We’re very pleased to be able to tell you that we have signed a contract and confirmed our event dates to hold Conversation at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole at the NEC, from Friday 7 to Monday 10 April 2023.
Innominate, the 2017 Eastercon, was held there, so you may be familiar with the site. In the meantime, the hotel’s public rooms and bedrooms have been refurbished, and ventilation systems upgraded to reduce Covid risk. It’s a large hotel and we expect to have plenty of space to safely welcome you all.
We will be opening hotel bookings shortly, and will keep you updated. We do not expect to run out of hotel rooms. Our hotel rates are not fixed in the way that some Eastercons have been; instead, our arrangement with the Metropole is that our convention booking rate will represent a discount on the best generally available rate. This means that rates may vary, and in particular may rise, as we get closer to the convention.
The hotel is large, and has many rooms adapted to be accessible. Please let us know (at access@conversation2023.org.uk ) if you have any concerns or unmet needs.
You should be aware that, as is usual for Eastercons, our contract with the Metropole is contingent on our taking a number of rooms within our block. Please do not book separately with the hotel. We will have plenty of rooms in our block and we expect our rate, which will include breakfast, to be better than you can get elsewhere.
Now that we’ve announced the site we will shortly be increasing our membership rates. We’d be very grateful if you could remind all your friends who are planning to come that they should join the convention at this early rate.
Expect to see more information from us soon about booking hotel rooms, booking for the dealers’ room and fan tables, and the timing and details of our initial rise in membership rates.
This has been a difficult year for site negotiations. We are very grateful to Vanessa May and the Persistence committee for providing the continuity with this site that has given us this outcome.
Caroline Mullan, Conversation 2023 Chair
Just had the e-mail that room booking is now open and jumped straight in there. I have also seen that the Bear Grylls adventure is close by so might visit that at some point to have a go at axe throwing and archery. Elliot fancies the diving with sharks activity.
“Many” rooms adapted to be accessible? How many, at this point? Last time I was there for a convention they had only 8 that were genuinely accessible, most of which couldn’t fit more than a single bed, and they were allotting them first come first served regardless of booking or how long ago they’d *been* booked. Also, the restaurants didn’t have anything I could safely eat (I got food poisoning). Have those things improved? As a wheelchair user, given my existing experience of that particular hotel, I think I’d rather wait until someone can confirm these things have changed before I work out whether I can afford to attend in person. Thanks.
Hi Tria
Thank you for raising your concerns. Please bear with us on this – I’ve passed it to the Access team who will be in touch.
In the meantime, here is our standard Access Policy.
You may also want to consider whether Online membership might suit you – we will be streaming the vast majority of our programme, and providing channels for interaction with other members.
Caroline
Chair
Hello. Will you be publishing the covid access policy soon? Thanks!
Hi Jack. We’re working on it this month and hope to have something to say soon. Thank you for asking.