[Lnc-business] convention duration and costs

Tue Sep 2 11:15:02 EDT 2014

Dan, I'll just list several areas where I see large savings potential 
without looking up all the details and writing up a formal report. I 
believe a formal request would have to come from the chair, the LNC, or 
a convention committee.

1. Choose a hotel that offers reasonably low pricing and terms. For 
example, in 2014 and 2012, staff recommended lower cost hotels than were 
chosen. There was a much lower cost hotel in Las Vegas (but still good 
quality). But still convenient to fly to for most of the U.S.
2. Memorial Day weekend conventions typically cost less than other 
weekends. If candidates are too busy campaigning, that's fine. I think 
the extra attendance at Memorial Weekend conventions is higher than the 
loss of candidates who prefer campaigning.
3. Shorten the convention a little (as Mr. Olsen suggested).
4. Those lunches and dinners cost like $40 to $80 per person at the 
hotels we've been choosing. Yet, we don't usually have a food and 
beverage minimum that requires us to buy as much as we do, and could 
choose hotels that minimize that.
5. A/V costs could be cut significantly.  $10k+. Use the screens in some 
of the breakout rooms that LPHQ has. Use a single screen at the front of 
the convention hall.
6. Those vertical state delegation signs used in Columbus cost about 
$2,500 but we already had a set we could have re-used. Now we have two sets.
7. Let staff make the convention website--which doesn't take long (we 
did that this year), but not in prior years.
8. Cut back on the speaker travel, meal and hotel expenses. You can get 
decent speakers for free or at lower cost. And you can have fewer meals 
and meal speakers. That way delegates can mingle more, or go to training 
sessions. You could probably sell speaking slots in some cases.
9. Keep staff travel expenses to a minimum. That was done very well this 
year.
10. Printed material costs could be cut in half by printing earlier at 
low cost printers instead of at the last minute at FedEx-Kinkos.
11. Staff tends to not like spending lots of money because we have to 
raise most of it. Non-staff convention organizers have typically been 
given authority to spend without oversight on many expenditures. With 
more oversight, suggested savings can be proposed.
12. "Right-size" the space. Which means be open to reserving a slightly 
smaller space. If attendance starts shooting through the roof, then let 
half the states sit in "class-room" style seating (with tables in front 
of each row of chairs), and the other half of the states sit in 
"theatre-style" seating in the back third of the room (no table in front 
of them--you keep your papers on your lap or under your chair).

It all adds up fast. If all of the above were done to a significant 
degree, perhaps a $40,000 convention could be done. But I'd keep the 
budget at $60k to leave plenty of wiggle room.

If staff were formally requested to provide a convention proposal, I'd 
start by brainstorming with Robert Kraus about where a few good cities 
might be with potential for low cost venues (still nice national chain 
hotels--but ones with lower than average prices), then I'd pick a few 
good hotels from those cities. That's not been our process recently. 
It's more been about selecting a state or city. Then picking a hotel. 
Cost has been further down on the list of priorities.

Yes I'm too busy, but hopefully this email has the potential so help 
save at least $10,000 to $20,000 in future savings.
I'm fully expecting the LNC to steal all of my ideas above and not stick 
staff with putting on the convention. : )

Wes Benedict, Executive Director
Libertarian National Committee, Inc.
*New address: 1444 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314*
(202) 333-0008 ext. 232, wes.benedict at lp.org
facebook.com/libertarians @LPNational
Join the Libertarian Party at: http://lp.org/membership

On 9/1/2014 9:16 PM, Daniel Hayes wrote:
> Wes,
>
> I am a little lost here..Not sure where Mr Olsen's referenced email 
> is.  If there are blatant unneeded expenses then please share those 
> here with us Wes. Consider this a formal request from the District 7 
> Regional Alternate for the information.
>
> Daniel Hayes
> On Aug 31, 2014, at 4:07 PM, Wes Benedict <wes.benedict at lp.org 
> <mailto:wes.benedict at lp.org>> wrote:
>
>> I'm confident a survey of members would show people would prefer 
>> shorter conventions. (I think that's what Mr. Olsen is suggesting 
>> below.) I don't recall that question being asked in a survey in 
>> recent years. But I do hear the complaint quite often that the 
>> conventions are too long, too boring, too much parliamentary 
>> theatrics, and too expensive. Shorter would be less boring and less 
>> expensive. Training could more easily be fit in before the convention 
>> for those that enjoy hanging around for more days. And for those that 
>> try to squeeze in local sight-seeing, a shorter convention would make 
>> it easier for delegates to join their families. One less average 
>> hotel night per convention would be a great goal.
>>
>> LP Texas had over 300 attendees at its 2014 convention at a cheap 
>> venue. I don't know the total budget, but I'd like be interested in 
>> knowing. And I'll take a guess it cost $25,000.
>>
>> The 2014 national convention in Ohio cost over $120,000.
>>
>> I'm pretty confident Robert Kraus and I could design a pretty good 
>> 2018 national convention for 400 to 700 delegates that cost $60,000. 
>> That's because he and I know of a lot of costs at the 2010, 2012, & 
>> 2014 conventions that could have been reduced or avoided.
>>
>> $60,000 versus $120,000. Our services and advice are available upon 
>> request (but preferably not this coming week due to other priorities).
>>
>> Wes Benedict, Executive Director
>> Libertarian National Committee, Inc.
>> *New address: 1444 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314*
>> (202) 333-0008 ext. 232, wes.benedict at lp.org
>> facebook.com/libertarians <http://facebook.com/libertarians> @LPNational
>> Join the Libertarian Party at: http://lp.org/membership
>>
>> On 8/31/2014 1:21 PM, Norm Olsen wrote:
>>> The schedule of official business of the 2018 national convention of 
>>> the LNC shall consist of 2½ days, commencing on the morning of 
>>> Saturday, May 26, 2018  and adjourning by 2PM on Monday, May 28, 2018.
>>
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>
>
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