Re: [guadec-list] Guadec Planning Meeting Notes - 20th January 2007

[Rob Bradford <rob robster org uk>]

On Wed, 2007-01-31 at 14:46 +1300, Glynn Foster wrote:

> >      *  Do we include lunch with registration if possible?
> >      *  Venue has set caterers, and is not flexible on this. We need to
> >         know what they provide and if it is suitable.
> >      *  Another possibility would be to ask a nearby hotel if they could
> >         do any catering at a reasonable cost
> >      *  Packed lunch style catering may be another option if we run out
> >         of other options.
> >      *  Lunch might only be provided during core days to keep costs down,
> >         and to allow more flexibility. There are plenty of eating places
> >         nearby ranging from cheap fast-food to supermarkets to more
> >         expensive eateries.
> >      *  Lunch will be an hour and a half which should allow plenty of
> >         time for impromptu meetings and discussions.
> 
> In previous years we've had trouble with catering, mostly because everyone likes
> to eat different foods (or have different religious backgrounds). Having options
> close to or at the conference venue is awesome, but might not be the best bet to
> include it as part of registration or as an official contract that we'd enter in
> IMO.


Whenever I have had lunch provided by conferences it's always been a bit
rubbish. The choices are usually small and not to everyones taste. The
wide range of eateries in the surrounding area should be sufficient and
should mean that everyone gets fed to their liking. This also gives
people the choice of either grabbing a quick lunch and hacking away or
instead taking a relaxed sit-down lunch.

On a related issue make sure you choose a sensible time for lunch,
ultimately this depends on the start time for the conference but
avoiding the 12:30-13:30 peak might be a good idea.

Cheers,

Rob
-- 
Rob Bradford <rob robster org uk>