I certainly never characterized FAU as 'unsuccessful. In the changing world of cons, to make it past the ten year mark is an achievement. I guess the size thing is part of the US mentality. "Go big, or go home". My local convention is FurFright, and it had been self limited at 1500 for years. It now has a new hotel, and the limits have been lifted.
That is a real issue. As cons pass ten thousand attendees, it gets hard to find places to hold them. As society becomes more 'virtual' the demand for huge indoor spaces has diminished. Therefore, the choice of places to hold them is as well. Plus, huge venues are booked VERY far in advance. So, in that respect, it's easier to book a small con. Even there, hotels have changed. Lots of hotels were configured for the business trade. Now, it's mostly weddings. The layouts that we are used to are consistent with business hotels. Again, fewer hotels to chose from.
Finally, you need a war chest. Takes a lot of money to roll out a con- probably 10-50k in most cases.
One exception to this was Camp Tiny Paws. Designed for artists and crafters, I get the impression that this was done on a low budget, but they pulled it off. We'll see how they survive the pandemic.
Again, I've been to a Con with 100 total attendees and had a great time. Small cons are like big fur meets, but are fun in that everyone gets to know one another and socialize. Huge cons are mostly rushing from one big event to another, and if you socialize, it's generally with people you arranged to meet beforehand.
I certainly never characterized FAU as 'unsuccessful. In the changing world of cons, to make it past the ten year mark is an achievement. I guess the size thing is part of the US mentality. "Go big, or go home". My local convention is FurFright, and it had been self limited at 1500 for years. It now has a new hotel, and the limits have been lifted.
That is a real issue. As cons pass ten thousand attendees, it gets hard to find places to hold them. As society becomes more 'virtual' the demand for huge indoor spaces has diminished. Therefore, the choice of places to hold them is as well. Plus, huge venues are booked VERY far in advance. So, in that respect, it's easier to book a small con. Even there, hotels have changed. Lots of hotels were configured for the business trade. Now, it's mostly weddings. The layouts that we are used to are consistent with business hotels. Again, fewer hotels to chose from.
Finally, you need a war chest. Takes a lot of money to roll out a con- probably 10-50k in most cases.
One exception to this was Camp Tiny Paws. Designed for artists and crafters, I get the impression that this was done on a low budget, but they pulled it off. We'll see how they survive the pandemic.
Again, I've been to a Con with 100 total attendees and had a great time. Small cons are like big fur meets, but are fun in that everyone gets to know one another and socialize. Huge cons are mostly rushing from one big event to another, and if you socialize, it's generally with people you arranged to meet beforehand.