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Web Summit quits Dublin

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Comments

  • #812
    ThisRegard
    Closed Accounts Posts: 27,833 ✭✭✭✭ThisRegard


    hatrickpatrick wrote: »
    I find it hard to fault him on anything other than the wifi issue which really isn't an issue for government. Everything else he raised - traffic management (hah! Dublin corpo couldn't manage traffic in a f*ckin' kid's remote controlled highway game), public transport (an absolute disgrace, both in quality of service and in fare costs) and price gouging (shouldn't be allowed, blatantly taking advantage of tourists) - are issues which affect more than the web summit and should be dealt with anyway by the government for other reasons. That's what makes this so infuriating. Other cities have decent public transport, laws about price gouging and proper traffic management. It is the height of learned helplessness for everyone to be assuming that Ireland couldn't do this "just because".

    So you think it's fine to request garda escorts for some guests, asking the government to fix the prices of hotels, close off streets one of which for a private party, provide private transport, and more, out of tax payers money?


  • #813
    darkpagandeath
    Closed Accounts Posts: 24,461 ✭✭✭✭darkpagandeath


    ThisRegard wrote: »
    So you think it's fine to request garda escorts for some guests, asking the government to fix the prices of hotels, close off streets one of which for a private party, provide public transport, and more, out of tax payers money?

    If you think as ones self as the Irish Bill gates yes This guy is right up there with steve jobs.


  • #814
    Phoebas
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,371 ✭✭✭Phoebas


    hatrickpatrick wrote: »
    Price gouging and taking advantage of tourists during events should be illegal, end of story. Not just for the web summit. And the state of public transport in Dublin and the costs thereof (which have increased again this year after at least three years of consecutive fare hikes) is a disgrace.

    I find it hard to fault him on anything other than the wifi issue which really isn't an issue for government. Everything else he raised - traffic management (hah! Dublin corpo couldn't manage traffic in a f*ckin' kid's remote controlled highway game), public transport (an absolute disgrace, both in quality of service and in fare costs) and price gouging (shouldn't be allowed, blatantly taking advantage of tourists) - are issues which affect more than the web summit and should be dealt with anyway by the government for other reasons. That's what makes this so infuriating. Other cities have decent public transport, laws about price gouging and proper traffic management. It is the height of learned helplessness for everyone to be assuming that Ireland couldn't do this "just because".

    The Dublin bus services to the RDS are pretty good generally. The 4 and the 7 run every 10 minutes or so at peak time.
    Yesterday, once I got on a bus, there weren't any major traffic problems getting down to the RDS. I actually managed to get on an additional Dublin Bus special service put on by Dublin Bus.

    The transport problems yesterday were down to the summit organisers themselves, not the government.
    1. The shuttle service only went from Merrion Sq, but there were hoards of people trying to (and giving up on) getting a bus from O'Connell St. The summit should have added their additional capacity from where it was needed, or at least put some volunteers in the city centre to tell people where they could get a bus.
    2. Most of the attendees were paying bus fares by cash, slowing up the whole operation for everyone. Dublin Bus had a stand at the summit itself selling bus tokens (€2), but the summit themselves really needed to get these into the hands of people before they got there.

    Its a bit rich for the summit organisers to be giving out about the government when they failed to do some simple stuff themselves.
    The web summit has a couple of thousand start ups busy building solutions (many solving problems that don't actually exist :-) ). The summit organisers themselves need to tap into that spirit.


  • #815
    Annasopra
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 41,232 ✭✭✭✭Annasopra


    hatrickpatrick wrote: »
    Price gouging and taking advantage of tourists during events should be illegal, end of story. Not just for the web summit. And the state of public transport in Dublin and the costs thereof (which have increased again this year after at least three years of consecutive fare hikes) is a disgrace.

    I find it hard to fault him on anything other than the wifi issue which really isn't an issue for government. Everything else he raised - traffic management (hah! Dublin corpo couldn't manage traffic in a f*ckin' kid's remote controlled highway game), public transport (an absolute disgrace, both in quality of service and in fare costs) and price gouging (shouldn't be allowed, blatantly taking advantage of tourists) - are issues which affect more than the web summit and should be dealt with anyway by the government for other reasons. That's what makes this so infuriating. Other cities have decent public transport, laws about price gouging and proper traffic management. It is the height of learned helplessness for everyone to be assuming that Ireland couldn't do this "just because".

    The irony of all this is Paddy is the one doing the price gouging - standard tickets going from 700 euro to 1400 for a late ticket and 20 euro for a plate of food that the vendors agreed would cost 8

    It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone's fault. If it was us, what did that make Me? After all, I'm one of Us. I must be. I've certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We're always one of Us. It's Them that do the bad things.

    Terry Pratchet



  • #816
    Stheno
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 51,690 Mod ✭✭✭✭Stheno


    Joeytheparrot wrote: »
    The irony of all this is Paddy is the one doing the price gouging - standard tickets going from 700 euro to 1400 for a late ticket and 20 euro for a plate of food that the vendors agreed would cost 8

    Does the 700 euro cover one or three days?


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  • #817
    Seth Brundle
    Moderators, Politics Moderators Posts: 43,155 Mod ✭✭✭✭Seth Brundle


    Stheno wrote: »
    Does the 700 euro cover one or three days?

    What does it matter? Either way, it's extremely expensive for a wander around the RDS or listening to a few different people speaking!


  • #818
    VinLieger
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 19,008 ✭✭✭✭VinLieger


    Stheno wrote: »
    Does the 700 euro cover one or three days?

    Depends when you bought it by all accounts. If it was last year then probably its for the 3 days, but if it was last week then chances are thats what paddy was charging for single day tickets with his incredibly "innovative" price system that increases the closer the event gets


  • #819
    Heroditas
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,727 ✭✭✭Heroditas


    Joeytheparrot wrote: »
    The irony of all this is Paddy is the one doing the price gouging - standard tickets going from 700 euro to 1400 for a late ticket and 20 euro for a plate of food that the vendors agreed would cost 8


    The tickets cost how much?! :eek:


  • #820
    bigpink
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 4,552 ✭✭✭bigpink


    Is the web summit all that or for event junkies?


  • #821
    Stheno
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 51,690 Mod ✭✭✭✭Stheno


    kbannon wrote: »
    What does it matter? Either way, it's extremely expensive for a wander around the RDS or listening to a few different people speaking!

    Most conferences I would go to are in the 100-250 for a day ticket, so I was trying to compare it :)


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  • #822
    mikep
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 997 ✭✭✭mikep


    Out of curiosity this morning I trivago'd Dublin to see how bad the price gouging of hotels was..interestingly the 2 hotels I looked at, Clarion and Gibson both had rooms available for around €50 more than this day next week...doesn't seem excessive to me considering that you rarely get good prices booking on the day of arrival especially when there is an event on in the city.

    I'm getting dizzy from all the spinning...


  • #823
    VinLieger
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 19,008 ✭✭✭✭VinLieger


    mikep wrote: »
    Out of curiosity this morning I trivago'd Dublin to see how bad the price gouging of hotels was..interestingly the 2 hotels I looked at, Clarion and Gibson both had rooms available for around €50 more than this day next week...doesn't seem excessive to me considering that you rarely get good prices booking on the day of arrival especially when there is an event on in the city.

    I'm getting dizzy from all the spinning...

    The real secret Paddy never talks about is the web summit book quite a lot of hotel rooms themselves and then pass them onto attendees, going off the food shenanigans from yesterday im guessing they also slip in a bit of a price hike themselves for their trouble of simply booking rooms for people


  • #824
    Annasopra
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 41,232 ✭✭✭✭Annasopra


    Stheno wrote: »
    Does the 700 euro cover one or three days?

    Sorry it was 739 for a standard ticket rising to 1245 if it was booked late

    https://mobile.twitter.com/VCurrentAffairs/status/654737784297525248/photo/1

    It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone's fault. If it was us, what did that make Me? After all, I'm one of Us. I must be. I've certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We're always one of Us. It's Them that do the bad things.

    Terry Pratchet



  • #825
    Phoebas
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,371 ✭✭✭Phoebas


    Stheno wrote: »
    Does the 700 euro cover one or three days?

    The €700ish was for 3 days for the standard ticket. Its pretty expensive but people knew the price before they clicked the Buy button.
    What they didn't know is that the food would cost an additional €50 when it was included in the ticket price before.


  • #826
    Stheno
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 51,690 Mod ✭✭✭✭Stheno


    Phoebas wrote: »
    The €700ish was for 3 days for the standard ticket. Its pretty expensive but people knew the price before they clicked the Buy button.
    What they didn't know is that the food would cost an additional €50 when it was included in the ticket price before.

    Tbh that's pretty standard for three days at a conference imo.

    Could you buy a ticket for just one day?


  • #827
    my friend
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 7,129 ✭✭✭my friend


    Following their hilarious exposure I can't see Paddy Cosgrave or Daire Hickey doing any more interviews where any competent interviewer will merely fillet and flip them, they are on a hiding to nowhere and the public has now seen the behaviour that the Taoiseachs department politely decided to disengage with.
    Turns out Paddy and Daire are the only ones ripping punters off at this years summit, €20 for a burger and water that cost about €2
    Hypocrites

    Adrian Weckler will be thrown to the Lions by them now that they no longer have use for him


  • #828
    Phoebas
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,371 ✭✭✭Phoebas


    Stheno wrote: »
    Tbh that's pretty standard for three days at a conference imo.

    Could you buy a ticket for just one day?

    I'm not sure but I don't think you could.


  • #829
    gandalf
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26,458 ✭✭✭✭gandalf


    There was a limited early bird offer of two for the price of one. The company here availed of it.

    Last year we had four tickets and from my perspective while it was interesting it had absolutely no business value to us at all. I met a couple of customers who I'd meet with anyway, tried to talk to the startups who were pitching but once they realised I wasn't an investor they weren't interested.

    Thankfully this year I wasn't compelled to go so we gave the two tickets to two of our techies. They might get more out of it.


  • #830
    mikep
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 997 ✭✭✭mikep


    I would have expected Web summit to book hotels for attendees at preferential rates so prehaps VinLieger you are correct...
    As far as I know Croke Park hotel does rates for attendees of conferences there..

    Looks like a bit of gouging is taking place in Lisbon too, again from a quick trivago.


  • #831
    PARlance
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 22,073 ✭✭✭✭PARlance


    Phoebas wrote: »
    The €700ish was for 3 days for the standard ticket. Its pretty expensive but people knew the price before they clicked the Buy button.
    What they didn't know is that the food would cost an additional €50 when it was included in the ticket price before.

    What isn't standard is conning 100's of start ups into thinking they've made some best in class shortlist, filling them with sh1te about the likihood of investment and then making them aware that they'll have to fork out 2-3 grand for a crap display stand.


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  • #832
    futonic
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 125 ✭✭futonic


    Stheno wrote: »
    Tbh that's pretty standard for three days at a conference imo.

    Could you buy a ticket for just one day?
    Yep, I bought a one day ticket on adverts.ie for 50 Euro on Sunday.

    Also see, someone bought a 3 day ticket for 150 Euro. Lot of sellers, not too many buyers. I'd say about a dozen tickets up there, unsold.


  • #833
    smash
    Closed Accounts Posts: 34,809 ✭✭✭✭smash


    Web Summit is in the business of exploitation, simple as that. Volunteers, start ups, food vendors and speakers have all been exploited. It's undeniable.


  • #834
    Phoebas
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,371 ✭✭✭Phoebas


    PARlance wrote: »
    What isn't standard is conning 100's of start ups into thinking they've made some best in class shortlist, filling them with sh1te about the likihood of investment and then making them aware that they'll have to fork out 2-3 grand for a crap display stand.
    I don't know what the deal with the startups was but I think there are something like 2000 of them, all vying for (investor) attention.
    They get a metre of display space and get to do a 4 minute pitch - its got to be incredibly difficult for any of them to get noticed.

    I think it would have been better if there was a much smaller number of them with much more pre screening of them to try and separate the wheat from the chaff.
    They should be treated as an attraction, not a revenue stream.


  • #835
    SEPT 23 1989
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 43,039 ✭✭✭✭SEPT 23 1989


    Mike Ripper on the six one knew the jig was up


  • #836
    smash
    Closed Accounts Posts: 34,809 ✭✭✭✭smash


    Phoebas wrote: »
    I don't know what the deal with the startups was but I think there are something like 2000 of them, all vying for (investor) attention.
    They get a metre of display space and get to do a 4 minute pitch - its got to be incredibly difficult for any of them to get noticed.
    They don't all get to do a pitch. And they metre of space they get is only for one day. This has annoyed start-ups every year, but annoyed VC firms even more as they get a list of the start-ups and then when they go to find them, a third wont even be exhibiting on the day.


  • #837
    gandalf
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26,458 ✭✭✭✭gandalf


    SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »
    Mike Ripper on the six one knew the jig was up

    Yeah but now they have the whole of Portugal to fleece. They have burnt their bridges here in Ireland.


  • #838
    jester77
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,264 ✭✭✭✭jester77


    Phoebas wrote: »
    The €700ish was for 3 days for the standard ticket. Its pretty expensive but people knew the price before they clicked the Buy button.
    What they didn't know is that the food would cost an additional €50 when it was included in the ticket price before.

    That's actually a pretty decent price for a conference ticket. But any decent conference I've ever been to has included food. It may not always be great, I had one last week where I had to go and buy my own food because it was so bad, but it is something you expect to be included. That €50 just smacks of pure greed.


  • #839
    Annasopra
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 41,232 ✭✭✭✭Annasopra


    Stheno wrote: »
    Tbh that's pretty standard for three days at a conference imo.

    Could you buy a ticket for just one day?

    Doubling to 1425?

    It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone's fault. If it was us, what did that make Me? After all, I'm one of Us. I must be. I've certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We're always one of Us. It's Them that do the bad things.

    Terry Pratchet



  • #840
    smash
    Closed Accounts Posts: 34,809 ✭✭✭✭smash


    jester77 wrote: »
    That's actually a pretty decent price for a conference ticket.

    Don't be fooled, there's 3 levels of pricing and this lowest price ticket doesn't even get you access to a lot of the floor.


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  • #841
    Annasopra
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 41,232 ✭✭✭✭Annasopra


    smash wrote: »
    Don't be fooled, there's 3 levels of pricing and this lowest price ticket doesn't even get you access to a lot of the floor.

    As I said Web Summit are the price gougers here

    It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone's fault. If it was us, what did that make Me? After all, I'm one of Us. I must be. I've certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We're always one of Us. It's Them that do the bad things.

    Terry Pratchet



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