I've submitted to teach painting this year. It will be my first time running a Gencon event. I listed myself as a group which I believe make me eligible to receive a no-cost badge... However, I'd also read here that events tend to not get approved till a few days before event registration goes live. It's important to me as an attendee to have an active pass so that I can book events to attend as soon as events go live... Will waiting for a free vendor badge slow me down on this and cause me to miss booking event the moment events go live?
Are you generating enough player hours to qualify for a complimentary badge?
Have you requested a badge allocation for your “group”?
As an aside, its a complementary GM badge, its not a vendor badge and you have to pick it up from the GM HQ. It doesn’t get mailed out to you.
I’m not an event organizer, some one who is can chime in if I’m wrong, but I thought you buy a badge then get it refunded before the convention if you qualify for a complimentary badge from a group.
I have run events the last several years at Gen Con and my badge reimbursement has been handled two different ways.
First method, I get my badge, submit my events, and schedule the events that I will participate in but not run. I turn in my tickets at Gen Con and submit a request for reimbursement within two weeks of the end of the convention. My badge is a standard four day badge, but it can be sent to me so I did not have to wait in any lines. Gen Con then sends me my reimbursement in the mail.
Second method, I get my badge, submit my events, and schedule the events that I will participate in but not run. However, I send a request to Gen Con prior to the convention for a GM Badge. They then refund the cost of my badge and issue me a GM badge to be picked up on Wednesday evening at GM HQ. All of my events go to the new badge and I still turn my tickets in at Gen Con and only ask for reimbursement if there is an extra fee associated with my events.
Gen Con staff will tell you to review the Event Host Policy as it is all explained in there. However, I know it can be confusing so asking for clarification here or directly to Gen Con staff is fine in my opinion. Just know that they get busy and may not be able to directly answer every question posed to them.
Good luck!
Yeah, was hoping to just confirm the flow here as a first timer. Maybe anyone who is running events this year could confirm?
I have submitted to teach 3 painting classes which would generate enough hours to qualify for a complimentary badge. I have submitted these events as a "group" under my miniature painting company name.
If I read the EO/host policy PDF properly then when events are approved (a few weeks before the public event registration opens?) then I would have the ability to request a complimentary badge via the EO/GM dashboard and that would be applied to my account in time for me to register for events on the date they go live to the public.
That's my understanding based on this document https://files.gencon.com/genconeventhostpolicy.pdf - pages 18 and 19.
But wanted to confirm that w/ either someone from Gencon or someone who knows from experience. Just making sure I'm not failing to do anything as a first time EO/GM.
Mike Boozer Customer Service & Event Team Manager Gen Con LLC
It looks me you are right on track and doing every thing correct.
I have been a GM a few years. If it is important to you to attend specific events I 100% recomend you purchase a 4 day badge then get reimbursed for the purchase later. If you wait for your complimentary GM badge to get assigned you are stacking several deadlines very close together and hoping not to hit any snags. Personally I tell my team if they want to register for events they need a purchased badge and after their events have been booked then we can get the badge refunded. It is possible your events might not get approved till the last minute, then you have to also wait till GC staff get to your badge request before you can book any events to attend. Luck.