We all experienced it, the claustrophobia, the sweat, the smell, the pain of waiting in line to get in. We all hated it, but we have to learn to live with it.

A lot of the problem was caused by the rooms for guests being lumped into one tower. This year the hotel will spread out the rooms between towers. There are things that you as a guest can do to help out:

• If you're going from the 1st floor to the second floor, and vice versa, USE THE ESCALATOR. Hell, I used the escalator all weekend, whenever possible!
• Make as few trips as possible back up to your room. Before you leave in the morning, make sure you have everything you need with you, including food, water, money, etc.
• Keep in mind that some times are just traditionally busy.
  a)Before the concerts. So, take your stuff upstairs BEFORE the crush begins, or be prepared to carry it into the concert.
  b)Before/after the cosplay. Come down early, and chill at the dance after.
  c)Friday afternoon/Sunday morning for hotel check in and checkout. Get here early, leave late.
• DO NOT overload the elevators. I know a lot of people want to go up and down, but if we overload the elevators, they break. And then...we're short an elevator.
• IF a staff member needs on an elevator for work-related purposes, LET THEM ON. We don't get to take the stairs, generally. It might be annoying to you to have to wait an hour to get up to your room to drop off your camera, but....imagine having to wait an hour to get something needed to run an event, or to try to get to ConOps to fix a situation. >.>
• No elevator parties, or using the elevator for two people, etc. Be thoughtful, kind, and share.
• If you're waiting for the Center Elevators on the ground floor, come chill in the Jpop room

The elevator situation is actually terrible at most conventions because the hotels are at full capacity, and they're not actually designed for that. We are investigating several ways to fix the problem, and working with the hotel, but there are things that can be done to alleviate the situation.

Tags: community, safety