Re: [Debconf-team] Online rooms booking systems
On 23/01/13 20:54, Philip Hands wrote:
> Daniel Pocock <daniel@pocock.com.au> writes:
>
>> On 23/01/13 18:17, Gaudenz Steinlin wrote:
>>> Daniel Pocock <daniel@pocock.com.au> writes:
>>>
>>>> Philipp Hug <debian@hug.cx> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>> choosing rooms by algorithm only is a sure recipe for desaster.
>>>>>
>>>>> I don't think we should automatically assign rooms.
>>>>> It's better if we let the attendees choose their own room according to
>>>>> availability.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Can we come up with some solution where people pay and then manage
>>>> their exact location/room mates through a wiki page?
>>>
>>> I don't think that's a good idea because a wiki does not ensure that no
>>> room will be overbooked or else enforce any allocation rules we might
>>> want to set. It will create a lot of chaos I fear.
>>>
>>
>>
>> I wasn't proposing a complete free-for-all
>>
>> Another possibility is to use a shopping cart to sell the beds. The
>> `stock level' feature of the cart software could be used to limit the
>> number of beds sold. People then organise themselves however they like
>> through private communications (whether it be wiki, email or whatever)
>>
>> The only risk is that people have to accept that if they don't organise
>> themselves into a group for a room, they will be allocated to any
>> available bed at random on arrival - but thanks to the stock-level
>> mechanism, nobody would miss out on the category of bed they actually
>> paid for.
>
> Has anyone that's been responsible for doing the room allocation bit of
> debconf actually contributed any views to any of these threads yet?
That would be good - but also remember that every DebConf is different.
This one has a rigid accommodation structure with differing tiers and a
maximum bed count, so it does not extrapolate from (pick some other DebConf)
> I fear that without their input all these ideas that are kicking around
> will just turn out to be noise what one of them turns up and points out
> the (probably several) fatal flaws.
>
> I'd be happy to be wrong about that of course.
>
> I think we normally do a lot better than allocating rooms at random, and
> even so there are still gripes about it, and last minute changes, so as an
> uninvolved observer that approach seems likely to end badly.
>
> Also, I'd like to know what our past no-show and last-minute-booking
> rates are, as I have a feeling that they're high enough to break any
> assumptions along the lines of "just get people to book way in advance,
> and it'll be fine". At least there seem to have been times when the
> accommodation team was having to work much harder than you'd expect if
> those assumptions were true.
I can confirm that I was one of the troublesome last minute latecomers
for Managua, I only decided to come 1 week before. Given the
convenience of traveling within continental Europe, I would guess that
the rate of last minute bookings could be higher and it would be nice to
be able to welcome them all with open arms.
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