AquariaUSA
Non-member
Resolution to mis-information on vendor bookings
Hi guys,
I met many of you today, and I hope you do not think we are posting this because we don't like the Boston Reefers! I actually had the pleasure of meeting and sending some of you home with some of our corals. However, there is a major (everyone has been talking about this ALL day!) issue with how the vendor contracts were handled, i.e. selling booth spaces as if they were indoor rentals (which all others MACNAs before were). I am one of the many livestock vendors as well as those premium vendors that have been placed into the "outdoor tents." All day the tents were blown open due to the wind, etc. From what we could see there are also a few other issues that should be handled off the boards regarding monitoring, etc.
Now...does this mean we are upset with BRS. Not directly, however, why were the livestock vendors (including myself) not told we would be put into an outdoor tent? Nothing is disclosed on the website, the contract, nor any materials that were provided to us, prior to taking funds for space rentals. I have done 5 other shows (Home & Garden Shows, Washington Boat Show, etc.) this year and this is definitely the first time I have ever shown up to an outdoor setting. If we were in a warm climate, and the tent was a secure setting, I would not have too much of a consideration. However, after hearing the negativity from so many other vendors today about how dissapointed they were, I felt this should be brought up (and we have a laptop). I would like to add that anything we had an issue with personally has been taken care of in a very professional manner! This is the only exception, and we are not the only ones concerned about our marine livestock. I guess the question for all of you would be...would you put your reef aquarium outside in a tent tonight? Tomorrow? I bring this up, for the livestock everyone is buying is coming from the vendor tanks that are outside...and I know many of us want all of those purchasing livestock to be happy, and that the species maintain captive durability. The temperature is 63 degrees right now at 11:30PM and expected to hit 55 by morning, and 52 the following morning. This unfortunately will cause issues with the livestock vendors, unless of course everything is good to go in the morning and everything sells through. Many people are thinking..."don't you guys use heaters?" and the answer is yes, however, I am sure nobody is thinking about the livestock vendors who had no clue they would be outdoors. Remember, without the vendors, there would most likely be no MACNA. So, I guess this answer is left up to BRS, MACNA, and Preferred Travel.
Also, many have you have seen the empty tank and tons of extra stuff we have sitting outfront of our booth...unfinished. Heading out of Maryland later than expected, we were late on arrival, but the reasons were totally out of our control...but we trekked on! We had originally planned on display 3 aquariums loaded with corals, frags, rock, etc. including a 120 gallon, and two 60 gallon proptanks. However, we have another small issue in that being the side of the tent that we are on, does not even have a concrete slab for a floor. Many joked the floor bounced when you walked on it, but that is because there are only 2x12s and sheets of plywood placed a floor! All of us know about "shoring up tanks" and making them level prior to filling. I am not willing to be responsible for a 120 gallon aquarium falling on any of the attendees or other vendors, so we decided with much regret not to fill the tank (which is fairly large) during the show. One of the hotel employees jokingly asked..."would you like us to put more plywood under the carpet for extra support?" Still trying to figure out how plywood is going to support 900+ lbs. per code.
I hope that none of the other vendors have any issues with their livestock, and the show turns out for the best, for it is great for the club, the hobby, and the industry as a whole. However, I really do think after hearing the ?s from other vendors and the issues that we too have had...that something be done by BRS to rectify the situation asap. Perhaps I am wrong, and please don't take this as a slight to the club. We are just very concerned about this for our booth, and those with livestock. I seriously doubt any of us would have been willing to sign those contracts, send funds, etc. if it were disclosed we would be outside the hotel itself.
http://www.macnaboston.com//index.asp?page=34
nothing mentioned about outside here
http://harborside.hyatt.com/property/index.jhtml
The Hyatt Harborside at Boston's Logan International Airport is fully equipped with 19,000 square feet of meeting and banquet facilities. 13 of the 21 function rooms feature panoramic harbor views. Our 5,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom can accommodate up to 450 guests and the Harborside Pavilion and Midships Patio offer ideal venues for outdoor functions and events. All meeting rooms offer individual or master controls for heat/AC, sound, music, telephones, and high-speed Internet access.
*where are the individual heat/AC controls for the tents?
Hi guys,
I met many of you today, and I hope you do not think we are posting this because we don't like the Boston Reefers! I actually had the pleasure of meeting and sending some of you home with some of our corals. However, there is a major (everyone has been talking about this ALL day!) issue with how the vendor contracts were handled, i.e. selling booth spaces as if they were indoor rentals (which all others MACNAs before were). I am one of the many livestock vendors as well as those premium vendors that have been placed into the "outdoor tents." All day the tents were blown open due to the wind, etc. From what we could see there are also a few other issues that should be handled off the boards regarding monitoring, etc.
Now...does this mean we are upset with BRS. Not directly, however, why were the livestock vendors (including myself) not told we would be put into an outdoor tent? Nothing is disclosed on the website, the contract, nor any materials that were provided to us, prior to taking funds for space rentals. I have done 5 other shows (Home & Garden Shows, Washington Boat Show, etc.) this year and this is definitely the first time I have ever shown up to an outdoor setting. If we were in a warm climate, and the tent was a secure setting, I would not have too much of a consideration. However, after hearing the negativity from so many other vendors today about how dissapointed they were, I felt this should be brought up (and we have a laptop). I would like to add that anything we had an issue with personally has been taken care of in a very professional manner! This is the only exception, and we are not the only ones concerned about our marine livestock. I guess the question for all of you would be...would you put your reef aquarium outside in a tent tonight? Tomorrow? I bring this up, for the livestock everyone is buying is coming from the vendor tanks that are outside...and I know many of us want all of those purchasing livestock to be happy, and that the species maintain captive durability. The temperature is 63 degrees right now at 11:30PM and expected to hit 55 by morning, and 52 the following morning. This unfortunately will cause issues with the livestock vendors, unless of course everything is good to go in the morning and everything sells through. Many people are thinking..."don't you guys use heaters?" and the answer is yes, however, I am sure nobody is thinking about the livestock vendors who had no clue they would be outdoors. Remember, without the vendors, there would most likely be no MACNA. So, I guess this answer is left up to BRS, MACNA, and Preferred Travel.
Also, many have you have seen the empty tank and tons of extra stuff we have sitting outfront of our booth...unfinished. Heading out of Maryland later than expected, we were late on arrival, but the reasons were totally out of our control...but we trekked on! We had originally planned on display 3 aquariums loaded with corals, frags, rock, etc. including a 120 gallon, and two 60 gallon proptanks. However, we have another small issue in that being the side of the tent that we are on, does not even have a concrete slab for a floor. Many joked the floor bounced when you walked on it, but that is because there are only 2x12s and sheets of plywood placed a floor! All of us know about "shoring up tanks" and making them level prior to filling. I am not willing to be responsible for a 120 gallon aquarium falling on any of the attendees or other vendors, so we decided with much regret not to fill the tank (which is fairly large) during the show. One of the hotel employees jokingly asked..."would you like us to put more plywood under the carpet for extra support?" Still trying to figure out how plywood is going to support 900+ lbs. per code.
I hope that none of the other vendors have any issues with their livestock, and the show turns out for the best, for it is great for the club, the hobby, and the industry as a whole. However, I really do think after hearing the ?s from other vendors and the issues that we too have had...that something be done by BRS to rectify the situation asap. Perhaps I am wrong, and please don't take this as a slight to the club. We are just very concerned about this for our booth, and those with livestock. I seriously doubt any of us would have been willing to sign those contracts, send funds, etc. if it were disclosed we would be outside the hotel itself.
http://www.macnaboston.com//index.asp?page=34
nothing mentioned about outside here
http://harborside.hyatt.com/property/index.jhtml
The Hyatt Harborside at Boston's Logan International Airport is fully equipped with 19,000 square feet of meeting and banquet facilities. 13 of the 21 function rooms feature panoramic harbor views. Our 5,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom can accommodate up to 450 guests and the Harborside Pavilion and Midships Patio offer ideal venues for outdoor functions and events. All meeting rooms offer individual or master controls for heat/AC, sound, music, telephones, and high-speed Internet access.
*where are the individual heat/AC controls for the tents?
Last edited:
