SXSW - time to reschedule for 2021? (Austin, West: appointed, calculation, price)

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by eastriver

SXSW's cancellation may have prematurely and permanently shifted its momentum of relevance and vitality for the worse.

The most popular nightclub of the moment (pretend it's the 80s) suddenly has a sign in the door on a Friday night, saying, "Sorry, we've had to close for this weekend." Regular happenings don't recover from interruptions in schedule like that.

https://www.dallasnews.com/arts-ente...-cancellation/

Austin has a GDP of approximately $147 Billion, of which SXSW with attendance, hotels, operations and consumer impact accounted for, approximately $350 Million... Basically, less than 1% or approximately 0.23%, not even one quarter of a full percentage. I'm not doubting some entities will suffer a financial loss, but even if a club closes here, it won't take 5 weeks before its replaced.

Austin is also far from the only city that has canceled major events, some have been canceled that are much larger and bring much greater financial gain.

[eastriver]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

Austin has a GDP of approximately $147 Billion, of which SXSW with attendance, hotels, operations and consumer impact accounted for, approximately $350 Million... Basically, less than 1% or approximately 0.23%, not even one quarter of a full percentage. I'm not doubting some entities will suffer a financial loss, but even if a club closes here, it won't take 5 weeks before its replaced.

Austin is also far from the only city that has canceled major events, some have been canceled that are much larger and bring much greater financial gain.

Well SXSW is kind of a super-scaled club, albeit annualized. But so was Macworld and CES, which continue in an attenuated form, shells of their former selves.

The analogies are far from perfect, and Austin isn't SXSW, but it's a theme that's taken a place in the central milieu of the region and has had an impact on its world recognition far greater than $350 million last year. And a word of mouth driver for so many other conventions. I'd argue how likely the Fairmont would be operating that convention center hotel had it not been for SXSW's prominence on the world stage, and its ancillary effects.

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by riaelise

I’ve read that sxsw was forced to lay off people and fears that it will be out of money by summer

My daughter is scheduled to go to dc/nyc with her 8th grade class. She’s so excited. Haven’t heard about cancellation but I fear that may happen

AISD cancelled all district sponsored travel, not sure about other districts.

[m1a1mg]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

Austin has a GDP of approximately $147 Billion, of which SXSW with attendance, hotels, operations and consumer impact accounted for, approximately $350 Million... Basically, less than 1% or approximately 0.23%, not even one quarter of a full percentage. I'm not doubting some entities will suffer a financial loss, but even if a club closes here, it won't take 5 weeks before its replaced.

Austin is also far from the only city that has canceled major events, some have been canceled that are much larger and bring much greater financial gain.

I know you like to present yourself as really knowledgeable about Austin, despite living here for a really short amount of time, but in this instance you have no clue. While the percentage of Austin's GDP seems minuscule, the effect on the Austin bar business may, in fact, be devastating.

https://www.statesman.com/business/2...tin-businesses

In a Facebook post, Graham Williams, an Austin concert promoter, said that while some venues have good business year-round, many others “literally survive off of SXSW.”
“The amount of venues that use that week-plus of slammed bar sales to get them to the end of the year (especially after the slow winter months) will shock you,” Williams wrote. “I don’t know how some of them are going to make it to the end of the year. And that’s not to mention all the restaurants, hotels, bartenders, security people, rideshare drivers, musicians, hotels, etc., etc. that will be out of work that week, essentially.”

I have a family member that made, literally, $6K and up during SXSW. Probably 10-15% of annual income. Can you make it without 10-15% of annual income?

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by riaelise

I’ve read that sxsw was forced to lay off people and fears that it will be out of money by summer

My daughter is scheduled to go to dc/nyc with her 8th grade class. She’s so excited. Haven’t heard about cancellation but I fear that may happen

I don’t think you’re AISD- but I just got this email

AISD is suspending all district-sponsored domestic travel to states where there is community-wide spread of the virus and where the local government has declared a state of public health emergency. Reported states, at this time, include California, Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, Oregon, Washington and Utah.

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by m1a1mg

I know you like to present yourself as really knowledgeable about Austin, despite living here for a really short amount of time, but in this instance you have no clue. While the percentage of Austin's GDP seems minuscule, the effect on the Austin bar business may, in fact, be devastating.

https://www.statesman.com/business/2...tin-businesses

In a Facebook post, Graham Williams, an Austin concert promoter, said that while some venues have good business year-round, many others “literally survive off of SXSW.”
“The amount of venues that use that week-plus of slammed bar sales to get them to the end of the year (especially after the slow winter months) will shock you,” Williams wrote. “I don’t know how some of them are going to make it to the end of the year. And that’s not to mention all the restaurants, hotels, bartenders, security people, rideshare drivers, musicians, hotels, etc., etc. that will be out of work that week, essentially.”

I have a family member that made, literally, $6K and up during SXSW. Probably 10-15% of annual income. Can you make it without 10-15% of annual income?

I'm not pretending to know anything. Everything I provided were provable facts and I never said it would not be a set back.

We're still pretending that even if the event had occurred there would have been full blown and that it would have incurred no financial losses and I believe that is also an unrealistic expectation with all the restrictions on international travel as well as many whom would have probably chosen not to go by this point. Either way it was a lose / lose. If the event had occurred and someone (even if they were not associated with the event first hand) were to have become ill due to a traveler for the event, even despite the fact that the virus would have spread anyway, the negative publicity over SXSW would have been just as devastating in light of many organizations, many of which are far more profitable canceling and closing off travel all over the country. It would have been viewed as negligent. It makes no difference that the virus will spread through other means such as travelers frequently flying in and out of DFW / Austin / Houston, but rather SXSW's name could be attached to the cause if a case breaks out here. It's a liability. They were going to take a hit regardless. There was no way around that.

I'm sorry for your friends / family financial losses. I do understand that it can be a major setback...and in the coming years we may (or may not) enter another economic recession - these set backs can happen to anyone at any time without warning. Myself included. But I personally would still take that over risking others for my own prosperity.

[Westerner92]

After reading up on the containment measures taken in Asian countries for SARS and COVID-19 as well as American cities during the Spanish Flu, I’m totally convinced SXSW and Austin are making the right calls on public gatherings. Hopefully other cities follow suit ASAP, because this is the critical period of community spread in the US. The more we can “flatten out the peak” of cases, the more effective healthcare will be not just for COVID-19 cases, but for everyone else with other conditions that would need care regardless.

This is a funky disease that passes undetected in a good portion of people with a long latency, so it can spread crazy fast and hit the healthcare system all at once. The more data we gather, the more this looks like a true pandemic, being both more contagious and deadlier than anything since the Spanish Flu. It isn’t about whether you’re personally worried about the disease. It’s about whether you’re one of the majority with mild symptoms that might accidentally not fully cover your cough in proximity of a retail door handle. That could quite possibly contribute to a couple hospital visits when they’re already overwhelmed. Your mild cold could inadvertently contribute to a car wreck victim two weeks later to not getting an ambulance in time. Austin’s measures might avert the worst of it, but I strongly suspect we'll start seeing scattered cases of overrun hospitals around the country by the end of the month.

[ScoPro]

Have no fear - Mayor Adler said everybody should go out to eat, drink, and be merry as usual.

[TexasHorseLady]

A little historical perspective from Heather Cox Richardson:



"The comparison people are making these days is between Philadelphia and St. Louis during the 1918 flu epidemic. In Philadelphia, the city’s public health commissioner, a political appointee, did not want to hurt public morale by cancelling public events. On September 28, the city held a big parade to raise money for the Liberty Bonds that were funding WWI, and 200,000 people attended. Two days later, people started to die. On October 3, city leaders closed down the city, but it was too late to stop the spread of the influenza. By the end of the season, 12,000 Philadelphians had died. In St. Louis, in contrast, the public health commissioner shut down the city. Drawing the wrath of local businessmen, he shut down schools, sporting events, bars, and movie theaters. People in St. Louis still got sick, but the infection rate was slow enough that the sick got treatment; the infections did not spike. At the end of the season 1,700 people died of the flu in St. Louis, half the rate in Philadelphia."

[CarnivalGal]

Originally Posted by El Chingaso

Exactly, which is why we should try to follow South Korea's model and have drive-thru testing centers free of charge to help quell all the fears and allow those infected to be quarantined quickly. Their current fatality rate is 10% of what we have here.

1) Our healthcare system is completely messed up and won't allow us to do that. It takes mountains of paperwork and insurance approval to do any test. They don't have to deal with that in S Korea because they have universal healthcare. Add to that the fact that until recently, in most places people had to go to the ER to get the test. Even though the test was free, they still had to pay for the ER. As a result, a lot of people who probably should have been tested, weren't, because it was cost prohibitive for them,

2) There aren't enough tests. The US has done a horrible job of making accurate testing available to people. It's not just the lack of tests, but the ridiculous process required to administer a test. Until last week, most had to be sent off to the CDC. There have also been problems with the accuracy of the CDC tests. The US has handled this very poorly.