This year, Phoenix Design Week registrations cost $125. Last year, they were $40. You might ask, quite rightly, why such an increase?
We charged $40 last year by pulling a number out of the air based on some guessed figures and hoped-for attendance. We had no idea what it would cost to put on Design Week, and no idea what kind of support we’d get from sponsors.
This year, we were able to look at receipts from last year and base our cost on that.
Design Week registration fees are based entirely on what it costs for us to put on the same conference as last year, with the same number of attendees, even if we don’t get any sponsorships. That’s it. It’s the minimum we can charge without losing money (which a few of us did last year).
This conference is not meant to be profitable. The price-point is based on keeping the event sustainable and self-sufficient. The costs will fluctuate, the sponsors are either there or not, but we will be able to put on a 400 person conference for $125 registration. Even still, we’ve had early-bird prices of $99 going on since June. We’re doing everything we (responsibly) can to make this event accessible.
The content we bring in is huge too, compared to other conferences. HOW is $1275 to attend. Literally 10 times as much. Buying the webcasts AFTER the event is $149, even if you bought the conference ticket. HOW is great, the content is great, but the price can be staggering. We’re bringing similarly great content, with a local focus, and doing everything we can to make it affordable. There are other conferences, even in town, that have less content and cost 6 times as much. Plus, this year, we’ve been able to secure Adobe offering two days of training. There is more value in attending Phoenix Design Week than most conferences in the country. Seriously. Your bucks are banging like rabbits.
Phoenix Design Week is not meant to be a profit machine, and its not meant to be exclusionary. Its for the community, by the community. We’re doing the best we can to make this stay true, for years to come.
See you there? – http://phxdw.com