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This is a list of notes I made when I visited the new Round Rock facility where we will be hosting the Lone Star Audiofest in 2025. First, a quick note to attendees: The Round Rock Embassy Suites is a brand new property - built only four years ago - so it's quite different to what we had in Dallas. With that comes some differences including free parking at the new Round Rock venue. Why the Austin/Round Rock area? Checkout this fact sheet to see why. Here are just a few reasons: Austin has the fastest growing population of millionaires; ergo, more people likely to be interested in HiFi. Austin was named the best state capitol to live in (WalletHub) Austin is one of the top 10 best places to live in the U.S. (U.S. News) Austin's live music tourism generates about $1.8 billion annually. Austin hosts two iconic music festivals, South by Southwest (SXSW) and the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Austin is home to many music companies, including BMI, C3 Presents (Live Nation), SXSW, Tunecore, Messina Touring Group (AEG), Scoremore Shows (Live Nation), and 888 Management Gold Rush Vinyl. In addition to that, you'll know by now that we are partnering with T.H.E. Show. With that comes a wealth of trade show experience and a full staff available to promote the show and support our exhibitors. They do all kinds of things to promote the show and even beyond that, they do things that promote each individual exhibitor. Two of the biggest things the T.H.E. Team offers us are marketing skills and organizational resources. They use these to bring the things many LSAF exhibitors have been asking for to help elevate our show. There are a lot of new things happening in 2025 - way more than just the venue change - so you really gotta check it out! But I digress. This is really about the venue, itself. So for those of you who have booked your rooms already - and for those who want a more in-depth look, I went there and took some photos. You can find them below with some accompanying text to give you a better idea of the layout of the venue. Entering the Lobby Entering the lobby, this is what you see. We're facing straight through the entrance doors, and in the distance, we see the hall containing the elevators. The front desk is to our right, and the restaurant and conference rooms are to our left. Looking left, at the lobby entrance Looking left, we see the restaurant. Past that, we see the entrance to the halls taking us to the conference rooms. We will have signs here, informing guests where everything is. We will also have brochures and magazines, free for THELSAF ticket holders. Past the retaurant, we see our way to the the conference rooms. As we pass the restaurant, we are in a hall that takes us to the conference rooms. We can see a television mounted to the wall. At the corner of the hall, we see the television on the wall. At the corner of the hall, we see the television on the wall. There are public restrooms here, convenient for guests visiting this area. Entering the hall, we see main conference rooms. As we turn away from the restroom, we enter the hall to the conference rooms. This is where the large systems are setup and it is also where the marketplace is. Entrance to one of the conference rooms, the Highland room This is the entrance to the Highland room. Entering the Highland room As we enter the Highland room, we see it is very large. It has several large monitors on the walls, as well as electrical connections. Wall with video monitor Approaching one of the video monitors, we see electrical connections for power, ethernet and audio. Now, let's go up to the suites. We go back through the lobby, into the elevators and up to our room. Entering the suite When we open the door to our suite, we see the front room. It is smaller than rooms we've used in the past, approximately 11' x 23'. It contains a table, a couch, chair, ottoman and a television mounted to the wall. Looking at the table In our room, there is a door to an adjoining room. Not all rooms have this. The table next to it is quite large and heavy, but can be moved. Table dimensions are 56" x 30" and 30" tall. Next to the table is a couch, and it's 6 feet wide x 3 feet deep. The chair beside the couch is 28" x 32" and the ottoman is 28" in diameter and 18" tall. Looking at the television on the wall On the other side - facing the couch - we see a televison mounted to the wall. We can also see a door into the sleeper room. Below the television is a shelf that is attached to the wall. It is 10 inches deep and 7 feet long. There is 9" height between top and bottom panels, so it would be useful for storing media like CDs or DVDs. Looking back towards the entry door Sitting on the couch, looking back at the entry door, we see another door. This goes into the bathroom, which connects to the sleeper room. We can also see the edge of a counter-top, which contains a sink. On top is coffee-maker and microwave oven, and there's a built-in mini-refrigerator. Standing at the television, looking at the couch Above the couch is a photo of a cow. I'm not sure what is significant about this cow, but there are photos of it everywhere in the hotel. You can also see a round table beside the couch. It is two feet in diameter. Sitting on the couch, facing the television Sitting on the couch, we see the television is directly in front of us, but it is not centered on the wall. We also notice that the wall plate below the shelf is a blank, and there is no power receptacle there. The ceiling height changes. Looking up, we notice the ceiling height is different at the entrance than it is in the rest of the room. Behind the television, we see its interface connectors. We can access the interface connectors behind the television. On the other side, we see a wall receptacle. On the other side, we see where the TV gets power. This is the only access to power along this wall. There's another wall receptacle near the couch. We can get power from a receptacle near the couch, by the round table. Power between the table and the couch We can also get power on the other side of the couch, near the large table. I hope these notes are helpful for you. My goal was to give you some ideas for setup ahead of time.
Well, you did more than give us ideas, you gave us a tour via stills. Excellent job. I wish I could go. I've wanted to visit Austin for quite some time now.