Hotel Check-In

Back in 1999, I knew I found my tribe when T Jam, the first balloon twisting convention, took place. For years, there had been talk of creating this event. It hadn’t happened previously because no one wanted to spend the money to produce a convention that wasn’t guaranteed to be successful. There was interest — at least from a core group who would show up. But the balloon twisting world was incredibly small. Who was going to actually attend? How much would it cost in marketing to reach enough people to justify it in this pre-Google and pre-Facebook age? 

At last one person stepped up and created the event in the least expensive way he could, with the lowest investment/risk he could. Knowing his audience he (correctly, I believe) assumed that people would only come if costs were kept low. That meant not using a large convention hotel. He found a cheap hotel that he figured would be within everyone’s budget. Yeah. Think about what that means.

On arrival, I saw what everyone else did. The place was filthy. People loved the cost, but hated the condition of the rooms. People were walking around, introducing themselves and complaining about whatever was wrong with their particular room. And then I heard it — a comment that indicated for all just what this place was all about. “You’re all complaining, but how bad can a place be that leaves lines of coke for you in your room when you check in?”

And then, moments later, someone else walked out to the group and very hesitantly asked, “Can anyone come up with an explanation for why there’s a rectangular section of carpet in my room that isn’t faded as much as the carpet in the rest of the room? I’d say the rectangle is, oh, about 6 feet long and maybe 2 feet wide.” Today, with all of the CSI-type TV shows, it wasn’t hard for all of us to figure out why only a body sized piece of carpet was replaced.

It was a great event. We had an amazing time. Community isn’t about fancy venues or big budgets—it’s about people willing to show up. In the years since, we’ve held conventions in more luxurious hotels. I wouldn’t want to go back to that one, but I can’t imagine what would have been lost if that initial event never took place. Tom, thanks for making it happen.