OK... what's a Hospitality Division?

Well, to answer this question, thinking about *why* a Hospitality Division might help!

Worldcons can be pretty overwhelming; our purpose is to make you more comfortable as you navigate through the convention. We want to try to help spark positive interactions between members, help "knit up the raveled sleeves of care," and provide some grease between parts of convention from the moment the first member registers to the last treat served at the dead dog party. In short, we're there to help you have a good time. In order to do this, Hospitality oversees a number of functions, including the Consuite, Fan Lounge, Convention Center schmoozing space, Registration, Child Care, and the like. We're also working closely with Volunteers, Handicapped Access, and other ConJose functions that provide services to the convention's members.

Where will the Consuite be?

The 20th floor of the Fairmont... and before you ask, that's not very far away at all. The Fairmont hotel (which is the main party hotel too!) is just a short walk across the park in front of the convention center.

Will there be any place IN the Convention Center to schmooze between program items I want to see?

You bet. Hospitality is also designing a comfy schmoozing space in the Convention Center right between the program and exhibit space. No con-provided munchies (alas), but lots of other goodies like the Voodoo Message Board, party announcements, freebie tables, and,amusements — everything that might provide a cozy central place where you can take a short break from the con... but still be part of it!

OK, I can buy that. Now, Worldcon Consuites seem to vary a lot. What's ConJosé's Consuite going to be like? What's this about inflatables? Sharks? Aliens? Hawaiian holidays. Are you guys nuts?

Yes. In all the right ways, we hope. To find out more, click here.

Wow... .this all sounds like fun. Can I help?

You betcha!

Sandra Childress is seeking staff for the Consuite. Contact Sandra at consuite@conjose.org to volunteer. Registration can also use experienced person-power to welcome people to the con. During the convention you can also volunteer on the fly (for the Hospitality Division, or many other areas of the convention) at the tables conveniently set up near... Registration!

So, when will everything be open?

We're still working on that, and will post the hours as soon as we figure out what's likely to work best for you and the rest of the convention. In general, ConJosé starts Thursday and ends Monday. Registration pickup for pre-registered members will start somewhat earlier than that. If you're arriving early, please consider helping with convention set-up! Ditto that for teardown on Monday afternoon and Tuesday.

If you have specific requests or ideas for when you'd like hospitality functions open, please drop us a note at hospitality@conjose.org.

Are you going to serve alcohol in the consuite?

ConJosé has decided not to budget for or serve alcohol in convention space, including the consuite. We will allow others to provide and serve alcohol in convention space in accordance with California laws and the corkage rules and other requirements of the facility (the specific hotel or the convention center). Currently, there are no plans for any special events in the consuite to include alcohol served by others. We expect other groups will serve alcohol elsewhere in the convention.

What are California's laws about serving alcohol?

The legal drinking age is 21. It is illegal to provide any alcoholic beverage to a person under 21 or to an obviously intoxicated person.

While the law regarding civil liability is complex, party hosts need to know that under some circumstances they, their sponsors, bartenders, and others can be held legally liable for the consequences of serving alcohol to underage drinkers or to obviously intoxicated persons. As a social host or party planner, you could be sued and potentially found personally liable for damages to the injured party(ies).

The Stanford University Office of Student Affairs has an excellent party planning guide with a good overview of California law related to serving alcohol, server liability, and alcohol safety: http://www.stanford.edu/dept/OSA/party/2001-2002/calaw.shtml

OK, you said the Fairmont is also the main party hotel, right? Are there any special parties I should know about?

DiscWorld Fan Party

Terry Pratchett is coming to ConJosé and Denise Connell is hosting a DiscWorld Fan party in the ConSuite. Day and time still TBD. We hope you'll come and help the Seamstress Guild welcome Terry and see to his delight.

Dead Dog

Torcon will be hosting a Dead Dog party in the ConSuite on Monday night after most of ConJosé is torn down, packed away, and all of the appropriate pieces are ready to be shipped to Toronto for our continued enjoyment next year. Come say goodbye with one final night of partying at ConJosé and share those zany ideas born of exhaustion with our Torcon hosts.

Open Parties

There are going to be fannish groups hosting parties, conventions hosting parties, people hosting bid parties, and people throwing parties just because they feel like it. And you can, too! (See the next answer for how.)

Hey, *I* want to throw a party at ConJose. What do I need to do?

Click here for party and suite reservation info. Elspeth Kovar is ConJosé's Suite Coordinator suites@conjose.org and Richard Ney is our Party Maven party-maven@conjose.org. You can host a party in a regular room on a party floor at the Fairmont, or in a suite. All requests for suites that come in before April 15th will be considered to have arrived at the same time. ConJosé plans to assign suites around May 15th, so please get those requests in soon! We may still have some available after that date; contact suites@conjose.org for more information.

Enough about parties. What's a Fan Lounge? How is it different from the Consuite? (And, where will it be anyway?)

A Fan Lounge is a place for fans to get together. Unlike a ConSuite, a fan lounge focuses more on fanzines and fannish history. It can get silly in there at times, but it's usually a more mellow and laid back form of silliness. ConSuite silliness is typically bigger, more frenetic.

You can have terrific conversations with other fans in either space, but you'll most likely have an easier time hearing each other in the fan lounge.

We're still deciding exactly where in the Fairmont the Fan Lounge will be. One of the more interesting possibilities is a large suite on the 20th floor of the Fairmont that has a "back door" to the ConSuite.Any questions?
Undoubtedly. Please send yours to us using the form below. We'll answer you directly, and add the question and answer to the FAQ if it's of general interest or likely to be asked frequently.

*Thanks!*

"ConJosé" is a service mark of San Francisco Science Fiction Conventions, Inc. (SFSFC), a California non-profit corporation recognized as tax-exempt under IRC 501(c)(3). The ConJosé logo was created by and is © 2001 David Cherry, and is a service mark of SFSFC. This web site is © 2002 SFSFC except where otherwise noted. "Worldcon," "World Science Fiction Convention," "WSFS," "World Science Fiction Society," "NASFiC," and "Hugo Award" are registered service marks of the World Science Fiction Society, an unincorporated literary society.    ConJosé Privacy Policy