[ST] A big question about comps

[Skip Morris]

On Dec 5, 2007 4:58 PM, David D'Antonio <dda at dantonio.net> wrote:
> But, as Skip says, the more comps, the less the con makes so, in the
> end, it is up to the con chair to decide if people are being
> "overcomped" (or undercomped).

One thing I looked at when I chaired was Incremental Comps (for people
who otherwise would not be at the convention) vs Offsetting Comps (for
people who would be attending anyway.  At the Park Plaza, I was much
more willing to grant lots of Incremental Comps since they didn't affect
the bottom line as much.

Some people will go to extraordinary length to snag a comp.  I'm reminded
of the times years ago when we stopped comp'ing entire departments who
hadn't bothered to fill out time sheets (Masquerade Staff was one of those
areas). The following years the numbers of people from that area who
started participating in program items went up dramatically. Some other
just bought memberships because they didn't care.

I've often thought that comps should be in the budget as well since they
can such a big effect on the bottom line.

/Skip