I like this idea, Iolanda. It makes sense to have more people attend the
conference proper than buy into catering and parties.  And also makes sense
to let the whole world listen to the lectures.

Though for events that are expected to be oversold, you might need another
solution, since not everyone will fit in the main room.  But there can be
overflow rooms streaming the session for everyone.

Sam.

On Mon, Mar 24, 2014 at 1:53 PM, Iolanda Pensa <[email protected]> wrote:
> I have looked at past editions[1].
> In general there have been differences of registration costs for
participants (mainly a difference between Wikimedia contributor with
username or not), but the registration cost never covered the actual cost
per participant (including catering, participant package and parties - the
costs that normally registration costs cover).
>
> personally I think:
> * attending the conference and its sessions should be free (it is the
Plato legacy and also in Italy universities do the same: you don't pay to
listen, you pay for additional services :) The only payment which might be
necessary is only if an insurance is needed (and the cost would be the cost
of the personal insurence only).
> * services should be covered by the registration fee: catering,
participant package and parties. This also means that there should be much
more scholarships available (for volunteers, contributors, people we want
to target specifically).
> * general costs (i.e. venue, technical, promotional materials,
communication, keynotes) should be covered by sponsors and donors.
>
> this system is much more transparent. People can attend the conference
without having lunch in the venue (a sandwich in a cafe or a self-service
menu is always cheaper than the catering), without a printed booklet and
t-shirt and without going to the party. Also if they do not use those
services, in any case they will have to register (this facilitates the
planning).
> At the same time scholarship and institutions normally cover registration
costs; this means that staff from chapters, WMF, universities and
institutions attending Wikimania will cover a reasonable cost per person
(and indeed they will not benefit from not covering those costs).
>
> Registration could be 200 $ (for 3 lunches 30$ each, the participant's
package 10$, and two parties 50 $ each).
> Higher registration costs (differences between pre-registration and
registration and between institutions and volunteers/contributors) can be
used to contribute to scholarships.
> iolanda / iopensa
>
> [1] The data available are not very precise but here is a comparative
summery https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania/Comparative#Registrationand
you can find in the upper menu the details for each conference when
information are available.
>
> Il giorno 23/mar/2014, alle ore 00:21, Samuel Klein <[email protected]>
ha scritto:
>
>> Proposed prices for Wikimania tickets continue to seem artificially
>> low. I'm not sure what the benefit to this is. Could people who have
>> run events in other contexts comment on how you set ticket prices?
>>
>> In my experience, tickets are set at roughly what it costs for each
>> person to attend. Then there may be different sorts of tickets: for
>> local supporters & volunteers, for school groups, for students &
>> community members, presenters, VIPs & sponsors. Sponsorship helps
>> ensure how many tickets of each type there are. Last-minute tickets
>> are more expensive.
>>
>> This has a few benefits:
>> * tickets fully cover the cost of food and materials
>> * tickets contribute significantly to covering the cost of the event
>> * scholarships and reimbursements for attendance (for scholars,
>> professionals, academics all getting covered by their home
>> institutions), in paying for tickets, cover the full cost of those
>> people attending the event.
>> * more accurate headcounts in advance.
>>
>> Warmly,
>> Sam
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Wikimania-l mailing list
>> [email protected]
>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l
>
>
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-- 
Samuel Klein @metasj w:user:sj +1 617 529 4266
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