My reunion is 11/26, only 4.5 weeks from now. I guaranteed the hotel where the party will be 100 people and I only have 19 paying customers signed up so far!! All of a sudden people are telling me it's a bad night b/c a) it's Black Friday and they have to work b) they have a wedding, bar mitzvah, whatever, c) kids home from college, blah blah blah.
I am email blasting the 125 people I have em addresses for, but the only way to remind and cajole the 175 people I don't have em for is to do yet another mailing which will cost another $100. Price is $95 per person, which is a little high, but that's what the costs came to!
Did anyone else have this situation?!? I can't eat or sleep and cannot afford to personally lose thousands of dollars...HELP!!!

The only thing that works is actually phone calls--you can't beat the personal touch--get as many classmates as you can to help to make the calls. Also, contact your reunion venue and explain your situation to see if they won't allow you to downsize your event...maybe they'll work with you.

Best of Luck!

I have a class of 600. We had the best luck with email and facebook. The last month, I sent out emails twice a week. Quite a few people told them that they wouldn't have come if I hadn't kept emailing them. I sent jokes, cartoons, etc so that I wasn't repeating myself about the reunion info each time. They loved it.

Most of our people signed up within the last 2 weeks of the reunion. (Made me nervous) We had a lot of first timers, too, which was nice.

I would not suggest sending a mailing except to someone who regularly comes to the reunions that you have no other way of getting in contact with. It would be better though if you could call them personally.

Anyone who is really interested will be able to find your site with a simple search. Just concentrate on those that are easily contacted and who are likely to come.

You might also ask for donations... from restaurants, hotels, spas, etc in the area and do a raffle or auction to help offset the cost.

I am attaching the "Top 10 Excuses for Avoiding the Reunion" by Erica Noonan, who is the Bureau Chief of Globe West. I modified it to resemble our class. I would suggest you start with this. Make it fun. If you would like any other cartoons, jokes, etc that I have, just let me know.

Good luck!

It may be too late to change things up but what if you explained to your venue your problem. And asked them to let you out of this mess. Find a restaurant with a large gathering room (try a martini lounge) and ask if you can reserve a FREE room---that you might have up to 75 people--or you might just have 20--you don't know. And will they take orders out of that room? That way, you're not on the hook for anything. In this economy $100 a person is totally shooting yourself in the foot for reunion plans. We had a terrific response to our reunion because we did what I described above.

Restaurants are starving these days (pun intended) and a martini bar was more than happy to provide us a free venue in exchange for customers. I e-blasted that if all a person ordered was ice water, that's all it would cost them. And no RSVP needed. As a result we had almost 150 people show up out of our class of 220! And it was a gy-normous success.

It's not too late to change plans. Go for it. $100 a person is simply unrealistic in today's hard times. And I question the date as well. Most people get on overload by Thanksgiving. And summers often work better for reunions.

This may sound drastic but you COULD cancel it and reschedule it for summer of this next year and follow the advice above. I'm thinking you might have a far better response.

PS: I also did absolutely NO mailings. If people didn't do e-mail, they could check our website's homepage for updates. The reunion cost me absolutely NOTHING to put on except a little heart-and-soul effort on Class Creator and a little administrative organizing. I think you've turned what could be a great, fun, low-key gathering for everyone into something that is WAY too much work for you. Sorry, I tend to be blunt when it comes to over-the-top reunions that cost too much and the classmates themselves can't even afford to come.

It sounds like the 2 biggest issues are the date and price. I'm thinking the date is #1. I would speak to the venue and see if you can change the date. They should still be glad to have your business, just on another night. With so few people making a commitment so far, you won't be putting that many people out by changing the date.

I also think a mailing would be a waste of money. Try to get a group of 5 or so and start emailing and making phone calls. Word of mouth goes a long way. Ask each person you contact to call 2 or 3 of their old high school friends.

As far as cost, I'm not sure what your plans call for. But if drinks are included, switch to a pay per drink bar. Also, go over every detail and see where you can save. If a professional photographer was hired, maybe find a photo student; if it is a sit down dinner, change to a buffet, etc.

Good luck.

agreed--even though it's too late now, but the best reunion we ever had, we had a buffet and we charged everyone $16 per person that included $5 overhead fee.

Many people procrastinate and pay at the last minute, does your venue have a deadline date?
Did you give your classmates a deadline to reply?
Unfortunately, my class had this happen (only 4 paid with 4 weeks to go)and our reunion planner ended up canceling our 30th reunion due to a low response. She was stressed and it wasn't fair to her to have this hanging all on her. Hence the reason, I started this web site. To try and prevent this from happening in the future. It isn't fair for you to hold this burden alone. I would e-mail all explaining your concerns, your possible loss and the fact that if you do not get "x" amount to reply by "x" date you will be forced to cancel the reunion. This just might push those procrastinators to reply etc... at least they would have been warned.... the girl planning ours gave us NO warning and just sent a canceled message to all 4 weeks before the reunion after some had even bought airline tickets to attend and when in the past most paid two weeks before...so just an FYI, let others KNOW, and let others share in the concern...hopefully you will resolve and not need to cancel, but don't let yourself get sick over this!

I'm not an expert and we had a small class compared to some of you, 177, and that included everyone who was in our grade level from the 8th through 12th grade even tho some of them graduated elsewhere or not at all. We only had 96 who actually graduated with us. Hey, Natchitoches High School, home of "Steel Magnolias" fame was just a small farming/college town of about 15,000 in 1960.

That said, our key, so I was told by many classmates, was personal phone calls. I made all of them but also encouraged others to call those they were close to during those school years or those with whom they had maintained contact. Of course, we did use email, and one mail out to all, but personal calls were the most important. And, we only started from scratch about four months before the date set.

We held our cost down to $50 per person but also made all aware that donations above that were welcome in case there were those who could not afford the $50. What a great feeling when so many gave above their cost and several even offered to make up any shortfall.

It, our 50 year this past May, was the best of five that were held.

Looks like the best advice already given is to delay and downsize. $95 is too much IMO -- especially with a cash bar.

Why 34 years for the reunion? Make it 35 and select a 2011 date based on a poll of a sample of the class.

Do you have a committee? Get those 19 who have said they're coming to help reshape it at a later date.

Ask to be released from the contract this week. If they say no, contact a class member who's an attorney.

I also think $95 is too much. That said, just FYI in the future, we are planning for an August reunion and if they sign up before May 31, 2011 it will be $50 for two nights and after June 1 it will be $55 for two nights (per person). I think setting that "early bird special" will mean everything and am anxious to see or hear from others about that.

I agree with the statements about personal touch. Although we have this web site, there is still plenty of "touching" going on with email and Facebook, and just bein' friends! That is what it takes, a mailing every five years won't cut it, even an amazing product like this won't cut it, but personal touch, whatever you have to do, will.

Check back with us and let us know what did happen in this situation and how the problem was dealt with. We are all interested.

Denise

Agree with all of the above. You do have a great challenge but may want to really rethink the entire weekend,time,cost,etc etc etc and come up with a great time next summer or fall. Many will not be "expecting" a reunion on a very off year, like 34 and that weekend is the most "family time" weekend that is already overbooked in most homes, traveling is a nightmare for some and it's just way to busy to expect anyone to make a high school reunion a "priority" for a significant chunk of cash.
Plan B, C or D may be in order. No need to make anyone any more stressed about it...many will probably be "relieved" to know that you are considering "regrouping" if that is the approach you decide.
Your site is fairly "young" and you may use the suggestions to help create "excitement", but the upcoming busyness of the holidays, the hectic nature of life lately...well, who needs more stress? Just a thought ...I would seriously consider a heartfelt e-mail to those on your contact list, do a "survey" and go with your heart and intuition. But I would definitely consider a "simplified" stressor. Life is too short! (I "lost" some personal money on our first 'venue" becuase of similar concerns,etc, but it was worth the cost in stress relief! Thankfully my husband "understood"! No one else really cared, but the stress was "self induced" and it's definitely not good for optimal mental or physical health!)
Best to you on this challenge....There is much sage wisdom in all of the above posts!

kris

p.s. Is your "google analytics" turned on, so that others easily find your site? Phone calls were the most effective, although time consuming and often challenging, but it was the old "reach out and touch someone" that shows that the reunion is worth their time and efforts to get there!
This should be more "fun" than "stress" and in the ned all your efforts will be rewarded, but really rethink that weekend and your costs!

Nancy,

My first thought, as noted by others above, is "Why are you having a 34th year reunion?"

Most of the traffic here seems to hone in on marquee events associated with 10th, 25th, 50th, etc. That doesn't mean there is anything wrong with odd years or every year for that matter, but we all have probably asked ourselves at one time or another "what are the consequences of not doing something or going some place at this time." Unless there is something compelling about your gathering this year, I could understand a classmate or two thinking they might pass now yet go out of their way to make the 35th or 40th.

If the response fails to meet your needs or expectations, perhaps rather than "cancel" you could get the hotel to "reschedule" till next year. In spite of the work you have already put into this, a fall-back position such as this may allow you to preserve and build on much of what has already been done.

Bob

Wow! I agree with all of the above. I think costs might be a little higher in NJ but $95 and a cash bar is pretty much out of anyones price range. Especially if they want to bring their spouse! But backing up I looked at your website and notice you are missing info on an enormous number of classmates. Is this missing mailing addresses or just emails? A fabulous free search engine is ZabaSearch.com. It is free and gives a year of birth. Couple this with Whitepages.com that gives a range of ages in household and phone numbers. Get a group to do the internet searches, make phone calls and verify they are the right John or Jane Doe then ask for their email. Without emails reunions just aren't doable with today's postage prices. We are having our reunion next Labor Day weekend and sent our Save-the-Date refrigerstor magnets (really cheap through Vista print) with our website address a year in advance. One of just two mailings we will do. We also asked some classmates for seed money. If you cant get a few helpers then there definitely isnt enough interest for it to be successful. We have narrowed down our missing mailing addresses to 10 of 240 classmates. We are missing only 60 emails and calling to say hi and ask for it. For sure you need to push this back a year and do your homework if you want a good crowd. Also you need to scale down what you are doing to make it a reasonable price. What did the class ahead of you do? How much did they spend? What was their turnout? When was your last reunion, how much did you charge and how many came?

Good luck with your negotiating but I agree you can make them push this back to another date and a scaled back went for next year.

Janie

You can raise general funds fir the reunion with donations from a few generous classmates. That can allow the per person price to be reduced. I used the DONATE feature with a Paypal account and also a basket with a balloon at the reunion for website donations.
We charged 25 for a simple venue and Italian dinner buffet, with cash bar. 40 for a couple. 80 out of 175 came, and the missing list has the other 250 we can't reach on email. Zabasearch and networking in the class helped to locate phone numbers. A personal phone call helped in many cases.
I'd strongly consider converting that date to a committee meeting and reschedule, if thats possible. That date wouldn't work here in the Midwest.

wow! $95.00! and a 34th?? we had a class of over 600 and we have found or can account for all but 99. our 50th was this year and we had a large portion of those we had found to come to the 3 day event. ours was 3 days because we had not had a reunion for 40 years!

we spent 1.5 years going through Zabasearch, White Pages, Tributes.com locating classmates. some searches gave us more than 10 people to contact. we kept records and called every number we could find for each classmate. it was tedious but so rewarding.

we sent out emails vis the this site. the only people who rec'd snail mail were those we has contacted and who did not have a computer. we sent out many, many emails and had 2 deadlines. the 2nd deadline we did not tell them about until after the first one had passed. our 2nd deadline was for 2.5 weeks before the first event.

at the last event of the weekend, each classmate got up and spoke and each of them said the same thing--if it wasn't for this website (thank you guys!!) and our persistance in contacting them and talking up the reunion, most of them would not have come. now, they can't wait for the next one!

get rid of the reunion for this year and plan it for next year--35th. have it manageable for you and whoever else you assign for all and any of the tasks involved. and as so many others have written, if the restaurant won't cooperate with you, find another who will.

best of luck............

Hello Jonathan,

I hear ya and feel for your stressful situation. Our own multiyear reunion was thankfully bumped out to next year. Giving us more time to plan and frankly pester alumni to come. It is my understanding from many other reunion committees as well as staff at various venues that it's normal for folks to wait until the last minute to decide to attend. So, do consider moving it to the summer of 2011. I'm sure your venue will work with you. See if they can't bring down the price a bit. And finally pester your alumni with humor. A wonderful piece that has been shared around the CC Forum is "High School Reunion For Dummies" that you can adjust to your specific school needs. Find cute reunion cartoons. Also check out YouTube... "How to Turn Heads at Your High School Reunion" ...
"Surprise High School Reunions!"...

Good Luck & Best Wishes!

~ Nadia, class of '81

First look at your contract with your venue. You can usually cancel 30 days out if necessary. If that deadline has passed, look at when they need the final head count. It's usually 1 or 2 weeks prior to the event. Warn them as soon as possible that it's more likely to be 40 or 50, but be honest about the response you have now. They may have a smaller room they can put you in or they may be able to divide the room. Just because you SAID you thought you'd have 100 or more people, doesn't mean you are contractually obligated to pay for that many. Your main cost is the food and they don't order that in until they get the final count so they won't be out anything extra.

Did I read you are providing the booze? If you are hosting the bar, and that accounted for a good part of the $95 per person, see if you can renegotiate with the venue. Change it to a cash bar instead and refund the differrence to those who have paid and shoot out a mass email of the lower price to those you are still trying to attract.

I agree with those who said you need a phone "tree." And keep emailing. I personally emailed people who I knew others wanted to come and told them I wanted them there too.I good-naturedly "harrassed" a good number of people into coming who wouldn't have come otherwise. A lot of folks need to know people actually want to see them.

Good luck. Just talk to the venue pronto!

Retha

In the survey that I took with our classmates, the months of November AND December was TOTALLY out of the question for a class reunion. They said they were just too many other functions going on at the time.

Scott

Thanks for all the suggestions. The class one year older than us did a 34th, charged more money than we are, and had great success. So IMHO, doing a 34th is not so off-the wall. In addition, our 25th was on the Fri night of thanks. wknd (in 2001, not long after 9/11) and it was successful as well.
I have hardly any people's phone numbers, but I have snail mail addresses for 300 of the 340. It is buffet, not sit-down, it is a cash bar, and yet even with that, the food cost is $65 per person by the time all the service charges and gratuities are tackied on. Yes, they do have a deadline to purchase their tickets by.
I have a call into the hotel to see if they will let us downsize or reschedule so that it is my best hope at this point. I just feel bad for those out-of-towners who have booked flights, etc and paid already.

You're lucky that your 25th was successful. But as the years go along. You're family gets larger and you're going to have more family functions. And to a lot of people this is more of a priority than class reunions. That's what they told me in the surveys. We were told to steer clear of holidays. Your class may be different.

if you have 300 addresses of classmates, then you should look at whitepages.com. plug in their name and address and you will get their phone number, unless, of course, they have eliminated their land line and only go cell. it sure is cheaper than sending out mailings....

your the only class i know who has put on a 34th. good luck......

This is the best idea. Find people in close proximity and let them call. Ask friends of those who haven't replied, maybe they can talk them into it. Send a very personal message to the few remaining after this phase and make them feel that you really feel that the reunion would be so much better if they were there. THEN treat them like it if they come. Have a "smoose" committee, if you will - people from the class assigned to greet and make welcome those who never come to a reunion "cause nobody liked me then and I don't like them now." We found fewer cliques as our years go higher. Maybe some of the "taking under the arm" stuff will help people feel welcome. Personal contact is what finally motivates.

Those who booked flights and hotels may not be able to get their $ back. See what you can do on a smaller scale. Then, call each one with the updated info. Ask if they would like to come for a mini-reunion and discuss/help plan a reunion for next year. My trip was paid with airmiles and rewards for my hotel. If this had happened to me, I could not have received a refund and would have appreciated a call and possible choice.

It is just a hard weekend to make things happen with the busy weekend of Black Friday.

Good luck.

Hi Nancy:

Checking to see what's transpired on your reunion plans since your last post. I think a lot of us were concerned and hoping it will all turn out well for you.

John

Thanks for checking up on me! Well I guess it is not as dire as I had thought a few weeks ago. I REALLY did not want to cancel it, as the people who had already signed up to come were all very excited about it. So...I was able to reduce my guarantee with the caterer from 100 people to 50 people at the same price per person, and I am happy to say that we are approaching around 60 people now. I also cancelled the photographer, even though it was a friend only charging $350, and figure I'll just throw some disposable cameras on the tables for the guests to use. We still have 2 weeks plus a day to go and I wouldn't be suprised if we get near 70. So, while it won't be as large as I had hoped, sometimes less can be more, right? Thanks again, and I will report back closer in, or just after.

Can I just add one thing re: the cameras?? Make sure you gather up people and take a group picture of everyone! Even if you have to have more than one group. We had over 250 at our reunion this past summer and we did have a photographer. When I viewed the over 1400, yes 1400 pictures, which took a lot of time, I noticed that many people had several photos and many people we had no pictures at all! Believe me that is a total disappointment. We are looking to have a picnic this summer and if we do, we will gather everyone into a group phote.

NANCY MARSILLO wrote:

Now that YOU'RE feeling better, I think we're ALL feeling better! Thanks for letting us know and we'll look forward to your next posts.