Fansuite Information

CoreCon Fansuites
Thank you for your interest in running a fansuite! Our theme for CoreCon 2024 will be the Portals of Fantastic Worlds! It will be held at the Holiday Inn  (located at 3803 13th Ave S, Fargo, ND 58103) and will take place on May 23-26, 2024. 

1. Important Dates & Deadlines!

January 31, 2024 – Request Form Deadline. The fansuite request form will be taken down at 11:59 PM central time. Late submissions may not be accepted. Please ensure that your application is completely filled out with as much detail as you can. Some changes can be made at a later date if you need to make adjustments. Apply by going to https://www.fargocorecon.org/fansuites/ and clicking on the Fansuite Request Form.

February 15, 2024 – Request Form Response. This is when the fansuite coordinator will let you know if a room is available and provide you with the contract and other important information you may need to know to aid in running your suite. 

March 1, 2024 – Contracts & Non-Refundable Deposits. This is the final date that contact and non-refundable deposits will be accepted. Please inform your fansuite coordinator when these have been placed in the mail, so we know to expect them. Consideration will be made for late contracts/non-refundable deposits due to longer than expected mail delivery time. More Information about the Non-Refundable Deposit can be found in this doc.

March 1, 2024 – Ads & Description Deadline – The fansuite coordinator needs a quarter page advertisement designed for the website. Descriptions for each fansuite was required in the fansuite request form. Any changes to that description need to be made by this date. We can also make a post about your room on social media if we have a write up. (Social Media posts will be posted closer to con, but are needed ASAP to better coordinate.)

What do I need to know in regards to the Holiday Inn?

Single Room Fansuite
Currently, the standard hotel rooms at the Holiday Inn and Suites will cost you $114 plus tax each night.   A $50 non-refundable deposit is required for CoreCon to reserve the room for your fansuite. This fee goes towards the cost of the room being prepped by the hotel. They will be laying plastic and removing both beds and other unwanted items from the room. The hotel is charging CoreCon $350 per room to prep each room. CoreCon is covering $300 of this cost with the deposit being applied to the remainder of this charge. CoreCon will still be covering the cost of one night of the room rental. 

Adjoining Rooms
We will still be offering adjoining rooms at the Holiday Inn. However, CoreCon WILL NOT be able to cover any of the costs of the second room. This means the total cost of the adjoining room will be $350 plus the room cost of $114 for all three nights totalling $692 plus taxes and fees. We want to encourage our fansuites that would normally do an adjoining room to consider crowd funding, to help supplement the extra cost. We will not be charging a deposit for the second adjoining room. 

Placement of Fansuite
All fansuites will be first floor, but not all rooms will be poolside. As there is a limited supply and you should apply early to guarantee you get a spot. When you register your party, you can indicate any space preferences along with your reason, we take those into consideration in our planning, but space is allocated based primarily on convention needs. This may mean that we space out the crowded parties, cluster the related parties, and place people near their friends’ parties when possible. Noise levels and traffic flow are important factors as well. 

Sleeping Rooms
All hotel rooms for sleeping are  $109 plus tax. Please let us know in the form if you would like a room near your fansuite. We will place you and give you directions for how to reserve your sleeping room and fansuite when we confirm your fansuite placement. We will make every attempt to accommodate your preferences and make your experience as enjoyable as possible.

King rooms are not available for CoreCon’s room block near the fansuite location.

2. What do I need to run a room?

Help!
It’s not much fun to host a party alone and be stuck there all night unable to visit any other

parties or just relax. Think of everything you plan on bringing in and setting up in your fansuite. Do you need help with that?  If you serve alcohol, someone has to card everyone being served to be sure they are of legal drinking age. Be sure to plan for enough staff to keep your party covered at all times. We recommend that you use the free weekend passes you get to invite others to help run your room and join in the fun to be had.

Money
There is a $50 non-refundable deposit that is required. The hotel room itself costs $114 per night. However an adjoining room has an extra expense of $350 for a bed removal fee and plastic on top of the $114 per night.  If you would like to host an adjoining room,  you should make sure you can afford the event, including the cost of the hotel rooms, refreshments, decorations, and anything else your theme requires. We recommend that you have a tip jar in your room to help recover some of your expenses, or look into various crowd funding options. 

Application
Once you have those things covered, visit www.fargocorecon.org and click on ‘Participate’. Next click on ‘Fansuite Submission Form’ and fill out all questions completely. Please email fansuites@fargocorecon.org with any questions. Be aware of the deadlines for the application so you don’t miss out on any of the fun. 

Ads & Description
Every fansuite gets an advertisement on our website and scheduling app along with a small blurb. The description should  be under 50 words. The specs for the ads are as follows:

  •  4.25 x 5.5inches 
  •  300dpi
  •  PDF preferred
  • Color allowed

3. What important rules do I need to know

Badges
Everyone who helps run your fansuite needs a CoreCon weekend pass. You will also be responsible for reporting to security or staff if anyone enters your room without a badge. This way security or staff can assist that person in purchasing a badge. CoreCon provides 2 free weekend badges for each fansuite, and an extra two badges for adjoining rooms. 

Selling Goods
No commerce is permitted in party rooms. The exception to the commerce policy is the

pre-registration of attendees for other conventions taking place in the future. We have made exceptions in the past and will allow for other exceptions on a case by case basis. Please contact the fansuite chair to obtain permission or with any further questions. Selling Alcohol in fansuites is never allowed. No exception will be made even if you have the proper permits to sell alcohol during the con. 

Serving Alcohol
If you choose to serve alcohol in your room, we require that you card every single person, every single time. We do not allow wristbands or stamps to be utilized in place of carding. If you are seen not carding everyone you can be shut down for the weekend. If you are caught serving minors you WILL be shut down and the police may be notified. 

4. What supplies should I bring?

Suggested supplies
Everything on this list is optional, but suggested. Keep in mind that everything must be used in moderation to prevent damage to the suite. 

Decor

  • “Caution” tape for blocking off bathroom
  • Wall decorations if desired 
  • Tables and chairs (available upon request) quantities limited
  • Shelving or other display furniture, if you have anything you need to display
  • Step-stool or small ladder
  • Hand cart or dolly for load in/out (hotel carts are likely to be unavailable)

Office Supplies

  • Paper (colorful or white) for last-minute signs and notes. Post-it’s are good too.
  • Pens, pencils, crayons, markers and the like, as desired.
  • Painters Tape for attaching items to the walls. Only Painters Tape can be used to hang items in hotel room or to hang signs on the pool room door.

Food & Drink

  • Cups, plates, napkins – anything your food requires.
  • Labels for your food. People like to know what they are eating!
  • Beverage dispensers if needed
  • Cooler(s) if needed
  • Ice in bags (the machines at the hotel frequently run out) 

Light & Sound

  • Extension cords and power strips (if you have these, please also make sure they are covered or taped down to prevent tripping hazards)
  • Lamps, clip-on lights, or other lighting
  • Speakers to play music, projector, computer, etc
  • Game system and/or DVD player, composite RCA cables to plug into the hotel’s TV

Environmental Controls

  • Electric fans. 

Cleaning

  • Sponges, dish soap, shop towels, other supplies

5. What are the room requirements that I must follow?

Hours
All fansuites are required to be open for at least 4 hours Thursday, 6 hours Friday, and 6 hours Saturday. We ask that all fansuites submit their room hours by March 1, 2024, for use in the schedule app. We understand that it’s hard to plan things so far in advance. Things can still be changed in the app up until the month before con, so keep us posted if you have any changes. This can add to your traffic since people like knowing when to come back (if they happen while you’re closed).

Signs
In your welcome packet there will be a sign that states that all attendees must have a badge to be in the room, post and a sign that says we ID every single time. Please post this near your bar, if you are serving alcohol.

Events/activities
Each suite is required to have 2 events or activities available for CoreCon attendees to partake in during the weekend. Examples of these would be some type of contest, movies, or game.

6. What do I do when I arrive at CoreCon?

CoreCon Check in
Your fansuite chair will be at registration from the hours of 10 – Noon on Thursday to provide you with  a welcome packet for your room, along with all of the fansuite badges. If this time doesn’t work for you other times can be arranged, please contact your fansuite chair at fansuites@fargocorecon.org. 

Hotel Check in
Do regular hotel check in at the front desk of the hotel.  Double check to make sure that CoreCon is signed up to pay for Thursday night of the  room your fansuite is in. If there is any issue with this let your fansuite chair know immediately. Contact information for the fansuite chair will be with the welcome packet.

Double check
When you get into your fansuite please double check to make sure what you have asked to be removed has been removed and what you have asked to be added has been added. If you are missing something or need something contact the fansuite chair or go to Operations which is located in the Atrium of the convention center, and they will get you assistance.

7. What do I do when I want to check out?

Clean up
Gather all of your belongings and haul them out of the room. Carefully remove any decorations that you hung up. Rooms must be cleared out by 11am on Sunday, unless you request late check-out through the hotel. Remove any posters you put up on the pool door along with anything you used to advertise your room. Settle your tab with the hotel and make sure you were billed properly (remember CoreCon pays for Thursday night only). Be sure to fill out your fansuite feedback form before you leave. We appreciate all of your feedback.

Dead Dog Party
If you wish to stay and help us put furniture back and restore the hotel please let the fansuite chair know so she can direct you on what needs to be done. Hotel resets on Sunday is one of our favorite ways to keep the party going well beyond the hours the fansuites have closed. A couple of hours after Closing Ceremonies end, we have a pizza party and give out prizes to volunteers, then play some games and just hang out! Whether you are able to help with the reset or not, you are invited to join us for the Dead Dog Party – we KNOW how much work you put in all year long to bring your fansuite to CoreCon. 

Thank you for helping make CoreCon great!