Thread: Turnfest on Gold Coast

Originally Posted by Sturdee

That I'm told before hand doesn't matter, the fact remains that those with their own accommodation are asked to pay more then those without is IMO a ripoff.


Peter.

Peter, on the face of it I agree with you. Have you ever asked the organisers why this is so?

Originally Posted by Big Shed

Peter, on the face of it I agree with you. Have you ever asked the organisers why this is so?

No I haven't Fred because as an old number cruncher the basic facts speak for themselves. No doubt the answer will be that those local are subsidizing those from further away to ease with the travel costs of those further away but I also have my own airfares.


Peter.

Hi guys,
In the first place it looks like a rip off,,,,, but having
been there , you have take in to account of the
extra, s ,,, there is evening entertainment, food
and refreshments etc.....and for the extra $165
you would be better staying at a 5star resort
than staying with auntie flo on a mattress on
the floor. just my opinion for what it, s worth
Cheers smiife

Originally Posted by smiife

Hi guys,
In the first place it looks like a rip off,,,,, but having
been there , you have take in to account of the
extra, s ,,, there is evening entertainment, food
and refreshments etc.....and for the extra $165
you would be better staying at a 5star resort
than staying with auntie flo on a mattress on
the floor. just my opinion for what it, s worth
Cheers smiife

I agree smilife. The meal value in itself is significant and you are entitled to breakfast, lunch and dinner regardless of if you stop at the resort or not. Worth every cent.

I will be there
Thanks Andrew

Originally Posted by Sturdee

No I haven't Fred because as an old number cruncher the basic facts speak for themselves. No doubt the answer will be that those local are subsidizing those from further away to ease with the travel costs of those further away but I also have my own airfares.


Peter.

Hi Peter,
I believe You should should get your facts straight. Then you would understand before sledging myself and a great event.
The total cost to attend Turnfest is $495-00 which includes GST and is Twin share which is stated on the website and registration forms. (Which is two per room for the uninitiated)
So the charge for accommodation from the resort to myself is $135-00 per room per night which is far from their usual charge.
So when you divide 2 nights @ $270-00 between 2 persons is $135-00 each, deduct this from the $495-00 and you get $360-00. So if you pay $400 to attend by staying at home you still receive all aspects of Turnfest.

I am sure you would not begrudge me charging $35-00 to cover the extra admin charge and policing of the guests who should not have accommodation.

And yes any guest that stays at home still receives all that Turnfest has to offer which is fully catered and 16 of the worlds best presenters that do not work for peanuts.

I challenge you to deliver the same at a better price.
I do not open Turnfest to day visitors as not to disadvantage and upset my guests.
Many of my guests pay in excess of $1000 to attend Turnfest, when you take into account airfares etc and I know if that was myself and there was a person in the front row with the ear of the demonstrator at a fraction of the cost I would be annoyed.

I treat everyone as equal and do not allow day passes.
I think you should get your facts in order before you openly slander people.
Attend Turnfest and I guarantee you would never question it. I welcome your reply and open to discuss on the telephone.
Regards
David J Drescher
owner/organiser of Turnfest

Originally Posted by WOODY70

I believe You should should get your facts straight. Then you would understand before sledging myself and a great event.

I did get my facts right and to quote your new accommodation figures my calculation is as follows:

The charge for accommodation of the resort to you is $ 135 per room per night. As this is twin share the amount is paid by both the room sharers not withstanding the charge to you per room is only $ 135.

So if we take 2 nights at $ 135 per night (= $ 270) paid by both persons the room charge component p.p. is still $270 and not halved as in your post. Deduct this from the entry fee of $ 495 and the non room charge part is $ 225 compared to $ 400 which you charge. Bit different then your claimed $ 35 to cover the extra admin charge and policing of the guests who should not have accommodation.

You should also note that I did not sledge Turnfest or you but I challenged the price discrimination that you put on those that have access to local accommodation.

As I live in Melbourne I would have double airfares, for my wife and myself, but would stay at my wife's parents who live in Burleigh Heads. So I too would be paying in excess of a $ 1000 if I were to attend but I would never go whilst there is this price discrimination against those that have access to local accommodation.

Peter.

Love to go. Will work on next year


Dave the turning cowboy

turning wood into art

Originally Posted by Sturdee

I did get my facts right and to quote your new accommodation figures my calculation is as follows:

The charge for accommodation of the resort to you is $ 135 per room per night. As this is twin share the amount is paid by both the room sharers not withstanding the charge to you per room is only $ 135.

So if we take 2 nights at $ 135 per night (= $ 270) paid by both persons the room charge component p.p. is still $270 and not halved as in your post. Deduct this from the entry fee of $ 495 and the non room charge part is $ 225 compared to $ 400 which you charge. Bit different then your claimed $ 35 to cover the extra admin charge and policing of the guests who should not have accommodation.

You should also note that I did not sledge Turnfest or you but I challenged the price discrimination that you put on those that have access to local accommodation.

As I live in Melbourne I would have double airfares, for my wife and myself, but would stay at my wife's parents who live in Burleigh Heads. So I too would be paying in excess of a $ 1000 if I were to attend but I would never go whilst there is this price discrimination against those that have access to local accommodation.

Peter.

I am sorry Peter your calculations are not correct.
The two nights at a total of $270-00 is not paid by both but split by 2.
Total room charge for two nights is $270-00 which is the twin share rate divide by 2 is $135-00

so if two persons booked and in the same room the total is $990-00
if the same 2 were with no accommodation it's $800-00

I hope this is now clear for you.

I do not rip people off!!!!!
David

David,

Thanks for another great Turnfest. As you know, us mob from Darwin never miss this event and have been paying way above what the "southerners" do in getting there. I don't think any of us have ever whinged or complained to you about the costs involve, even for the extra nights.
This event showcases what we Darwinites never have the chance to see up here. I think you bringing in the younger overseas turners was a great move and it shows that expert woodturners are not all old. I still can't believe what Robert Howard does with his hand carved, ribbed hollow forms. Great stuff.
The best thing this year was that two of us from Darwin won three signed works by Jean Francois Escoulen after 9 years of trying to win a prize.
Once again David, another well organised Turnfest and we Darwinites will be there again next year.
RIP Bill

DS

One thing to consider when costing such an event is the demonstrator cost.

For most people to go and see any individual demonstrator you may have to pay up to $500.00 for a days fees which are then divided up by the amount of people attending

To get the amount of demonstrators that David has in one place at one time is very expensive so no one club would put up their hand to organise this.

You get some of the worlds best come to you for a couple of days and you learn some of their ways of doing this and they are all on hand to chat afterwards.

To go overseas to their shops and pay them would be horrendously expensive so the fees David charges for what you get is miniscule compared to the knowledge you leave with.

Yes we are lucky in this country to have some of the worlds best in our clubs giving freely every week to anyone who has a question, but Turnfest can give you more than you can take.

Originally Posted by Jim Carroll

One thing to consider when costing such an event is the demonstrator cost.

Our local club is hosting Jimmy Clews for 2 days next month.

Jimmy's fees and our share of the airfares amount to 2.5 grand.

On top of that there are the other costs associated with running the workshop.

$500 per day is cheap, real cheap.

Cheers

Tim

Originally Posted by Tim the Timber Turner

Our local club is hosting Jimmy Clews for 2 days next month.

Jimmy's fees and our share of the airfares amount to 2.5 grand.

On top of that there are the other costs associated with running the workshop.

$500 per day is cheap, real cheap.

Cheers

Tim

I look at it from another point of view - how much would it cost for me to go to see them? Turnfest offers very good value IMO.