FOSS4G 2011 Denver Attendance Projections

Attendance Projections

"Accurate" attendance projections are extremely important to the early success of a conference the size of FOSS4G.

Brain Storming

Correlating Factors

• Economic Crisis

By Country

• Population
• Industrialization
  • GDP as proxy
• Distance
  • Local vs. Distant
  • What is "local"?
• Number of Code Contributors
  • Which projects?

By Region

• Distance
• Industrialization

Venue

One of the biggest decisions is what venue to hold the conference. Venues with larger capacities have a higher per-attendee cost. If we can come up with a reasonable range of number of attendees, we can make a better decision about the venue. The availability of a particular venue can also impact dates.

In Denver, there are several prospective venues:

• Colorado Convention Center
  • Largest space: 5000 people
  • Near light rail
• Denver Sheraton
  • Largest space: 3000 people
  • Near light rail
• Denver Tech Center Marriott
  • Largest space: 1500 people
  • Near light rail
• Denver Tech Center Hyatt Regency
  • Largest space: 1350 people
  • Near light rail
• Denver Rennaissance
  • Largest space: 1200 people
  • Not near light rail
• Sheraton Denver West
  • Largest space: 750 people
  • New light rail station won't be operational until 2013
• Inverness Hotel and Conference Center
  • Largest space: 600 people
  • Near light rail