[Rick Craig]

Having been to the RMAF several times I am wondering how the new venue will work out. I checked prices for rooms and then noticed the daily fee to park. Ouch!

[barrows]

Hi Rick,

As a Colorado Front range resident I suspect the new venue will be much more appealing to exhibitors.  The new Hotel is very close to the airport, and I would expect that many exhibitors flying in could get away with no car rental, which could save on expenses.  I have not checked out the area yet, but supposedly there are good dining choices in close proximity to the Hotel, so one could, if they wished, avoid gong into downtown Denver altogether.
As one who has been in charge of setting up and running Demos at RMAF and CES, I could see this new venue making things a bit easier on exhibitors, but until we get through one show at this venue we will never know for sure.
I hope you choose to come, i would love to meet you and hear some of your speakers.

[Tyson]

One thing I hope they do is spread out the rooms a bit more from each other.  In past RMAFs, the only things that bothered me was that the rooms were small and they were also close together.  Hopefully the new digs mean larger rooms and more space to spread out between rooms. 

[Phil A]

I went in 2017 to the old venue (the only RMAF I've been to).  It definitely wasn't convenient to the airport and it was horribly organized (the worst audio show I've ever been to - I could understand if that was their first rodeo).  I'd reconsider trying the new venue after there's feedback but it was so badly organized, I'd probably opt to go to another audio show first (going to the FL one this year - was going to try AXPONA but the FL one is closer to home).

[mtrot]

I'll be there!  I told myself I would only attend RMAF or AXPONA, but not both this year.  RMAF prevailed because I can scoot over to Estes Park for a few days in conjunction with RMAF, like I did last year when I met my two sons there.  I do like that there is more than one restaurant in the hotel, unlike the Tech Center, which only had that one very marginal restaurant.  And I have no desire to get into the city of Denver anyway, so the new location is fine by me. 

[Norman Tracy]

RMAF's move to the new hotel has come with significant price increases for exhibitors. Enough to price smaller companies and dealers out of RMAF. My passion is for high value systems, which I define as each component costs a few hundred to a couple of thousand dollars. I have noticed in the AXPONA 2019 coverage the tilt is to the five and six figure price range and fear RMAF with higher exhibit costs is headed in the same direction. Pragmatically the transition of the high-end from local dealers to regional, national, and international HiFi shows as a primary opportunity to present to clients does pressure component prices to cover exhibition costs.

Removing my manufacturer's hat speaking as a passionate audiophile of course attending RMAF would be fun, fun, fun.

[Tyson]

I can't wait to go this year.  I think the new hotel is going to be a big step up over the old Tech Center location, frankly RMAF was too big for that place.

[garyalex]

I'll be attending as well.  I was a bit hesitant when I saw that sleeping rooms at the Gaylord were $235 per night.  Rates for the DMTC were about half that.  I know there were issues with the Tech Center, like the sometimes-broken passenger elevators.  However, it's the only audio show I attend, not counting the very small NYC show.  I'm hoping for a great show and an improved experience from the previous venue.

[SoCalWJS]

I'll be attending as well.  I was a bit hesitant when I saw that sleeping rooms at the Gaylord were $235 per night.  Rates for the DMTC were about half that.  I know there were issues with the Tech Center, like the sometimes-broken passenger elevators.  However, it's the only audio show I attend, not counting the very small NYC show.  I'm hoping for a great show and an improved experience from the previous venue.

I was shocked when I saw the Room prices as well. It looks like a nice Hotel, but lets face it - that's an awful lot of money. I thought the Hotels out by the Airport were going to be reasonably priced. If that's what they're charging per night (and the exhibition room prices are bad), I can imaging what a Burger or Sandwich and a Beer for lunch will cost. 

Was thinking of going this year. I have missed the last 3. The SoCal T.H.E. Show is looking like it may bomb out again (their website is a mess - Hotel venue is listed as Long Beach. If you click on their Directions site, it takes you to Irvine. Eek! Not a ton of confirmed Vendors), so I thought maybe I'd splurge - but not at those prices!

[jtwrace]

Totally agree. 

[Tyson]

There's lots of other hotels at the Airport that you can stay at that are much cheaper. 

[SoCalWJS]

There's lots of other hotels at the Airport that you can stay at that are much cheaper.

I imagine that’s correct. Defeats my goal though - I love to be able to pop back to my room whenever the mood strikes. Breaks. Food. Drink. Rest.

If my Wife comes along, she REALLY likes having the room nearby. She is a GREAT sport about this crazy, nutty Hobby, but after a couple of hours, she DEFINITELY needs a break.

A room in the same Hotel makes this simple. Driving to a different location and dealing with parking (and potential $$ every time you move) defeats this.

[garyalex]

There's lots of other hotels at the Airport that you can stay at that are much cheaper.

The problem, at least for me, is that those other hotels are over two miles from the Gaylord.  It's a bit much to walk and I'm not going to rent a car or take a taxi to get back and forth.  So I just bit the bullet and reserved a room at the Gaylord.  I hope it's worth it.

[mtrot]

Fortunately, when I booked back in December for two nights, the rate was $220/night.  But, with all the fees and taxes, I'm still looking at $563! 

[OzarkTom]

It will be interesting to see attendance figures this year. Usually a change of venue will knock it down, but at those prices, that will hurt also. At the Tech, we stayed at a Howard Johnson a few miles away for $59 a night. My daughter picked us up and brought us to the show. Several vendors stayed there also and taxied into the show everyday. I doubt if you will want to taxi into the airport. Rental of a car would be much cheaper and get a hotel back in the city.

Definitely, not going to get many of the younger crowd there.

[ngamountains]

Fortunately, when I booked back in December for two nights, the rate was $220/night.  But, with all the fees and taxes, I'm still looking at $563!

That’s absurd. Sounds like this show will continue to struggle, just for different reasons.

I’m admittedly at the other (cheap) end of the spectrum, being happy to hoof it to save my $ for better things.  I just returned from AXPONA; 4 nights in AirBnB listing, 4 days Enterprise car rental (3 of those on $14.99/day weekend special) and round trip train from my flight to Midway to the Enterprise neighborhood location within walking distance of the train station for $253 all in.

[SoCalWJS]

Wow.

All the participants are starting on their setups for RMAF 2019 today - many are probably finished and working on fine tuning. Industry day is Today. Open to the Public tomorrow.

Nary a post on this thread since April 20. 

I can remember when this would have been a hot topic with all sorts of planning, meet ups, GTG's. Golf, Dinners, Lunches, Breakfasts, etc being discussed.

Crickets.

Sure hope their decision to move out to the Airport to a VERY expensive location doesn't backfire on them.

[Tyson]

I'm taking off work tomorrow & will hit all 3 days of RMAF, as usual.  I'm not posting much because I'm not doing the crazy live show coverage with Jason like we did for so many years. 

I imagine the higher costs might keep some of the mid priced value based vendors away.  I hope not as those guys usually have some of the best stuff.  We'll see.

[30 Ounce]

I’m glad I saw this thread!  I forgot all about RMAF.  I live 30 minutes from there and it’s a lot easier to get to than downtown Denver.  Trying to work it into tomorrow or maybe Saturdays schedule.

[dB Cooper]

RMAF's move to the new hotel has come with significant price increases for exhibitors. Enough to price smaller companies and dealers out of RMAF. My passion is for high value systems, which I define as each component costs a few hundred to a couple of thousand dollars. I have noticed in the AXPONA 2019 coverage the tilt is to the five and six figure price range and fear RMAF with higher exhibit costs is headed in the same direction. Pragmatically the transition of the high-end from local dealers to regional, national, and international HiFi shows as a primary opportunity to present to clients does pressure component prices to cover exhibition costs.

Removing my manufacturer's hat speaking as a passionate audiophile of course attending RMAF would be fun, fun, fun.

All of the above seems also to apply to Capital Audiofest as well (and probably other shows too). I did some calculations at that show few years ago (2016 IIRC) based on handout sheets and show reports in the 'usual suspect' hi-end magazines. Taking out the most affordable room (Odyssey) and the most expensive ($220K for a pair of KEFs that looked like giant shampoo bottles)(I didn't bother adding up the rest of that room), the mean price of the systems I had data onexcluding the boutique cabling and racking was $58,000. They used to advertise that they had 'budget' systems too, but those have virtually disappeared. I am almost certain to skip this year's show. I left last year after 2-1/2 hours because there are no $58K audio systems in my foreseeable future. I don't expect this year's show (or next) to be any different.
 
As a result of this, there is no 'new generation' coming along to replace us 'old lions'. There are young people interested in audio, but when they come to a show, only to be told (by implication and sometimes straight out) that they need to spend a few grand just to plug in their gear, they move on to other pursuits.