Wednesday, May 7, 2008

HEROESCON :: Host Hotel Rate At Hilton Live!

Well, it took a lot longer than we thought, but we announced this morning through a special edition of the Heroes Hotline that we've signed a contract with the Hilton Charlotte Center City as this year's HeroesCon host hotel!

Some longtime HeroesCon attendees will be scratching their heads and wondering, "But I thought it was the Westin", but the reason it was taking so long is that the Westin just wouldn't give us the LARGE number of rooms we would need for all of you, at a good price. The Hilton really stepped into the breach: the HeroesCon rate is just $99/night! You can reserve your rooms at the Hilton now by called 704.377.1500 or toll-free at 1.800.HILTONS.

The Hilton is going to be really great for us this year--for one thing, it's a little closer: you can see the side entrance to the hotel from our Registration Booth in the Convention Center! Plus, last year they performed a 25 million dollar renovation to the hotel, upgrading all the rooms and beds, so it's sure to be a sumptuous experience! And best of all (speaking as a reformed smoker), the entire hotel is non-smoking now. I understand that this might not be so good for you smokers, but I'm excited at least.

For those of you who really prefer the Westin, though, Shelton was able to negotiate a very small number of rooms there at the old $99/night rate, just as a courtesy. Those are sure to be gone super-fast. We're encouraging those of you without a real preference to get your room at the Hilton, because that's where all the hobnobbing is going to be!

I announced this through the Heroes Hotline several hours ago: if you're not on our weekly newsletter list, you can sign up here. We're happy to answer any questions you might have, but please realize that our phones are already ringing off the hook, AND it's Wednesday, so we're in the middle of getting all the new books counted and on the racks. I'll be at my computer all day, so feel free to post questions in the Comments section, and I'll answer them right away. Or if you just don't like me at all, you can give us a call at 704.375.7462.

And that's not all! More big news is coming--CRAZY news! But for now we wanted to let you know about the hotel, not to mention thank you all for your great patience as we worked to get you the best deal we could. Thanks!

12 comments:

Neil said...

Thanks for your help with the hotel Dustin. I'm booked and counting down the days.

Kody Chamberlain said...

looks like I missed the cutoff date for the hotel. What other hotels are in the area?

Dustin Harbin said...

No cutoff, Kody--what do you mean? If they said a certain night or nights has sold out when you call, that just mean our block needs to be expanded. The easiest thing to do is just go ahead and make your reservation at whatever price, and then call back tomorrow morning or whenever and change the reservation to the HeroesCon rate, after that block is expanded. I know it's crazy, but if you trust me, together we can land this plane.

nicholas said...

i just booked a room at the non-con rate, because they said the rooms were sold out; is the block still going to be expanded?

Dustin Harbin said...

Yes. Shelton calls every morning to check on things, so if they haven't already bumped up the number of rooms, they will when he calls.

Yowza! Those rooms are selling faster than even we expected, and we expected them to go FAST!

Anonymous said...

The folks who make reservations at Hilton Charlotte Center City are rude! I called 3 times trying to book and room and the first 2 people said there was no rate. Then I found out they were booked solid. No one tells you, Hey call back in a day or two and more rooms will be available instead you get tough luck. I fell bad as Shelton went to bat to get us great rooms at an awesome price and I fell the hotel isnt holding up their end of the bargin.

Dustin Harbin said...

Holy smokes! I'll get Shelton on this right away--he's good at knocking heads together in a way that gets results.

Shelton Drum said...

Hey Phoenix--I just called the 1-800-HILTONS reservation number and got the HeroesCon rate quoted to me only after dragging it out of the operator. You MUST state you are with the Heroes Convention and ask for the special rate.

I tried to impress upon her that it would be nice, and help sell more hotel rooms for Hilton if they were to ask callers if they are with a group or convention.

Please give them another call and DEMAND that rate! We want to fill every last room in that hotel with HEROES!

Anonymous said...

I did say Heroes Con and Heroes are Hard to Find rates and had those horrific results. I will try again but if they are like this on the phone, I am wondering how it will be to stay there.......

They better be kissing the ground you walk on Shelton for all the business you are bring them!

Thank you very very much for all your help and look forward to seeing you at con!

Shelton Drum said...

It really is a nice hotel. The national reservation line is not located on-site, so hopefully they are no preview of the hotel staff. We have worked with the Hilton for years and have always enjoyed it. And it is soooo convenient!

Anonymous said...

Wow, I never did get the announcement or email that the Heroes Rate was available, so I'm glad we were able to get into the Westin. I can understand the frustrations about the Hilton. We've been coming to HeroesCon for four years now, and only stayed at the Hilton once, and it was a horrible experience. The room service and responses from staff on problems with the room were really bad, and it took a couple hours just to get an extra towel (not exaggerating!). I also almost cut my hand open on the light fixture in the bathroom that was half hanging out of the wall. I'm glad to hear they did some renovations and I hope everyone has a good experience this year with the Hilton, but my wife and I are glad to be back at the Westin.

Now if only I could get those guys at Chimera Media to send my 2005 HeroesCon documentary that I paid for! LOL

Chris & Donna Galvan
Madison Heights, MI

Dustin Harbin said...

The Galvans! You guys are like the heads of our fan club--I wonder why you didn't get the announcement? Are you not on our Heroes Hotline list? I've heard these sorts of stories about the Hilton from the past year, but Shelton has assured me that the Hilton Charlotte has stepped up across the board, the better to compete with other high-end hotels uptown. We are expecting greatly improved service and accomodations this year and in the future.