization of the room block, but you'd think organizations as big and visible as FADS or AMI could do a better job landing those deals without forcing all student participants to buy into their package. After all, the hotel does benefit from hosting an event like this as well, especially now that ballroom dancing has become big money entertainment; just turn on the TV and every network has its own dance show.

As an aside, can you compete in independent competitions with your FADS pro? I thought the chains discouraged that kind of thing, trying to steer students to their in-house events. Just asking out of ignorance since I never competed.

 

[TinyDancer109]

Thanks for your input TR!

Safe to say that this new policy is going to have a negative impact on participation. I can understand hotel deals, and a few conventions I went to had penalty clauses for under-utilization of the room block, but you'd think organizations as big and visible as FADS or AMI could do a better job landing those deals without forcing all student participants to buy into their package.

I agree... which goes along with my logic of "if independent comps can do it, why cant FADS?"

As an aside, can you compete in independent competitions with your FADS pro? I thought the chains discouraged that kind of thing, trying to steer students to their in-house events. Just asking out of ignorance since I never competed.

You can, and many students do... but usually they will only take the more advanced students (at least in my studio its that way). for various reasons. But they typically wont allow a student to do ONLY independent comps for the reasons you are thinking (business, politics, etc.)... ud have to do a bit of both. This is my understanding... anyone can feel free to chime in if you believe me to be wrong.

 

[TangoRocks]

Well often the independant comps honestly lose money. The hotel forces them to sell a certain amount of rooms to be able to get the ballroom. So if you stay at a different (cheaper) hotel the organizer gets dinged by the hotel. Even if you stay at that hotel but by your own reservations the organizer doesn't get the credit for you (unless theuy fight for it... :roll: ) The hotel forces them to sell X amount of dinners as well.

So I would say that the franchises are actually Better Businessmen than the independents because they are securing their bottom line.

I think they just need better Hotel Liaisons lol.. I was in the LA area for a convention within a week or two of an AMI Superama and the volunteer ran convention was able to secure $99 rooms at the EXACT SAME HOTELS that AMI could only get for $149 and up...

Also, depending on your hotel contract, you can always try to get individual bookings for the same event to be included within the room block quota for the event. It all comes down to savvy negotiations, I suppose, like everything else. Don't you love capitalism?

 

[wooh]

the volunteer ran convention was able to secure $99 rooms at the EXACT SAME HOTELS that AMI could only get for $149 and up...

But were they paying the hotel $149, or did they get the group rate of $99 and are charging the students a markup? Not to mention, a couple weeks can make a huge difference in rates.
AMI and FA must be doing something right, they're still in business and no matter how exorbitantly expensive their comps and packages are, people are still paying for them.

 

[fascination]

IMO, alot of it is the charm factor...many people who are there are really feeling good and having fun...there are worse things