2019 RMAF News

[MylesBAstor]

Hello, Rocky Mountain International Audio Fest Exhibitors.

Thank you for all your inquiries about exhibitor room availability. We are excited about the launch of room sales, too!

Due to a delay in perfecting our new website content and function, we are pushing back our "grand opening" by just a few days to WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2019. We think you'll be thrilled with all the room options and amenities at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center.

SLEEPING ROOMS REGISTRATION

The Gaylord Rockies has sent us a link for sleeping rooms. To reserve a sleeping room, please contact them directly and identify yourself as a Rocky Mountain Audio Fest attendee/exhibitor to receive the show discount via
https://book.passkey.com/go/AUDIOFEST2019 or 1-800-GAYLORD.

INDUSTRY SUMMIT
You spoke, and we listened!

Many of you leaders in the high performance audio community have advocated for an industry day of events. You have told us there is a pressing need for a forum that fosters business-to-business connections and the sharing of information and ideas that are vital to us all as we move forward into the future.

Given RMAF's distinctive community-oriented culture, we know the obvious place to fill that gap! The Rocky Mountain International Audio Festival is delighted to host its inaugural "High Performance Audio Industry Summit" on Thursday, September 5. And we would like to hear your ideas!

[MylesBAstor]

Myles, So... did you get caught in the rumor mill? We sure did! One of our friends was kind enough to come directly to the horse's mouth for the real info on RMAF 2019, and we are grateful to them for sharing the latest gossip about us with us. It seems that we've been so busy trying to manage all the little crises that come with this new venue that we have been terrible communicators. We forgot that you might want to know what's going on too! Sorry about that - we just got overwhelmed for a little while. So, here's the scoop: OF COURSE Rocky Mountain Audio Fest is happening this year, silly! All those rumors about RMAF tanking are just that - rumors! And all the cool kids will be there, so if you thought you'd sit this year out, we will sure miss you, but we are moving forward with our plans for a great event in our beautiful new venue! We've got a huge new space, and we are planning for an awesome get-together with our friends, a chance to do some business, see what's new since Munich and Long Beach, and meet some brand new audio aficionados we haven't seen before. We have definitely had our challenges with this move - the Gaylord just opened three months ago, and they are still working the kinks out of their regular events program. But they have never even imagined our kind of event, so we are having to educate their staff at every turn. For instance, they can't even imagine why we would need exact measurements of where electrical outlets are located, because none of their other clients care about that kind of stuff (tiny little eye roll). So here's our good faith effort to address the issues we've heard about. Some of them are legit questions, and as you will see, some are things we have absolutely no control over! If we've missed something you care about, please let us know and we will do our best to get the information out to you. Prices - Yep. Got a little sticker shock. Us too! But it's not because we're getting rich - that's just the price of hotel rooms in Denver. In fact, the old hotel was going to charge us $300 a night and quadruple the furniture removal fee, so the price would have been even higher if we had stayed where we were. And at least in the new hotel, the elevators will work! We don't have any wiggle room in this first year contract, but we hope that we will be able to negotiate some savings next year after they see how things really work with our show - like how many storage rooms they actually need for the furniture, etc., and we will share in our good fortune if that happens. But for this year, them's the prices. Dates - Well, what can you do? The hotel was booked every single week in October this year, so we tried to pick the best time without pushing into the holiday season when you need to be available to conduct business in your hometown, not out on the road in a strange city. It's just for 2019. Next year, we'll be back on schedule in October. The 2020 dates will be October 1-4. Sometimes you don't get what you want, and this year, we just could not get our preferred dates. But we'll survive, and you will LOVE September in Colorado! Website - In order to maintain a secure web experience, we had to completely redesign our website, and we are working with our web designer to create a customer experience that is as smooth as our old site. So far, it hasn't happened, but we get closer every day. We will be sending some navigational hints in the next week. Please bear with us and call if you encounter a glitch so we can fix it! Industry Summit - What the heck is that? The Industry Summit is a day to do a bit of Business to Business networking, to attend some educational seminars geared specifically to the audio biz, to schedule some press meetings, train your distributors, meet with special clients, fine tune your room. What do YOU want it to be? We tried to listen and respond when our exhibitors asked for those things, and here it is. This is not supposed to be a forced march. It's supposed to be fun and interesting, so if it doesn't make sense for you to come, we can recommend the Denver Axe Room, where you can drink beer and throw axes. What could possibly go wrong there? CanJam - Our friends at CanJam decided to go out on their own this year, and do headphone-only shows. While we respect their decision, we don't know any two channel folks who don't appreciate a good set of headphones! If you're a headphone company, and you thought that since CanJam was gone, you couldn't show at RMAF, think again! We invite you into "HeadSpace," where you'll find all your friends and competitors, and a bunch of potential customers! Location - What? A new location? YES! It has been time for us to move for a while now, and we finally found a place that could accommodate our very unique needs! It's just 6 miles from Denver International Airport instead of 20 for the old venue. Yeah, we could have found a more centrally located hotel, but no other hotels will remove furniture from the rooms, so there you go. We checked the train schedule, and if you're compelled to get out of the hotel and head downtown, the hotel shuttle will take you to the train stop on 61st St., and then it's just 25 minutes to downtown Denver, with shopping, restaurants, and nightlife. Press Coverage - Well, we know they are coming to review the show, because they are reserving their rooms! We have been talking to and taking reservations from both print and online publications, so there will be plenty of reviewers to look at and listen to your equipment! We are also inviting some YouTube reviewers who will tap their younger, tech savvy followers. Don't worry - if nothing else, they'll come to see if we really are going down in flames or rising like a Phoenix after the change in location. We guarantee it's the latter! Hotel Construction - A few people are worrying about whether the hotel is fully built out. No, it's not, but you don't need to worry about that. The Gaylord is fully built for now, but will be adding 300 rooms over the next three years... and not where you will be affected, so set your mind at ease. It's not happening this year, and when it does, you won't even notice. Room Size - Some of you have said that the rooms are smaller in our new venue, and you're right. A standard room is about 2 feet shorter than at the old hotel. This is because the powers that be decided to make the bathrooms larger. Heavy sigh... not perfect for us, but they weren't designing the hotel with an audio show in mind and we were not consulted. We hope you'll use your ingenuity to make the best of a situation we cannot control. New Staff - It's a new hotel, and it's three times bigger than the old venue. Of course most of the staff is new! But those of you who have been with us for a while will recognize several friendly faces, just like we did! We were delighted to learn that some of our very favorite people have moved from the old hotel into leadership positions at the Gaylord. It's a new venue with lots of new experiences, but we have the comfort of knowing that there are kindred spirits waiting to assist us. Attendance - Every year we work hard to bring audiophiles from Denver and beyond to partake of the exquisite audio offerings at RMAF, and every year, we come through for you. Did you expect this year would be different? Well, it WILL BE! And that's because we are adding a whole new category to what people can experience at our show! This year, in addition to the great folks we usually draw, we are welcoming the automobile and motorcycle audio sector, and all the new folks that like their audio on the go will be coming with them! We are bringing a brand new demographic right to your door, and all you have to do is invite them in. Attendees can drive, take an Uber or Lyft, or take the A train from Union Station in downtown Denver or from the airport. It's 12 minutes from the airport, and just a 25 minute ride downtown. Our millennial friends won't mind a bit. We will have a parking code so in spite of what you've heard, it will NOT cost people $30/day to park. It will cost $18, so if someone wants to drive, they sure can. Accommodations - We have multiple hotels for accommodations, so there's a price point for everybody. We have a block of rooms 2 miles away at the Baymont by Wyndham for just $100, and you can find several others on Trip Advisor. We know we've been remiss in our communications, and we apologize. We are committing to periodic updates, so our exhibitors will know what's going on, and we invite you to call us if you're coming to town, and we will meet you at the Gaylord for a mini tour. We hope this answers all the things that have been on your mind. If not, call or email us and we'll be happy to assist. If this information has changed your mind, and you would like to exhibit at RMAF, we have fewer than 10 rooms left, so give us a call! Your Friends in Sound - Marjorie, Marcie and Michael

Marjorie Baumert, Director Rocky Mountain International Audio Fest September 5-8, 2019 October 1-4, 2020 * October 7-10, 2021 www.audiofest.net Facebook: ROCKY MOUNTAIN AUDIO FEST Twitter: @audiofest or #RMAF2019 Instagram: rmafdenver 303.393.7918

[Ritmo]

Thanks for the update Myles. I'm not attending this year. Considering Munich for 2020.

[MylesBAstor]

Made reservations for the Gaylord Rockies Hotel and they already charged my credit card for one night's stay. Huh? Never had a hotel do that. Be forewarned.

[dminches]

Made reservations for the Gaylord Rockies Hotel and they already charged my credit card for one night's stay. Huh? Never had a hotel do that. Be forewarned.

The Schaumburg Renaissance has done that to me for 2 years.