Internext/AEE passes anyone :) - AVN SUCKS!!!!!
 

Just went over to get mine and was amazed at the prices - and it seems that Internext is Thurs, Fri Sat this time? While AEE is 4 days of course the first day is the only day limited to trade people.
Youve got till Dec 2 to get the reduced prices

While on this subject - did anyone else get a postcard in the mail from internext-expo with writing all over the outside about adult internet entertainment - just what I needed my neighbors and postman to see in this little town - Thanks again you idiots at AVN

Media registration is still "Coming Soon!" |thumb

On a side note, the XBiz Awards are "sold out" (wasn't it free last year?)

I wonder if I/we get tickets since we were nominated :D

These guys are the biggest fucking idiots to walk the face of the Earth. Why can't we have Internext Mon-Wed like EVERY other year? Then there wouldn't be room problems, high room costs and of course we won't go into the problems we'll all have trying to eat with 3 shows going on at the same time or grabbing a cab.

TOTAL IDIOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Actually, they are totally idiots for a different reason entirely, in my book:

They setup internext to run before the video shows, and have done so for about 5 years. Sadly, the dates of the video show are written to match up to CES - so that there are tons of horny punters wandering around willing to shell $25 or more at the door to come in and drool on pornstars (a pretty good business, really... I give them full credit on this one).

However, if they followed that this year, they would be entirely, utterly fucked.

Why?

The show would run 2nd to the 5th. That would mean the loading and setup days for the internext show would be the 31st and the 1st. Guess what, Union wants a TON more money for those days, and good fucking luck getting a decent priced hotel room at that point. More importantly, good luck finding transport, delivery, and everything else that is running skeleton staff on new years eve, PLUS good luck getting anything moving in town on those days because the place is packed and there is no hope to get anything done.

So, there you go. AVN is fucked, and has fucked us as a result.

Good luck.

Alex - actually this year they are both on exactly the same days - internext is the 5-7th and AEE is 5-8th - and right next to each other :( And at the exact same time as the exhibits for CES which is also the same days and CES is exhibiting at Sands this year as well

I hear Florida is nice this time of year.

Easy to say if you have electric

|pokefun| at powerless Cleo


:D

On the plus side my electric bill for this month should be very cheap. Oh wait… I have to pay for all this gasoline. |shocking|

It'd make a lot of sense to have our show Jan 9th-11th - I guess we're not that high on the priority list :(

Since judging is over, I suspect we would have gotten free tickets if there were a reason for us to be there :)

Webmasters are barely a blip on the AVN radar.

I'll probably go to the next Florida show… maybe.

This will be my first time at Internext, so I'm looking forward to it!

MadHatter and I are planning on coming. Looking forward to seeing you all again. |waves|

Am I wrong in thinking that since Aly is no longer with AVN, we have nobody to "talk" to about any complaints or compliments?

I think I read on another board that XBiz nominees are covered to go regardless of the "sold out" status. So you might check with 'em.

Jim - Ill let you know as soon as I get an answer to an email I sent yesterday :) If I get an answer LOL
BTW - if youre really planning to go to both shows - you might try going to AEEs site first and checking their prices for their show - and then check the price at Internext for the combo ticket - you might save a little money :)

Plus - Ive already had at least one sponsor email me to provide free tickets if I want them - today - so Im sure they are really available if you really wanted to go Jim :)

I wouldn't go unless they told me we won. And then, it would be for overnight. No wait...that is 3 days after I have a new Grandson to hang out with :)

Linkster, I understand that the shows are at the same time now, the reasons being as I mentioned - it would not be financially possible this year to run the show on the usual monday to thursday setup, as it would mean massive expenses for setup time that would make the show somewhat less than profitable.

Combining the shows (considering the direction the industry is going) isn't a terrible idea. I think AVN is figuring that the entire internet industry will just be a sideline of the video / video on demand / porn on your phone industry in a couple of years anyway, so why work hard?

It sucks ass totally, it will make this show even worse to handle, and honestly, I am seriously considering NOT attending this one, unless I find a stunning bargain on hotels and such. If it is anything like last year's show, I would have a hard time justifying the expenses that come with it. I got way more done and more people met in Miami this summer than I did last winter in Vegas (I did play a bunch of cards, though....). Paying premium rates and living with the hassle of being in vegas on one of the most insane weeks of the year isn't exactly appealing.

Alex

So, the xbizawards...is there anyone here going?

i looked at the ticket prices and they are still reasonable.

will it be more expensive if you get tickets after dec.2?

I had an email asking me if I wanted tickets to the xbiz show too... never seen the email before either

Alex - if you go to AEE's site and look at the trade personnel links there is a link for lodging - I went in there just to see and they say they can still get rooms at Harrahs next door for 250 a night

FetishLady - yes they will be more after Dec 2

$250 a night for harrahs? OMFG that is silly.

Alex

No shit. 2 years ago my wife and I stayed there for Internext and the checkout bill after 4 days was UNDER $200 (since I put a $57 deposit down when booking).

I was there at the same time ;)

Please check your old PM's- I sent you that info a couple of weeks ago

I got a package through orbitz- $1850 tx inc- 6 nights at the TI and my flight from Montreal. $1300 less than the same trip staying at the Venetian.

Folks... I tell you time and time again AVN is not your enemy. Call Renee and talk to her about your beefs. She will happily give you the lowdown on why things are the way they are and how the cost is determined. As always, they are trying to provide a great resource at a reasonable price imo, but if you don't agree talk to them directly and form your own opinion.

CES is a bigger reason for the hotels being so expensive at that time of year.

Internext has helped us provide discounts to amateurs that would not be able to attend otherwise.

You have legit criticisms, no doubt, but those are issues that are easily addressed.

Far-L, it isn't about "why" things are expensive, we can all figure it out. I can understand almost down to the smallest item WHY we are paying insane rates for hotels... It just sorta sucks to be put into that position.

Alex

Although I can see the overall reasons for combining the two shows - it blows me away that they would pickthe same time as CES to hold the shows - more importantly - while there are a few benefits to a few of the companies that might want to exhibit at both shows (Far-L Im sure you are one that loves that arrangement), it is a fact that the WMs that would really like to go to the show - it has become price prohibitive for the "amateur WMs" which is what Internext is supposed to be all about??
It is also a fact that the prices in the past for hotel rooms at the Venetian - the days of Internext were always pretty reasonable - the day that AEE started the prices jumped by at least $100 a day - so it is not CES that is calling the shots - it is the tradition of higher prices paid (at least for the 4 times Ive been to Vegas) once AEE starts.

Second rant - if you are going to pick a hotel - fine - but stick with parties at the hotel - dont make everyone go to last years hotel for the big party - it doesnt make sense - the Venetian has plenty of venues and again, you arent trying to find a cab (cause AVN sure isnt gonna spring for limo busses if you could even get them during CES) and hoofing it all over the strip.

I was gonna edit but figured since its a separate issue - you will also find that if you go to the AEE page - you can buy your tickets at a discount for an extra 10 days - till the 12th of Dec - vice going to the Internext page where its Dec 2 for the cutoff - not sure why there would be a difference?

Linkster, CES and AEE open on the same day, so the influence is about the same... on that particular hotel, yes, AEE has an effect, but AEE doesn't have an effect on the prices at NYNY or Tropicana or whatever... and they are all priced insane for the same time period.

The ventian will likely not have very much space available for larger functions, as most of the other space is rented out to companies doing stuff for CES (display areas, product demos, and whatnot). It is almost impossible to get ballroom space from Wednesday to Sunday... stuff is all taken up and busy. I think you will see every bar, every room, and every hospitality suite overrun with CES geeks. Our show(s) are merely a drop in the bucket compared to CES attendance. 135,000+ people: http://www.cesweb.org/press/news/rd_...l.asp?id=10481

The AEE show is held with the CES show because there is a huge number of people in town, business types, who are usually travelling without a wife or other distractions, often alone or only with coworkers. They can easily slide away for a couple of hours to go drool on pornstars. AEE run one week later would not be anywhere near as successful a show, attendance wise. Moving the Internext show to the days right after that wouldn't help very much, as the hotel rooms are still pricey and would require most companies to pay high price rooms anyway for setup time and whatnot.

It is truly a no win situation.

The only thing it does do is make the Florida show hotel prices look sweet.

Alex

Alex - I guess you kinda echoed my point - having AEE and Internext at the same time is ridiculous - and causes the people that want to go to Internext for the opportunities it provides (networking, making new contacts) totally impossible so it defeats the purpose of Internext. Now having AEE and CES at the same time makes sense - and always has. But remember they always started the last day of Internext in the past so that if people from Internext wanted to stick around they could - for the Webmasters (which was the original purpose of Internext - the internet part of the business) they got to go to a show for a reasonable cost, do business, and network as well as party, five out awards etc.

Because of the changes in the last year and a half, we now see that less than 10% of the sponsors that cater just to webmasters even bother to show up at Internext anymore, the awards have moved to a different event and the only webmasters that can afford to go are established people that can part with 2k - and thats to go see a show that doesnt help them as much as if they used their icq and posted on boards a little more :)

Alex - you and I have been going to these for some time, and we always hook up for the gathering of new contacts, the parties(LOL even if you do leave early) and where do we end up most of the time - talking away from the show floor, or at one suite or another playing poker because the show has no attraction whatsoever anymore other than to get us in the same place at the same time

I think Im going to set up a 4 day stint every year at my house where I can house probably 100 people, and just start doing the same thing for free - Ill even get Pussycash to sponsor it LOL

I am not a fan of the two shows at the same time thing as you would probably assume. We haven't done a booth at the Expo for years - just banners, though this year we are going for kiosks and banners. We haven't been big fans of doing booths at shows for quite a while but we still do one at Internext for a variety of reasons... the bottom line is that it has been good for biz in spite of the pain in the ass and expense goes into it.

We are completely fed up with Venetian and have been staying elsewhere now for better prices (bellagio, and this year we have the "rainman" suite in Caesars - I think the walk to the sands will be better than walking from the rooms at venetian to tell you the truth).

All the hotel's pricing actually jump like that for the CES trust me because I have been doing these shows since the adult expo was still part of CES.

Another thing to consider - We just can't go anywhere with this show because not everyone will welcome a bunch of dirty filthy evil vile pornographers anywhere. Due to past behaviour elsewhere certain places have banned us forever.

My feeling is they really try to do the best with what they have and deserve some slack for that reason.

I totally understand that - and actually I have never had a problem paying Venetians prices in the past - and of course paid them again this time - of course at a real reduced rate due to getting the reservations in 6 months ago - but I guess I have to step back and think about all of the people this has harmed - I know many "medium level" webmasters - the general population of people that do this for a living - not a hobby - but have not grown to the level of pulling in a great income - they are still building and have been around 3 years or so - these webmasters (and I have to keep using that term since to me Internext is about webmasters ONLY - and all the programs etc that revolve around that industry) cannot attend their premier industry event because the people that run the event cant figure out how to schedule it a week later - in the same place - or for that matter - wrangle out a new contract because they won't - not because they can't.
Like I said in an earlier post - they are driving away 90% of the population that they are trying to reach - and they have been told about it for two years now. I guess it's just a matter of time (or something a little more drastic) before this whole event goes away.

Agreed on what Linkster said.

If AVN REALLY wanted to have the show after the AEE & CSS they would.

My room is booked at $320 a night, I'm flying from Canada so more expensive and the badge is $250 (about). So it is costing me and my wife to go roughly $3000 before I eat and drink.

$3000+ is insane! A normal webmaster making a decent living probably cannot afford to go and if they can is it justifiable to go? Maybe...maybe not.

If this show was afterwards and the bades were still $125 then rooms at TI and Harrahs and other places would be $50-99 a night. Drawing in waaaaaaaay more regular webmasters.

I was at the CEA (advisory board) a few weeks ago and raised the question about CES running the same time as the Adult shows and the president of CEA told me they plan it that way on purpose because they get at least 1/2 day extra out of the attendees before they run to see the pornstars which ups their numbers every year and provides relatively 'free' entertainment for the attendees.

This week was SEMA, an equally sized show and directly across the street at the Rivera was Adultcon which was just a huge room of girls 99% naked, signing autographs for 20.00 and the line was out the door into the street.

****a bit of a tip**** it's a bit farther from the Venetian, but the strip has added 50 new double decker buses and the Stardust has fairly good rooms. Also if you want to stay "off strip" even cheaper, there will be transportation from the Rio for CES to the Sands.. so you could stay at the Rio (mildly expensive) Palms (mildly expensive) or the Gold Coast (cheap)

Edit: One thing if you are coming, you might want to do is register for CES. It's free you just have to say you are in purchasing or something. But it's a great show to see the latest technology and several new platforms that will eventually be in need of content delivery.