[Squaredancing] Discussion on the National in Charlotte

[Heinz D. Trost]

Barbara et al,


> Thanks for your input regarding restaurants that stayed open extra hours 
> for the convention.  It seems that many convention goers don't 
> understand that the City where the convention is held makes these types 
> of decisions.  And of course, the GC of the NSDC does whatever he can to 
> get places to do "extras" for the convention goers. 

yes, when I arrived in my hotel there was a list of restaurants in the 
area, most signed with "$$$" or "$$$$", the only restaurant with just 
one "$" was the sports bar in a hotel of the same chain my hotel did 
belong to. This list was a nice service. Also nice I found that hotel 
staff wore ribbons with "Welcome 56th Nationals SD Convention" or so.

The area around Convention center is the Charlotte financial district 
and so the inexpensive restaurants /fast food stores there are just 
opened through weekdays Monday to Friday when the bankers do need them.

Maybe we would be able to reach that more restaurants will get open late 
  where we are with a Nationals, but only if we would be large enough, 
e.g. 20.000 or more,- but now, with the actually decreasing numbers of 
attendees (this time just 8021)and the increasing average age of the 
attendees we can't expect this really.

>  
> I'm sorry to say that I feel more and more that people would rather 
> grumble about things that actually pitch in and help change things they 
> don't like. 

Usually people do complain the most important problems to some 
volunteers of the Conventions, e.g. if the sound is bad, or if the 
hotel-pass paid shuttle service to/from te hotels don't work. And if 
those volunteers do transmit those complaints to their chiefs then the 
problems will get fixed (if possible).

But the not that burning problems (in the case of late night open 
restaurants usually those who stayed at a hotel with three or more stars 
had the possibility to get at least a snack at the bar of the hotel,- 
but a lot of people are tired after a Convention day and just want rest 
their feet and fall asleep) are discussed later, after the event. And at 
least that is the time when the organizers of the next Nationals shall 
listen on all possible channels, so they could try to fix those problems 
, include wishes and recommendations for their upcoming event...
It should be, and usually it is a continous process of improvements.


Heinz
Germany