Revision as of 13:57, 3 February 2018

2018 Hamvention Trip!

Who's going?

List of Invitees (let me know if you are considering going, even if only tentatively. I'll add you here)
CALLSIGN	NAME	STATUS	FLY/DRIVE	ROOM	PAID?
AD8BC	Bill	Going	?	1
KG5LAT	Mike	Going	?
KE5GDB	Andrew	?	?
N5AET	Landon	?	?
N2VIP	Ken	?	?

Itinerary

Wednesday - Arrive in Dayton
Thursday - Visit the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, brief stop at Mendelson's Liquidation Outlet
Friday-Sunday - HAMVENTION at the new location (Green County Fairground in Xenia, Ohio)!
Sunday - Return home

Transportation

To/From Dayton

Generally each participant needs to come up with their own travel arrangements to the Dayton area. Last year, I drove up myself, Ken flew himself, and Andrew and Landon drove up together. And it all worked out quite nicely. Just about perfectly.

I'll make my own fly/drive decision come late February or March, as their is usually someone else interested in renting a trailer and driving up and maybe getting a flea market spot, and most of the time we decide not to. If I decide to drive, you're welcome to ride/drive along and just share the gas. If I decide to fly, I'm willing to make the air reservations.

If you fly on my reservation, please note that the tickets will be non-refundable. If for some reason you need to cancel, I will do whatever possible to get you the remaining value from your ticket, but I cannot guarantee this.

Of course, flying directly to Dayton is the most convenient, but Cincinnati and Columbus are close enough to drive. The last few years, flying into Columbus was the cheapest (from Dallas). If you are not flying with someone that will be renting a car, it's probably best to fly to Dayton so you can be picked up from the airport.

Rental Car

Usually rental car and gas split among those who share a car. I usually rent a car and donate a few free days, if we have more than a few people we will need someone to volunteer to rent another vehicle.

Hotel Arrangements

I have four rooms booked at Holiday Inn Express & Suites Dayton - Huber Heights, 5610 Merily Way, Huber Heights, Ohio. Each room has two queen beds. I'm assuming two people sharing a room, unless your really friendly, which I'm not.

Each room, including taxes, is $535 for the weekend, $300/each for double occupancy.

I continuously look for better deals, or similar pricing at extended-stay locations for Holiday Inn and Marriott properties. A few years ago I was able to get two bedroom suites at a Marriott Residence Inn near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for about the same price, but those rates are hovering around $230/night now.

I will keep all of these rooms booked until the Friday prior to Hamvention (I can cancel them up until the day before).

I had these rooms booked prior to the change of venue, so they are a little far away from Xenia. If I can get anything closer for a reasonable cost, I'll try.

Hamvention Parking

Rumor has it that the Hamvention ticket is rising by $2 next year to $22, but this is rumored to include parking. I'll update this space if I hear differently.

Legal Disclaimer

I only have one hard and fast rule: If you stay in one of the hotel rooms I book, you're responsible for your share of all four nights, whether you come later than Wednesday or leave earlier than Sunday. One year I went with a group from Michigan, and some guys left a day earlier and it got into a mathematical mess figuring out exact shares.

My only other rule is I'm not stickler for exactness when I calculate who owes what for sharing gas and rental car with me. I'll let you know what I paid and you can pitch in what you feel is fair. Life is too short to do math!