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How To Deal With Convention Roommates
13 years ago
General
My recommendations:
1) Get the names of each person staying with you added to the hotel room name list. Pretty much every hotel can do this, and it'll make keeping track of things a lot easier.
2) If your credit card is going to be the one on the room, GET PAYMENT BEFOREHAND. Paypal is easy enough to use, their fee will be pretty small, and...trust me, I've been burned by this one before. You never know when you're going to get the person who's going to say 'I feel like staying somewhere else after the first night, I'm just not going to pay you' and you're left holding the bag. I have a standing rule: Until you have paid me your share of the room, you aren't actually locked into the spot, and someone else can step in and pay and take it. Also, no refunds if it's less than a month before the convention.
3) Make it very clear *before* the convention what the rules are. Do you have a smoking room? How do you feel about drinking? Adult activity? When do the people in your room usually go to sleep? Does anyone have medical needs? Needs involving a service animal? If so, what are the rules in dealing with said animal? Is there a fursuiter staying with you? The more you know in advance, the better prepared you are, and it's never unfair to ask questions.
4) Get contact information for your roommates. Not just an e-mail address, either; get a real name - the one printed on their driver's license - along with their home address and telephone number. If something should happen where you need to get a hold of that person, e-mail (which you should also get) may not be enough for your needs.
5) Make yourself a list of the things you're bringing. I mean a literal, physical list that is written (or printed) and that you bring with you. Make sure you know when each roommate is planning to leave. After each one does, check to make sure that everything on the list that you expect to be there, is there. If not...well, remember the contact info we got in 4? Yeah.
Do I make this sound like a big to-do? It's actually a *lot* easier than it sounds, and infinitely less time-consuming and costly than winding up getting blindsided at the last second. Do yourself a favor and learn from my mistakes. And if you have a prospective roommate who balks at any of the above...that's probably not a person you should be rooming with.
1) Get the names of each person staying with you added to the hotel room name list. Pretty much every hotel can do this, and it'll make keeping track of things a lot easier.
2) If your credit card is going to be the one on the room, GET PAYMENT BEFOREHAND. Paypal is easy enough to use, their fee will be pretty small, and...trust me, I've been burned by this one before. You never know when you're going to get the person who's going to say 'I feel like staying somewhere else after the first night, I'm just not going to pay you' and you're left holding the bag. I have a standing rule: Until you have paid me your share of the room, you aren't actually locked into the spot, and someone else can step in and pay and take it. Also, no refunds if it's less than a month before the convention.
3) Make it very clear *before* the convention what the rules are. Do you have a smoking room? How do you feel about drinking? Adult activity? When do the people in your room usually go to sleep? Does anyone have medical needs? Needs involving a service animal? If so, what are the rules in dealing with said animal? Is there a fursuiter staying with you? The more you know in advance, the better prepared you are, and it's never unfair to ask questions.
4) Get contact information for your roommates. Not just an e-mail address, either; get a real name - the one printed on their driver's license - along with their home address and telephone number. If something should happen where you need to get a hold of that person, e-mail (which you should also get) may not be enough for your needs.
5) Make yourself a list of the things you're bringing. I mean a literal, physical list that is written (or printed) and that you bring with you. Make sure you know when each roommate is planning to leave. After each one does, check to make sure that everything on the list that you expect to be there, is there. If not...well, remember the contact info we got in 4? Yeah.
Do I make this sound like a big to-do? It's actually a *lot* easier than it sounds, and infinitely less time-consuming and costly than winding up getting blindsided at the last second. Do yourself a favor and learn from my mistakes. And if you have a prospective roommate who balks at any of the above...that's probably not a person you should be rooming with.
1. Bring your own toiletries (and towel, if several people are staying in the room) since the hotel's tiny soaps and shampoo bottles might not be enough for everyone.
2. Per the 6-2-1 rule, shower AT LEAST once per day.
3. Don't lose your room key/card; if one gets lost, they all need to be replaced. Don't give your key to anyone else to have them fetch something from the room.
4. Use your cell phone (or ask someone else for theirs) to make outgoing calls instead of using the room phone. Don't order room service without the permission of the person whose room you're sharing.
5. Don't invite friends to the room to, as my friend put it, "play Hide The Pickle." If the room buyer allows it, use the Do Not Disturb sign, door latch, electronic lock disabler, etc. Most importantly, CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELF! No one wants to touch your used condom or cum rag. (Based on an actual occurrence last year.)