The Millennium Philcon® August 30, 2001 - September 3, 2001 Philadelphia, PA 59th World Science Fiction Convention
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Millennium Philcon Party Guidelines

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The Marriott is the only party hotel and the party floors are 6, 7, and 21. Parties are not allowed on quiet floors: Please be considerate of others.

Please do not post anything on hotel walls, doors, hallways, elevators etc.. Be careful when decorating your rooms - the walls should look as good when you check out as when you check in. The convention will be supplying free standing wire grids (the same used at Chicon 2000) in the Marriott on which people can post party flyers, and parties can also be announced in the daily newsletter and on the party board on the bridge to the Convention Center. You can drop off party information for the newsletter in the boxes near the distribution points.

You and the hotel:

Ops, on the third floor of the Marriott, will be the primary interface between our members and the hotel. If you need something, please contact them. If the hotel has issues concerning your party, Ops will be the convention's liaison with them.

Food:

Please do not heat food except in the microwaves provided in some of the larger suites. Rooms in the Marriott are equipped with heat sensors and setting them off will set off the sprinkler system. If you want large quantities of food heated the hotel will do it for a fee and will deliver it in warming trays.

An example from Kurt C. Siegel, our Safety Officer:

A couple who were staying in the local Holiday Inn in Schenectady had a rice steamer with them, and had it plugged into the bathroom outlet. They had the steamer on the floor outside of the bathroom, and when they took the lid off of the steamer, the steam rose straight up to the sprinkler head over the bathroom door, and melted the 135 degree (F) fusible link, causing the head to open.

The room was in the exact center of the newly renovated fourth floor of the hotel. It took us 15 minutes to get the water shut off, and at a discharge rate of about 120 gallons per minute, the water spread across the hall, to rooms in either direction, and ran down through the rooms to the first floor.

In other words, just a really bad scene.

Alcohol:

There is no corkage in guest rooms and suites at the Marriott. Pennsylvania, however, does require that all alcohol be purchased in state and has been known to keep an eye out for cars with Pennsylvania plates in New Jersey liquor stores.

Liquor in Pennsylvania is sold through state stores including 'Super Stores'. According to the state Liquor Control Board:

These extra large upscale, regional stores feature up to 5,000 items, including super premium wine and spirits. Special customer amenities include interactive customer kiosks and a reference area containing the nation's leading wine publications.

The closest 'Super Store' is:

Wine & Spirits Shoppe 5133
401 Franklin Mills Cir
Philadelphia PA 19154
Phone: 215-281-2080
Fax: 215-281-2090

The hours are currently 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM. This is about half an hour away but there are also liquor stores at 5 North 11th St. and 1318 Walnut St.

Beer is available at these stores although the selection will be greater at beer distributors.

The closest one seems to be:

Bella Vista Beer
738 S 11 St. (11th and Fitzwater)
215-627-6465

There are plenty of others listed in the phone book, if you would prefer.

And sorry, but no kegs. They have a tendency to get away and break things.

Further information is available at http://www.lcb.state.pa.us/

Remember

You will be responsible for any liquor served at your party. It is illegal to serve alcohol to minors unless you are their parent, and it is up to you to card your guests. The minimum drinking age in the US is 21.

Ice:

Ice will be sold by MilPhil at a cost is $5 per 40 lbs.. This is for the convenience of both people hosting parties and for people who are not - if parties get their large supplies of ice through the convention, the hotel will not run out of ice for those who are using lesser amounts. Ice will be available starting Wednesday evening and running through Monday. We'd appreciate it if you order ice at least one day in advance; best would be to place your order for the entire convention on Wednesday or Thursday after you check into your room.

To order ice head down to MilPhil Ops on the third floor of the Marriott, pay them your money (cash or checks only - sorry, no credit cards) and fill out an ice chit stating how much is needed and when and where. You can arrange to have two deliveries in one day; for example, two bags of ice at 6:00 PM to start things off and another two at 10:00 to refresh things. You will need to fill out a separate chit for each day, however.

Ice will be delivered within 15 minutes before or after the time on your chit but if there's no one in the room, or if we can't read the room number that you wrote down, the ice will be considered to be delivered and you won't get a refund. (We will make reasonable accommodations in case of emergency, and will do our best to figure out what room number you really meant to write, based on the public party schedule and the Ops logs.)

Two bags of ice (80 lbs) will be enough for most bathtubs. A note about bathtub care:

Bathtubs are large and expensive. In order to protect your tub and to maximize your ice budget, line your bathtub with something soft (towels are good) and then with something nonporous (trash bags are good), then adding your ice and soda. As the ice melts, the cold water will stay in the tub until you are ready to let it down the drain, thus increasing the effective life of the cold environment. It is important that the bathtub be left in the same or better condition than when you first checked into the rooms.

Furniture:

There is a $250 per room fee to remove (and then replace) furniture. If you need this done please contact Ben Yalow at suites@milphil.org before August 15.

Other things to consider:

Cleanliness is very important. The hotel is not our house so please be considerate and be more careful than you would at home about messing things up. If you have a big party, we encourage you to bag most of your own trash. Yes, the maids are there to clean up but if they only need to vacuum, make up beds, and other general cleaning that will help them get through their designated floors within something close to reasonable time, allowing them to take care of everyone. And if we keep the maids happy everybody wins.

Part of keeping the staff happy is tipping; their salaries are figured with the assumption that people will tip them. So tip generously and often. This will improve your personal service and the service level to the whole convention. Suggested tips are $1.00 per bag to the bellman, at least $2.00 per day per bedroom and $15.00 per day per parlor for the maids. If you leave a mess for the maids, more money will help as they clean it up. If you create a spot on the rug, at least $5.00 is appropriate for the care and tending needed to clean each spot.

Remember, if your room is damaged during your stay you are responsible to reimburse the hotel for fixing that damage. A nice tip will go a long way toward making sure the room is in top condition when you leave it.

It is prudent to plug all appliances into the GFI outlet of the bathroom that services the hair dryer. It is also prudent to use a construction grade heavy duty power cord (15 amps). Per the National Electric Code, in the past hotels used 10 amp circuits. Which is why there are now dedicated outlets for hair dryers (as well as for GFI ground fault interruption electric shock protection).

Enjoy, and we look forward to seeing you at MilPhil!