THE COST OF PASSION: A True Scenario of Organizing a Dance Convention (2020 Revised Version)
In recent years, the dance festival and congress scene has exploded in popularity, with events happening every weekend all over the world even in the same city. Organizers work tirelessly to bring these events to life, but often face financial challenges and high stakes. In this breakdown, we will examine the true costs and risks faced by organizers in the dance industry.
Let's take a closer look at the breakdown of costs for organizing a dance festival or congress:
Hotel Deposit: To secure a venue, organizers typically have to pay a non-refundable deposit. In this scenario, the deposit is $2000-5000.
Ballroom Rental: The cost of renting a ballroom for the event is $20,000-50,000, which is due three months before the event.
Room Blocks: Organizers also have to set aside a certain number of hotel rooms for attendees. In this case (in some of mine), 347 room nights are reserved, costing $60,000. If the room block sales do not meet the minimum occupancy of 80%, the organizer is responsible for paying for the empty rooms. They call this "attrition."
Staff Accommodation for 3 or 4 Days: Staff accommodations, including rooms for teachers and DJs, amount to $1000 and are due two weeks before the event.
Sound Equipment and Lighting: To ensure a high-quality experience, organizers invest in sound equipment, drapes, and lighting, totaling $6000 to 12,000.
Artist & DJ's Salary: The salaries for 24 artists and DJs, including those in the A&B lists, add up to $22,100.
Food: Providing food for staff and performers costs $4000+.
Flyers, Banners, Social Media Ads, PPC, Etc: Promotional materials and advertisements amount to $5000.
Adding up these costs, the initial sum comes out to be $89,500 for hotel-related expenses and $36,100 for other event costs.
Now, let's dive into the ticket sales:
In the first month of event announcement, 50 passes are sold at $99 each, generating an income of $4950. After deducting the hotel deposit of $1500, the remaining balance is $3450.
By the third month of event announcement, the ticket price is raised to $120, and 20 tickets are sold, generating $2400.
The total income from ticket sales is $5820, leaving the organizer with a balance of $7570 in the bank.
However, the hotel starts billing the organizer slowly, amounting to $28,000 for staff rooms and ballroom rental. This poses a significant financial challenge as the organizer has only $7570 available. In a bid to raise more funds, the ticket price is increased to $140 with a $25 discount from artist codes.
With this new pricing strategy, 50 tickets are sold for a total of $5750, bringing the balance in the bank to $7570 + $5750 = $13,120.
Struggling to pay the hotel bill, the organizer offers to pay $14,000 (half of the initial bill) when asking if the hotel would agree. The balance in the bank is now reduced to $7570.
With the goal of selling a minimum of 500 tickets before the festival, the organizer puts pressure on dance directors to encourage their dancers to purchase performance passes. This effort results in the sale of 120 tickets at $85 each, generating an income of $10,200. The total ticket sales now stand at 370, and the balance in the bank is $17,770.
As the event approaches, flights for the remaining artists are purchased, amounting to $6000 (or more, depending on which cities or countried they are coming from), bringing the balance in the bank to $11,770.
However, a hurdle arises when the hotel informs the organizer that only 40% of the hotel room sales have been met. If the occupancy does not reach 80%, the organizer will be required to pay the attrition fees before the festival.
At this point, all flights have been booked, and $14,000 has been paid to the hotel. The hotel is now pressuring the organizer to pay the remaining balance and attrition costs.
With only two weeks left before the festival, the hope is to see a surge in online ticket sales, with a best-case scenario of selling 50 to 100 additional tickets. However, failing to come up with the $14,000 and attrition costs may result in the hotel threatening to cancel the event or withholding access to the ballrooms. Cancellation of the event will still cost due to "cancellation fees."
One must also consider the additional costs that arise during this phase. The sound person demands half of the total bill before setting up, and the dancefloor person requires payment amounting to $6000 for room installations.
At this point, canceling the event becomes a risky option due to the hotel penalties, which total $120,000 (the entire cost of the ballroom and room blocks) in addition to refunding tickets already sold.
The alternative is to proceed with the event, but this means owing money to some artists and facing the final billing and attrition charges from the hotel, which takes a month to calculate.
Even if the organizer manages to pay all artists, the hotel bills, and other expenses, a profit may not be made and will be on "Red". However, organizers often consider such an outcome a "success," even if it means personal sacrifice and potential unintentional harm to their loved ones.
While failures may not be publicly acknowledged, organizers continue to pursue their passion, pouring their hearts into creating memorable events for the dance community and most of the time being subsidized by loved ones, their other jobs and other means. Convention organizers go through immense challenges and sacrifices out of pure passion. Despite the glamorous social media posts and videos showcasing the excitement and success of the event, behind the scenes, the organizer is often left with a financial burden. Whether they make a small profit or suffer a loss, the organizer is the one responsible for covering the expenses, even if it means dipping into their own pockets or seeking loans. Despite the event's success, the aftermath can be devastating, with some organizers experiencing severe emotional and mental tolls such as depression, strained relationships, and, tragically, even suicide or health issues like strokes. The true cost of organizing a convention goes far beyond the surface-level celebrations, highlighting the tremendous personal sacrifices made for the love of the event.
Handling Loss.
There are different ways to handle losses. At some point, a few months before the event, the promoter and the hotel would be able to assess if upcming lossess or profit is happening. They can aggressively market the event. They can cut artists from the line-up. They can start selling next year's passes. They can move to another cheaper venue. I'm sure there are a few more ways to do this without cancelling the entire event. The most important is that there is a venue where peopl,e can still take workshops and social dance. The negetive is the last minute changes in location and schedule. But then again, cancellation is out of the question unless it's a natural disaster or a labor dispute strikes as rthey are included in the Force Majeure section of the contract agreement (unforeseeable circumstances that prevent someone from fulfilling a contract.)
There is a disconnect between artists and organizers when it comes to communication, understanding, knowing and even sympathy. But at the end of the day, artists, djs, and promopters, they are on their own. It is si selfish and cuttthroat business, but still people still do it out of passion and other reasons.
- Article on https://rodneyaquino.blogspot.com/
Comments
Post a Comment