*2024-09-22 All Staff Meeting notes
Date
Sep 22, 2024
Participants
@Ranan Absidian
@Hex
@Ambient (Unlicensed)
Goals
High level updates from ranan
Registration
Constore
Creative
Office
What’s new for this year?
What’s Returning?
Pride
Charity
New Leadership in the Org!
A reminder on policies
Hotel
New additions
Staff block
Upcoming Events
Discussion topics
Registration
We are open! Well we never really close, but tell your friends!
Con store
We have a lot of cool designs and concepts that are coming for this year!
Also some cool things we are producing for Pride!
Creative
The team has been hard at work refining the overall “Vibe” for the theme and will have a style guide soon!
Office
We have been making a ton of improvements to the office! Even if you have come out before you should come back!
We have had a few events already and many more in the works!
We can’t say it enough but with all of the things going on we need help to keep it going!
The Purpose
There is a lot of stuff going on in the world and it is FWA’s mission to help make it a better place
As the 3rd largest convention we are pushing the boundaries of what it means to host these events
It is not just a fun time once a year anymore. We are making a difference in peoples lives, and that is the purpose of what we do. We hope that this mission resonates with you as we move forward.
We are making a large push to help improve the mental wellness of our community, friends, and each other
This includes resources such as recorded videos that will be release as we go, Programming to help educate, and sober safe spaces
What’s new?
The Aquarium
Tickets are on sale and will sell out!
Make sure to grab yours now (There are no guaranteed comps)
FWA- Music Festival
This will be a one day event
“Club” Stage
VR Chat style small stage
Sober con spaces
Drug and alcohol free spaces to party
More in the works
We have more to come but details are still getting sorted
What’s Returning?
Hoppy Hour!
Moonlight Festival!
Mental Wellness support and programming!
Under 18 programming!
Photo room!
Atlanta Pride
First thing is first WE NEED HELP so if you are interested in this reach out to Hex!
Dates are Oct 12 and 13 (Sat and Sun)
FWA will be hosting 3 areas
Our merch booth
We have some awesome specific pride designs!
Lanyards, Fans, Tank tops, Shirts, Stickers
Special prize raffles!
A Chill Space
A meadow Space
Charity
Our charity Lost -n- Found Youth has been nominated as a beneficiary for 2024 AIDS Walk Atlanta Music Festival and 5K
Join the team here: http://www.aidswalkatlanta.org/goto/FWA
You don’t have to be in Atlanta to join
We are going to be trying to promote and support LnFY through out the year as part of our commitment to our community
New Leadership!
Rory - Associate Director of Constore
Riven - Lead of VIP Hospitality
Chalur - Lead of Signage
Spazzfox - Lead of Social Media
Atlas - Assistant Lead of Reg Dev
Kaiyoht - Assistant Lead of Constore Ops
Zhenya - Assistant Lead of Queue Mgmt.
A reminder on policies
Conflict of Interest
Working for other conventions
We encourage you to use your skills to help other events as you are able
Director level and up should be exclusively FWA
Remember don’t share private FWA information, new concepts, or information that is not public yet
Romantic relationships
We know we are all friends here and some times more comes of it
We need to be aware of the effect relationships have on groups
A lead should not be dating a staff member directly under them.
That is not to say we discourage you from finding someone, but it creates a power dynamic that can effect the department
Social Media
Don’t engage on the drama
There is a ton of it out there and it is not worth it to get involved.
We are fighting the battle the right way. With our actions
Don’t speak on behalf of FWA
We know it can be hard to jump in when someone is coming after FWA. We have a lot of passion for this FWAmily we are a part of.
It is not worth your mental wellness to get pulled into those conversations
The FWA account will address issues and problems that need addressing when they arise.
Hotels
New to the FWAmily
Westin Atlanta
Courtland Grand
The complete lineup (Fun note we are now in all of the hotels we have ever been in)
Atlanta Marriott Marquis
Hyatt Regency Atlanta
Hilton Atlanta
Westin Atlanta
Courtland Grand
Aloft (Overflow)
All hotels are within a block from one of the main three
Since we are growing so big here is what we are doing
Engaging ACVB (Atlanta City Visitors Bureau) and Ambassadors for more presence during out event
Working with the City of Atlanta for more safety focus on our area
Working with local businesses to offer more to our guests
Providing shuttle services from satellite hotels to the Marriott Marquis
This includes ADA shuttles
Hotel Layout
Atlanta Marriott Marquis
Atrium Stage
Board Game Room
Con Store
Club Stage
Guest Services
Headless Lounge
Photo Room
Quiet Rooms
Registration
Safety
Silent Disco
Volunteering
Hyatt Regency Atlanta
Vendor Hall
Hilton Atlanta
Headless Lounge
Moonlight Festival
Salon Stage
Under 18 Programming
Video Game Room
Staff Room Block (PLEASE READ THROUGHLY)
The Policies
You must have 1 year of tenure (Worked at FWA 2024)
1 Staff rate night per staff member in your room
Other nights will be group rate
No more than 4 to a room (this is a hotel policy that we have to enforce)
Suites are Excluded from the staff rate
Room will be placed in a room leaders name
Every effort will be made to give the preferred hotel and room type, but can not be guaranteed!
Room Leaders (Please note new staff can not be room leaders)
These people will ultimately be responsible for the room
The 1 night deposit
Payment at the event
Check in/ Check out
Main point of contact for FWA Hotel team, the booked hotel team, and room members
Room members
Are staff that are under a room leaders reservation
You will need to confirm with the room leader that you listed under their reservation
This is a simple graph showing a 4 night stay relative to the number of staff members in your room
Hotel | Marriott | Hilton | Hyatt | Westin | Courtland |
Staff Rate | $109 | $106 | $104.50 | $101 | $99 |
Group Rate | $181 | $203 | $209 | $202 | $179 / $189 |
Staff in Room | Estimated Totals | ||||
1 Staff | $652 | $715 | $731.50 | $707 | $636 |
2 Staff | $580 | $618 | $627 | $606 | $556 |
3 Staff | $508 | $521 | $522.50 | $505 | $476 |
4 Staff | $436 | $424 | $418 | $404 | $396 |
Staff Block FAQ
Why are we doing this, instead of like last year
We want to be able to provide more benefits to as many staffers of FWA as possible. This method allows us to capture the most people possible.
We always aggressively negotiate contracts to increase the availability of staff rates
Why are we limiting it to tenured staff?
The amount of staff rate nights is limited by each hotel
Any unused rates will be applied to new staff based on performance and tenure
Why can’t we guarantee hotel and room type?
We are limited in how many staff rates we have in each hotel.
To make sure we reach as many staff members as possible we need to spread out amongst all our hotels
What if there is a lead in my room?
Leads receive one complimentary night on their room, which will be taken off the bill (subtract 1 night of rate to get an estimate before tax and fees
We will try to make this be the most expensive night but we are not sure how the hotel does it at this time
Do Assistant leads get a comp’d night?
We are limited in the amount of comps we have but we will make every effort to.
When does the staff block open/ close
It is now open!
It closes 10/6!
What if I have a new (non tenured staff) in my room?
Make sure you put their name on your reservation! If there are any remaining staff rates we will go through and apply them to new staffers in order of performance and tenure.
I want to apply for a suite, should I still complete the staff room form?
Absolutely! If you are awarded a suite, your staff room will be moved to the next on the list
Staff Hotel link (DO NOT SHARE OUTSIDE OF STAFF)
Upcoming Events
FWA Staff Party!!! 10/26
Raffle
Movies
Games
Fun!
Important dates
Staff room block 10/6
First Mental Wellness Training 10/6
New staff cut off 3/1/25
Thank you event 5/11/25
Upcoming Staff Meetings
11/17/24 @ 2:30p EST
1/12/25 @ 2:30p EST
2/9/25 @ 2:30p EST
3/9/25 @ 2:30p EST
4/6/25 @ 2:30p EST
ALL HANDS @ Con- 5/8/25 9a EST