It's never too early to think about 2013!

bhtooefr

TDIClub Enthusiast, ToofTek Inventor
Joined
Oct 16, 2005
Location
Newark, OH
TDI
None
Want a Fest in your neck of the woods?

The sooner you start planning, the better!

Here's where past and present TDIFests have been held:

(click for Google Map)

If you want a Fest in your area, start looking up hotels now. Historically, the Fest rate for a hotel has been $99/night (a room block will get you discounts off of the normal rate, so don't be afraid to look at hotels that are above that rate).

Tools that can be useful for finding hotels are the city's chamber of commerce, and the Cvent Event Venue Directory. Some city websites and Cvent will let you filter based on requirements.

Here's some hotel requirements that have been compiled (thanks VeeDubTDI and Airwolf):
  • 90-120 guest rooms, 200 room-nights
  • 200 parking spaces guaranteed available - block off our side of the lot
  • Meeting space no extra charge
    • suggested banquet style minimum seating - 125
  • Registration suite for entire weekend
    • 500 - 750 sq ft
    • lockable doors
  • Food
    • On-site catering
    • Enough space for 110-175 people to eat
    • Max $5000 food minimum
  • Free WiFi in guest rooms
  • Car washing area (loading dock?)
  • Electricity available outside

Larger hotels can work, but present more logistic problems due to sharing the space with others. On the other hand, a smaller hotel may need to be dealt with earlier, or it won't have room for us.

It's also not a bad idea to stay at a candidate hotel for at least a night, and try their food - that way, you have an idea of what the accommodations and food are like.

Also look at local attractions - both those that will appeal to TDI drivers, and their families. Remember that this is Labor Day weekend, so you may need to jump on those attractions quickly.

Please note that organizing a TDIFest will involve volunteering several hundred hours of your time, and a strong team, to make this event a success. However, your contributions will be greatly appreciated, and support the club significantly.

If anyone wants assistance in compiling a list of hotels to research for their desired area, I'd be glad to help. Post in this thread or shoot me a PM, and I can compile a Google Map with the suitable hotels and the airport (and any landmarks you want pointed out) in your city of choice.
 

Lug_Nut

TDIClub Enthusiast, Pre-Forum Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 20, 1998
Location
Sterling, Massachusetts. USA
TDI
idi: 1988 Bolens DGT1700H, the other oil burner: 1967 Saab Sonett II two stroke
OK....
Please note that organizing a TDIFest will involve volunteering several hundred hours of your time, and a strong team, to make this event a success.
The first fest was nearly a one-man-show, but as the event has grown to its recent size that appears to not be practical. Can you round up a group of about 8 or so to start planning?
The fests in the past haven't been awarded to cities or to attractions or to the nicer venue. The fests have been awarded to the teams that demonstrated the confidence and planning to convince the awarders that they should be honored / tasked with being the hosts.
Without a varied team to assist, in addition to strong leadership to guide, the event will not be a success.
no matter where or when.
 

WutGas?

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2012
Location
Oklahoma City
TDI
The Last Real Jetta Sedan
OK....
The first fest was nearly a one-man-show, but as the event has grown to its recent size that appears to not be practical. Can you round up a group of about 8 or so to start planning?
The fests in the past haven't been awarded to cities or to attractions or to the nicer venue. The fests have been awarded to the teams that demonstrated the confidence and planning to convince the awarders that they should be honored / tasked with being the hosts.
Without a varied team to assist, in addition to strong leadership to guide, the event will not be a success.
no matter where or when.
If that was directed at me....no need. I was kidding.
 

TDIMeister

Phd of TDIClub Enthusiast, Moderator at Large
Joined
May 1, 1999
Location
Canada
TDI
TDI
Need more Canadian, western- and southern US representation. :)

Edit: Central US too. :) Would certainly like to see more of that part of the US. :)
 
Last edited:

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
I would love to see something happen in Denver (or somewhere in CO). We've done a bit of research and it's a good candidate, although I don't know very much about that area. There are hotels available, prices are reasonable and I think it's a place a lot of people would like to explore.
 

bhtooefr

TDIClub Enthusiast, ToofTek Inventor
Joined
Oct 16, 2005
Location
Newark, OH
TDI
None
As an example of the maps I can create for an area, here's the one I did for Denver:

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=209631723170365146718.0004c0e9427e2ee15afc3&msa=0

I think the Aloft Broomfield was the hotel that looked the most interesting.

Also, we did look into Chattanooga, due to the VW plant being there, but found that most hotels in the area that were anywhere near our price range had at least one of four critical problems:

1. Inadequate or expensive parking
2. Inadequate conference facilities
3. Poor quality
4. Too far from Chattanooga (as in like 2 hours away)
 

JSWTDI09

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 31, 2009
Location
Las Vegas, Nevada
TDI
2009 JSW TDI (gone but not forgotten)
Looking at the map in post #1 it looks like past TDIFests have mostly been in the eastern part of the country. I, personally, would love to see a fest within a one day drive of where I live. This could include the Denver area, or anywhere else in the Southwest. It appears that the southwest and south central states have not yet had the pleasure of hosting a TDIFest. I realize that in early September where I live (Las Vegas) or Phoenix would probably still be far too hot to be comfortable. However, Los Angeles, San Diego, Flagstaff, and many other cities would be "doable". I hereby volunteer to work to help organize such an effort. Las Vegas has plenty of hotels that could work, but the climate here is usually still too hot on Labor day weekend. I have a full time job, so I can't travel to these other cities to check out hotels. I would require the help of some other people in SoCal, Arizona, Utah, or Colorado to do some legwork to check out hotels. If we can get together a committee to work on a "Southwest Fest", you can count on my help.

Have Fun!

Don
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Therefore there's no point in trying anymore? :confused:
 

TDIMeister

Phd of TDIClub Enthusiast, Moderator at Large
Joined
May 1, 1999
Location
Canada
TDI
TDI
Vegas would be :cool: to visit again. I would probably not drive out that far to attend a Fest, but the nice thing about LAS is that it's very inexpensive to fly into. Maybe Hertz will expand the TDI rental program :)
 

truman

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 18, 2000
Location
columbia,MO,usa
TDI
'05 Passat Variant, Still miss the 03JW
Vegas would be :cool: to visit again. I would probably not drive out that far to attend a Fest, but the nice thing about LAS is that it's very inexpensive to fly into. Maybe Hertz will expand the TDI rental program :)
It would be a good road trip- lot's of great sites and sights in between.
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Vegas is indeed a great road trip! I went through there after the 2001 TDIFest in Park City, UT.
 

JSWTDI09

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 31, 2009
Location
Las Vegas, Nevada
TDI
2009 JSW TDI (gone but not forgotten)
Vegas is indeed a great road trip! I went through there after the 2001 TDIFest in Park City, UT.
Another great roadtrip would be to have the TDIFest in Flagstaff, AZ. We could do a big cruise to the Grand Canyon. It is only about an hour drive from Flagstaff. Do we have any members here from the Flagstaff area who can do some "hotel shopping"?

I also know we have a lot of members in Southern California. San Diego could also be very nice. If we did it in the LA area, Robert (Fixmy59bug) might be able to get his dealership to act as a sponsor. The biggest problem with Vegas for the fest is that in the first week of September, it could easily be over 100 degrees F. during the day. It's a dry heat, but it's still hot.

Have Fun!

Don
 

loganbmx4gt

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2011
Location
Jackson, TN
TDI
97' Passat (1Z), 02' Golf
I would be willing to help out on a commitee if some others wanted to look into a proposal for a Memphis or Nashville TDIFest.
 

deegingerkid

Beware the Ginger! Vendor
Joined
Mar 9, 2011
Location
The Left Coast
TDI
"Blurple" 2000 New Beetle 5M 2006 Jetta has been SOLD
I would be willing to help out on a commitee if some others wanted to look into a proposal for a Memphis or Nashville TDIFest.
While that would be fun, Memphis and/or Nashville would be almost too hot too...and a different hot from Vegas..the dank, sweaty kind of hot. :p

But Logan, if yould could make it work, I see that possibly being a ton of fun.
 

loganbmx4gt

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2011
Location
Jackson, TN
TDI
97' Passat (1Z), 02' Golf
While that would be fun, Memphis and/or Nashville would be almost too hot too...and a different hot from Vegas..the dank, sweaty kind of hot. :p

But Logan, if yould could make it work, I see that possibly being a ton of fun.
True. And I am pretty sure this is the reason why there has been no TDIFest in the South East or South Central area. Yea it's a dirty swamp sock hot.

It wouldn't bother me, but this is because I deal with it every year too. This weekend its not going to be bad really, 85 & 88 for highs with 58 & 62 for lows. For some this may still be :eek: lol, but a major "cool" down for us though.
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
We've looked into the smokey mountain area and just about everywhere in TN and nothing is really conducive due to the high tourism at that time of year. Hotels seem to be booked a year or two in advance, the ones that have space available aren't laid out very well for TDIFest. We've probably spent over 100 hours collectively looking into that region and it's basically a no go. It's a shame because that would make an awesome Fest location.

Perhaps one of these years we can look into changing the Fest date to something other than Labor Day Weekend. There's nothing other than tradition preventing it from being at another time of year... keep that in mind when creating proposals. I will say that a 3-day weekend is the best for this sort of thing.
 

loganbmx4gt

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2011
Location
Jackson, TN
TDI
97' Passat (1Z), 02' Golf
That part of the state would be HORRIBLE on Labor Day weekend. Coming further west to Nashville or Memphis we wouldn't have that problem. Just the possible heat issue.

Opryland hotel in Nashville is a hotel that comes to mind that it could be held at. And Nashville has a TON to do. I think keeping it Labor day weekend is best since its a long weekend and everybody knows when it will be. If your like me, UPS requires us to have our vacation scheduled for the next year turned in by December of the previous year, so knowing when it is every year helps.

On another note, I would like to see another fest in Canada or New England since I've never been to one in those parts and now I'm capable to make it.
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
That part of the state would be HORRIBLE on Labor Day weekend. Coming further west to Nashville or Memphis we wouldn't have that problem. Just the possible heat issue.

Opryland hotel in Nashville is a hotel that comes to mind that it could be held at. And Nashville has a TON to do. I think keeping it Labor day weekend is best since its a long weekend and everybody knows when it will be. If your like me, UPS requires us to have our vacation scheduled for the next year turned in by December of the previous year, so knowing when it is every year helps.

On another note, I would like to see another fest in Canada or New England since I've never been to one in those parts and now I'm capable to make it.
Locations in that area that we've explored and given up on...

Asheville, NC
Knoxville, TN
Chattanooga, TN
Townsend, TN
Pigeon Forge, TN

Not sure why we never explored Nashville, but I'm game for helping you do some research if you'd like.
 

airwolf

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2006
Location
Cassopolis, MI
TDI
None
Locations in that area that we've explored and given up on...

Asheville, NC
Knoxville, TN
Chattanooga, TN
Townsend, TN
Pigeon Forge, TN

Not sure why we never explored Nashville, but I'm game for helping you do some research if you'd like.
I think we did decide there was some potential in Asheville and even contacted a hotel or two. Don't ask me the name because it was near the same time we were working on Lisle, IL.
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Oh yeah - Chicago suburb of Lisle is another strong contender in terms of hotel availability, pricing, fun things to do, parking, etc.
 

WutGas?

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2012
Location
Oklahoma City
TDI
The Last Real Jetta Sedan
We've looked into the smokey mountain area and just about everywhere in TN and nothing is really conducive due to the high tourism at that time of year. Hotels seem to be booked a year or two in advance, the ones that have space available aren't laid out very well for TDIFest. We've probably spent over 100 hours collectively looking into that region and it's basically a no go. It's a shame because that would make an awesome Fest location.

Perhaps one of these years we can look into changing the Fest date to something other than Labor Day Weekend. There's nothing other than tradition preventing it from being at another time of year... keep that in mind when creating proposals. I will say that a 3-day weekend is the best for this sort of thing.
What about renting out a "lot" of cabins? I know we rented a cabin for a week out there and it slept 8. It was like 1000 bucks for the week. There were about 15-20 cabins on that mountain side. Some holding a few more.
 
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