autosport show -been today

[geeks]

I had a chat with a few other exhibitors on the day and we all kind of agreed on the same thing, footfall was good but if you have been every year for the last few, nothing has really changed a great deal and the stands seem to be in the same position year on year! Maybe try moving things around a bit more, this would help stop some of the feelings of "Same old, same old" and give many a better excuse to explore and find stuff..

We did get alot of good interest on the stand and it looks as though it was as always worth us exhibiting but it does seem as though it needs a good solid refresh

[Miner49er]

JamesHayward said:

Mopar440 said:

James,

What is your reaction to the issue of no shuttle buses running, no tickets available, and a cost of £124 for this "family-friendly" event?

We were exhibiting and frankly I'm shocked at the post above. Surely it's in everyone's interest to make the event accessible and affordable?

The no shuttle busses running is an odd one, that is a NEC run service, nothing to do with us. The £124 I can only assume is three people coming on on Paddock Passes, parking etc. It's certainly not £124 for one person to attend.

Lack of available tickets - I don't know why this happened. But I will find out and post the results on here.

Thanks,

James

No shuttle buses – fair enough.

£124 – Correct; that was for one adult and two kids. I turned up on Sunday morning expecting to pay £10 for car parking, £35 for one adult and £48 for two kids. In my opinion, the child prices are too high, but hey ho.

I was informed at the ticket booth that Live Action Arena seats had run out, but should I purchase Paddock Passes at £10 extra each, suddenly seats were available again and we could watch the show!

So I had three choices: Go home, miss the Live Action Arena or pay an extra £30 for this ‘new privilege’. Disgruntled, I chose the latter.

This element of the show needs a rethink. There were empty seats dotted all over the place by people who had chosen not to attend the live show and I wonder how many sitting there had actually been forced into paying the extra £10? We arrived just before 11am and cars were still queuing to get into the car park, so I guess, quite a few.

I’ve mentioned earlier in this thread that we all thoroughly enjoyed the show, but I feel this is down to the exhibitors. It’s the ticket prices and organisation that has left a bad taste, so if the format stays the same, we won’t be attending again.

[chunder27]

I would suggest that is fairly ambitious of the sales staff.

The Live action arena is included IN the ticket price of any ticket you buy?

Were they trying it on?

[StottyEvo]

chunder27 said:

The staggering thing I find here is the amount of peopl;e who did not even go to the arena, yet paid for it.

Because they had no choice!

Genius or daylight robbery? You decide, I did about 5 years ago!

I can't recall seeing an empty seat when I was there. It appears that there is only a very small amount of people who weren't interested in the area, but they're making a lot of noise about it.

[fatboy18]

StottyEvo said:

chunder27 said:

The staggering thing I find here is the amount of peopl;e who did not even go to the arena, yet paid for it.

Because they had no choice!

Genius or daylight robbery? You decide, I did about 5 years ago!

I can't recall seeing an empty seat when I was there. It appears that there is only a very small amount of people who weren't interested in the area, but they're making a lot of noise about it.

Gone back to the start of the thread, 4 people saying they liked the Live Action arena, but that the Music drowned out the cars, So I don't think their making a lot of noise about it at all

[JamesHayward]

Miner49er said:

I was informed at the ticket booth that Live Action Arena seats had run out, but should I purchase Paddock Passes at £10 extra each, suddenly seats were available again and we could watch the show!

Ok so I've heard from the ticketing side of the business...

What happens is that we offer an allocation of seats to paddock pass holders and a much larger allocation to regular ticket holders. Not all these people do end up going to their Live Action Performance but it is part of the ticket price regardless. Once the regular tickets have sold out then we can only sell whatever is left. Imagine you are trying to catch a flight and all the economy seats are taken and you can only get business class... it's the same situation.

Truth be told we were not expecting the amount of people on the weekend and whilst, for us, it's a nice problem to have it's far from ideal for our customers. We will be looking into other options for Autosport International 2016.

I hope that helps clear things up and please book earlier to avoid disappointment next time.

Thanks,

James

[Miner49er]

JamesHayward said:

Miner49er said:

I was informed at the ticket booth that Live Action Arena seats had run out, but should I purchase Paddock Passes at £10 extra each, suddenly seats were available again and we could watch the show!

Ok so I've heard from the ticketing side of the business...

What happens is that we offer an allocation of seats to paddock pass holders and a much larger allocation to regular ticket holders. Not all these people do end up going to their Live Action Performance but it is part of the ticket price regardless. Once the regular tickets have sold out then we can only sell whatever is left. Imagine you are trying to catch a flight and all the economy seats are taken and you can only get business class... it's the same situation.

Truth be told we were not expecting the amount of people on the weekend and whilst, for us, it's a nice problem to have it's far from ideal for our customers. We will be looking into other options for Autosport International 2016.

I hope that helps clear things up and please book earlier to avoid disappointment next time.

Thanks,

James

Thanks for the feedback James.

Is it not misleading that the massive shiny sign above each ticket booth states in big red writing “All tickets include entry to the Live Action Arena”, when evidently they don’t?

It’s a bit like a long-haul airline running out of in-flight meals but suggesting that I upgrade to Business Class in order to be fed.

Booking online early is obviously the solution, but I wasn’t sure of numbers until the day before and although it would have ultimately saved me £3 (!), being charged an admin fee of £2 per ticket grated a little… but that’s another issue!

[JamesHayward]

I think you may be getting confused. There is no ticket option that doensn't include Live Action. Every single ticket is inclusive of live action. The only way you get a non live action ticket is if you receive a complimentary ticket via an exhibitor, and these are only for the trade days anyway. The problem was that we sold out of regular seated live action tickets. However your paddock pass did give you access to the pits and signing sessions.

I really do understand your frustration, I've been in similar situations myself but the facts are the facts. We unexpectedly sold out of regular tickets. Sorry.

Oh and admin fee is a ticketmaster thing... I don't understand it either.

[Miner49er]

JamesHayward said:

I think you may be getting confused. There is no ticket option that doensn't include Live Action. Every single ticket is inclusive of live action. The only way you get a non live action ticket is if you receive a complimentary ticket via an exhibitor, and these are only for the trade days anyway. The problem was that we sold out of regular seated live action tickets. However your paddock pass did give you access to the pits and signing sessions.

I really do understand your frustration, I've been in similar situations myself but the facts are the facts. We unexpectedly sold out of regular tickets. Sorry.

Oh and admin fee is a ticketmaster thing... I don't understand it either.

Nope, not confused.

I could still buy a 'regular' ticket which (should have) included the entrance to the Live Action Arena, but it didn't, as there were no 'regular' seats left. My point is, the statement on the sign above the booth is misleading as the 'regular' tickets listed didn't include the Live Action Arena. Instead of upgrading the ticket FOC, you chose to charge me 30% extra due to your predictions being inaccurate.

I'm not getting into a debate... I fully understand what you're saying. At the end of the day, you're running a business and all I'm doing is having a little whinge about the cost of tickets!

[JamesHayward]

Miner49er said:

Nope, not confused.

I could still buy a 'regular' ticket which (should have) included the entrance to the Live Action Arena, but it didn't, as there were no 'regular' seats left. My point is, the statement on the sign above the booth is misleading as the 'regular' tickets listed didn't include the Live Action Arena. Instead of upgrading the ticket FOC, you chose to charge me 30% extra due to your predictions being inaccurate.

I'm not getting into a debate... I fully understand what you're saying. At the end of the day, you're running a business and all I'm doing is having a little whinge about the cost of tickets!

Ah right, I wasn't aware they were doing that. I'm not sure our marketing team were either... Thanks for that.

[Greensleeves]

SpudLink said:

StottyEvo said:

Seemingly me too, it was the best car show that I've ever been to (Haven't been to Goodwood yet to be fair )

Sincars were phenomenal too, did anybody else see these? I asked a few questions and it appears that they are a Bulgarian Supercar manufacturer, they have a car in development I believe that uses a LS3 engine, 1198kg and looks fantastic. All for £60k+Vat, I wouldn't have bat an eyelid if he said that it was double the price.

I saw the Sin Cars. A few days ago I'd been watching YouTube clips of the company owner, and he was there on the stand. He was otherwise engaged, so I didn't try to engage him in conversation.
They seem to have started as a race car, then followed up with the road car. I like that approach. It certainly looks like a high end supercar from the outside. I think that perhaps it lacks the sophistication to justify £100k.

We were opposite them and had a chance for a little chat and they are setting up full production in the UK apparently.

[Pete F]

JamesHayward said:

The problem with Hall 9 (Engineering) is that we only have a matter of hours to remove engineering and build up the Festival Zone. That's why most of the content is 'pop up exhibitor' such as cars on carpet and roller banners. Getting an auto jumble set up would take more time than we have available in Hall 9.

I can vouch for that, we weren't allowed in until about 10pm and didn't finish setting up until about midnight. I don't think the Solberg artic really added much to Hall 9 either to be honest and took a whole lot of space up!

Essentially good shows are not just about organisation, they're about ideas and I think the show needs to find new ones every year, celebrate different iconic cars, characters and teams from the rich tapestry that is british motorsport, alongside exciting new development of course.Without that any show of any scale will start to look and feel predictable as expressed in many previous postings. Famous names from past and present always draw a crowd and they seemed severely lacking this year.
As for food, yes it's too expensive throughout, but the curry outlet in Hall 9 was a great addition!
Hope the organisers see this as constructive criticism because when it comes down to it most on here want very much to support the country's biggest motorsport show, and this year's show was still a grand day out despite the shortcomings.

[fatboy18]

Good post, totally agree,

Spotted the Curry Stand, was it any good?

[ecsrobin]

Miner49er said:

No shuttle buses – fair enough.

£124 – Correct; that was for one adult and two kids. I turned up on Sunday morning expecting to pay £10 for car parking, £35 for one adult and £48 for two kids. In my opinion, the child prices are too high, but hey ho.

I was informed at the ticket booth that Live Action Arena seats had run out, but should I purchase Paddock Passes at £10 extra each, suddenly seats were available again and we could watch the show!

So I had three choices: Go home, miss the Live Action Arena or pay an extra £30 for this ‘new privilege’. Disgruntled, I chose the latter.

This element of the show needs a rethink. There were empty seats dotted all over the place by people who had chosen not to attend the live show and I wonder how many sitting there had actually been forced into paying the extra £10? We arrived just before 11am and cars were still queuing to get into the car park, so I guess, quite a few.

I’ve mentioned earlier in this thread that we all thoroughly enjoyed the show, but I feel this is down to the exhibitors. It’s the ticket prices and organisation that has left a bad taste, so if the format stays the same, we won’t be attending again.

I'd suggest giving Goodwood Festival of speed ago for better value for money if you haven't already done so. Yes initial entry is more expensive but parking is free, children up to 12 are free and 12-21 are half price. And there's alot more to see and do. But even going on sat or sun of Goodwood for the 3 of you at a minimum would have saved £4

[chrisgtx]

JamesHayward said:

fatboy18 said:

...I do wish there was a Motorsport Autojumble at this show...

...I know some stands were selling stuff, but would be great to have more of the Engineering hall converted into an Auto jumble...

It is actually something we have considered and may be something for future years. The problem with Hall 9 (Engineering) is that we only have a matter of hours to remove engineering and build up the Festival Zone. That's why most of the content is 'pop up exhibitor' such as cars on carpet and roller banners. Getting an auto jumble set up would take more time than we have available in Hall 9.

We have our post show debrief this week so I will bring it up - thanks for the insight.

James

I'm glad your going to the de brief,can you mention the fact the music drowned out the cars?, It's one thing to moan on the internet but if it actually gets through to the organisers that would be great.

[Pete F]

fatboy18 said:

Good post, totally agree,

Spotted the Curry Stand, was it any good?

Just abit, plus toilets nearby for the day after!

[JamesHayward]

Pete F said:

I can vouch for that, we weren't allowed in until about 10pm and didn't finish setting up until about midnight. I don't think the Solberg artic really added much to Hall 9 either to be honest and took a whole lot of space up!

Essentially good shows are not just about organisation, they're about ideas and I think the show needs to find new ones every year, celebrate different iconic cars, characters and teams from the rich tapestry that is british motorsport, alongside exciting new development of course.Without that any show of any scale will start to look and feel predictable as expressed in many previous postings. Famous names from past and present always draw a crowd and they seemed severely lacking this year.
As for food, yes it's too expensive throughout, but the curry outlet in Hall 9 was a great addition!
Hope the organisers see this as constructive criticism because when it comes down to it most on here want very much to support the country's biggest motorsport show, and this year's show was still a grand day out despite the shortcomings.

Thanks for your feedback, It really is appreciated.

You are right about Petter's truck. That was always intended to go into the weekend show but we were not aware that it would just be parked. We thought it would be at least opened up for people to see inside. Had we known what was actually happening it would have gone at the back / corner.

I'd love to take credit for the curry stall but sadly all catering is NEC catering and as such nothing to do with us (Haymarket Exhibitions / Autosport International)

Each year we do come up with new features and try to attract new guests. One of the main problems, especially for F1, is that January is the off season and it's often the only time before pre-season testing and training that drivers get away from it all.

chrisgtx said:

I'm glad your going to the de brief, can you mention the fact the music drowned out the cars? It's one thing to moan on the internet but if it actually gets through to the organisers that would be great.

I am one of the organisers and not only has it got through but I also agree with you. I have added this to my list of points to raise.

[HorneyMX5]

4th year in a row for me. Had a briliant time, spent too much money, missed the area with the F1 cars despite being there over 6 hours.

Looking forward to 2016 already.

[Demolitionman13]

Miner49er said:

JamesHayward said:

I think you may be getting confused. There is no ticket option that doensn't include Live Action. Every single ticket is inclusive of live action. The only way you get a non live action ticket is if you receive a complimentary ticket via an exhibitor, and these are only for the trade days anyway. The problem was that we sold out of regular seated live action tickets. However your paddock pass did give you access to the pits and signing sessions.

I really do understand your frustration, I've been in similar situations myself but the facts are the facts. We unexpectedly sold out of regular tickets. Sorry.

Oh and admin fee is a ticketmaster thing... I don't understand it either.

Nope, not confused.

I could still buy a 'regular' ticket which (should have) included the entrance to the Live Action Arena, but it didn't, as there were no 'regular' seats left. My point is, the statement on the sign above the booth is misleading as the 'regular' tickets listed didn't include the Live Action Arena. Instead of upgrading the ticket FOC, you chose to charge me 30% extra due to your predictions being inaccurate.

I'm not getting into a debate... I fully understand what you're saying. At the end of the day, you're running a business and all I'm doing is having a little whinge about the cost of tickets!

My experience on Sunday at about 11:00 hrs was similar. Myself and two mates had decided last minute to drive up from Suffolk. We queued at the first ticket booth off the bus drop only to be told that that booth had run out of tickets. Round the corner we joined another long queue and got told, once we had made it to the sales window, that the only available tickets were the paddock passes (both including the live arena)

We discussed with the sales girl and her grumpy supervisor and suggested that they should print more standard tickets and just accept that paddock passes are not required in the quantity that had been printed, but this fell on deaf ears. It was 50/50% as to whether we entered the show paying £45 each, where imho £35 was already high for the privilege.