FISM 2021 Hotels Released

[CraigMitchell]

If you are attending FISM 2021 ( and you should! ) - hotels have just been released.

https://www.fismquebec2021.com/hebergement?lang=en

The Delta Hotel is the official hotel and connected directly to the convention centre.

This is the first time FISM is being held in North America and expectations are high ... register whilst you still can as it is going to be a sell out!

Frank Wilson's 'magic all over the world' here we come

[Richard Kaufman]

The Club Level hotel rooms sold out within 25 minutes of the link to the hotel first being posted.

The official hotel has wildly divergent ratings on Trip Advisor
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review ... ml#REVIEWS

And for those trying to book at the Hilton (a hotel of modern convenience with functioning air conditioning), it is being refurbished for all of 2020, and even though there is a link with prices on the FISM website, the link doesn't function (you can't book 2021) or give the group discount.

[CraigMitchell]

Club Level rooms are still showing as being available for booking @ the Delta

[Richard Kaufman]

Not for me.

[CraigMitchell]

How odd - what dates are you inputting ?

In terms of the Hilton - this can’t be booked online yet but according to the organizers can be booked by calling the reservations line.

[Diego]

The Hotel Chateau Laurier is listed as "5 walking minutes away". From others experience is it worth the difference to stay at the main hotel?

[Richard Kaufman]

Diego, look at reviews on Trip Advisor for opinions on hotels.

People who have never been to a FISM before should be forewarned that in the past all official and recommended hotels jack up their prices for FISM (often doubling them). My suspicion has always been that part of that increase is kicked back to FISM.

Also, the official hotel, the Delta Quebec, is part of Marriott Bonvoy, if that is of interest.

[John Signa]

In terms of the Hilton - this can’t be booked online yet but according to the organizers can be booked by calling the reservations line.

I can attest to using the reservations line. The agent was a bit surprised at my asking for a room in 2021 and even more surprised that the entire hotel was available for booking, not just the FISM block.

[Diego]

Richard, is there a reason to note that the hotel is a part of Marriott Bonvoy, (which was already evident I believe).

[CraigMitchell]

@diego ... to answer your question as to whether it is worth staying at the 'official' hotel ... it depends.

In FISMs gone by - many of the late night activities took place at the 'official hotel' ... FISMs recently have tried to recreate the jamming/social area at the convention centre proper. So much depends on the facilities on offer in the venue / hotels.

What is important though - stay as close to the convention centre as you can. The convenience of being right near the venue is well worth it! With early mornings and late nights - the less commute you have to do the better

[Richard Kaufman]

What was your room rate, John?

[erdnasephile]

More reviews for the Delta Hotel from the Marriott website: https://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-r ... els-quebec

(Richard wasn't kidding about those rate increases--not cheap).

[Richard Kaufman]

Yes, the prices for 2021 are nearly double the prices from this year, or even 2020. This is a known occurrence with FISM.

[erdnasephile]

Yes, the prices for 2021 are nearly double the prices from this year, or even 2020. This is a known occurrence with FISM.

Yep....supply and demand rules.

An interesting comparison: I was just in Washington DC for the MCM, an huge event that draws tens of thousands of people. (It was also during the World Series). I stayed in a pretty nice hotel, the Hyatt Centric (which of course jacked up the price). However, the price was exactly the same as the price the Delta Quebec and Quebec Hilton are charging for a FISM event that will probably draw a mere fraction of that number of people.

[Richard Kaufman]

Quebec City is not Washington DC. Hotel prices are not comparable.

[John Signa]

What was your room rate, John?

$224.

Looked at the rates for the next month and they vary from $130 (prepaid, non-cancellable) to $240. The FISM rate of $265 is definitely high.

[Richard Kaufman]

That sounds good.

[Brad Henderson]

Just fyi, when I booked my room (on the first day info was released) I called to confirm that there were two beds in the room as it was unclear from the site. The lady I spoke with told me that it wasn’t. That all of the rooms in the FISM block were just with one bed.

So she put in a request for me to make sure my room had two beds. Which I am not about to confirm the if that happened.

Just a heads up for those anticipating rooming with someone.

[Brad Henderson]

Ok. Just made some more calls. It seems that the FISM people are holding all the rooms with two beds for themselves and to get a guaranteed double room they have to allow that. They have a protected block for just the congress.

The very nice lady I spoke to said the thing to do is book online, then call the main reservation number and put in a request for two beds. They will sort those out closer to the actual event based on requests and availability. She also said it wouldn’t be a bad idea to call the reservation department at the hotel directly at some point just to confirm the request was noted.

She said while no room types are guaranteed, per se, she didn’t think it would be an issue getting what you wanted. BUT for those who are looking for two beds, those are NOT listed on the site and must be requested specifically

[Richard Kaufman]

The second category, the Large room, has a King bed and a sofa bed. You can see it in the photos and I confirmed it with the hotel.

Or you can just book at the Hilton.

[performer]

Don't forget you will be paying in Canadian dollars so the price will be somewhat less in US money.

[erdnasephile]

Quebec City is not Washington DC. Hotel prices are not comparable.

I see your point. Certainly, the cities couldn't be more different.

I'm a data nerd, so I looked a bit further.

Here are the statistics for overnight accommodation costs in Quebec for 2015-1017 (the most recent years available)
https://www.statista.com/statistics/505 ... ebec-city/

Here are the same statistics for Washington D.C. over the same time period
https://www.statista.com/statistics/309 ... -by-month/

The not surprising point being that the average stay overnight in Quebec is much cheaper than in Washington D.C., no matter what time of year.

What is a little surprising (to me) is the amount and degree of price premium FISM is apparently causing, especially considering that it is technically the off season. (It also means I probably got a disproportionately good deal on my recent Washington DC hotel room, which skewed my initial perception).

[Tom Gilbert]

Hank Lee had the room rates doubled at his conventions, which is why I stopped going.

[Bob Farmer]

It's not the off-season in Quebec City at that time.

[performer]

I stay in hotels all the time and have done so all my life. I can tell you the prices quoted for Quebec City for this convention are utterly horrendous.

[erdnasephile]

It's not the off-season in Quebec City at that time.

Thanks, Bob. I got crossed up on the graphs. (Need more caffeine).

Although I will say, I just spent yesterday trying to get a room in Duluth, MN for Grandma's Marathon, and their room rate price jacking makes the Quebec City folks look like amateurs.

[Scott Wells]

Thanks for all the great info. I made my reservations and suggest that before your book yours, you ask to compare the FISM rate against their rack rate, particularly if you are a member of one of the hotel chains (i.e. Marriott Rewards, Hilton Honors, etc.) and you might be surprised to receive a better rate.