BARCELO BLITZ FRIDAY

[Mike Truran]

Date: 13 January 2012 (i.e. the Friday evening before the next 4NCL weekend).
Venue: Barcelo Hinckley Island.
Start time: 7 pm.
Free entry.
Free bottle of wine for all entrants who book a bedroom on the Friday night on a B&B or DB&B basis.
First prize: Two night stay for two in a Barcelo hotel in Europe (incl. £75/person to help with flights) plus trophy.
Second prize: Two night stay for two in a UK Barcelo hotel plus trophy.
Third prize: Stay the 4NCL weekend for free (Friday and Saturday night) plus trophy.
4th-10th prize: Two bottles of wine plus medal.

To enter, please contact me (including Friday night bedroom booking reference if you would like the free bottle of wine).

[Mike Truran]

Just a reminder if I may about this new event, which is being held on the Friday evening at Barcelo Hinckley Island before the next 4NCL weekend (14-15 Jan).

FREE entry.
FREE bottle of wine to all entrants who book a bedroom at the venue on the Friday night.
Generous range of prizes and trophies kindly donated by Barcelo Hotels.

Start time 7 pm.
Finish by 9 pm to allow time for dinner etc.
Time limit 3 mins + 2 secs/move increment.

Barcelo say that they need 50 bedroom bookings on the Friday night to make the event viable from their point of view, so if you are able to support it it will be greatly appreciated.

Please contact me if you would like to enter.

[Mike Truran]

Unfortunately demand for this event has been insufficient to generate the Friday night bedroom bookings that would have made it financially viable from Barcelo Hinckley Island's point of view, and so with great regret we have had to cancel it. Those chessplayers who have booked Friday night accommodation in anticipation of the event taking place will of course be able to cancel their rooms at no cost.

[David Shepherd]

This seems slightly stange to me - surely they just lose the room bookings and the revenue they generate , unless of course they can still let out the space that was going to be used which is of course possible. Is an alernative just to reduce the prizes to a trophy? It was free entry anway so I suspect people would not be that bothered.

[Adam Raoof]

Unfortunately demand for this event has been insufficient to generate the Friday night bedroom bookings that would have made it financially viable from Barcelo Hinckley Island's point of view, and so with great regret we have had to cancel it. Those chessplayers who have booked Friday night accommodation in anticipation of the event taking place will of course be able to cancel their rooms at no cost.

If I stay will I still get the bottle of wine?

[Mike Truran]

This seems slightly stange to me - surely they just lose the room bookings and the revenue they generate

Not running the event means Barcelo Hinckley Island can save the cost of the prizes, which is not insubstantial. Quite apart form the cash and wine elements of the prize fund, I expect they would have to pay the other UK and mainland Europe Barcelo hotels involved in the deal in return for placing guests in those venues - and as a standalone profit centre in its own right it understandably wants to be able to at least break even.

I did think about asking the venue to reduce the prize fund, but decided that on balance (a) those people who did enter had done so in good faith on the basis of the arrangements as presented, and it would be unfair to 'change the goalposts' at this late stage (b) it would be a lot simpler just to cancel rather than faff about trying to renogiate things with the venue, asking those who had entered if the did or didn't want to proceed with a lower prize fund etc etc. At the last count only 10 people had booked rooms specifically to play in the event, so it was starting to feel a bit like thrashing an ex-equine.

[John Upham]

Mike,

It's a great shame that this event is not going ahead.

Will the hotel be contacting persons who have booked specifically for this?

I promoted it to all 45 AMCA players but I have no idea who is taking up the offer although one player has informed me anyway.

[Mike Truran]

John

I have individually emailed all of the players who contacted me to tell me that they wanted to play. There are (or soon will be) also notices on the 4NCL and ECF websites as well as on this forum.

As the entry guidelines specifically asked that people contact me if they wanted to enter, I have assumed that those booking Friday rooms who haven't told me they wanted to enter would have been staying anyway regardless of the blitz tournament.