Sometimes we put too much trust in new technology and that was my failing tonight. Artificial intelligence still has a way to go in coping with human expression in all its variety. The poor transcription was stopped, but not before it undercut a number of very important speeches. Stopping it also deprived some of our audience of access to the later speeches. We are working on producing the corrected archival version of the ceremony which will be available online.

My sincerest apologies,

James Bacon
Chair, Dublin 2019 – An Irish Worldcon

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We’ve noted that some of our members have reported issues with AirBnB cancellations. We are sorry that is happening. Many of our own team are booked into AirBnB and it is an affordable option in most cases.

Unfortunately, on the 1st of June this year new legislation is supposed to come into effect that will severely limit the ability for Dublin houses and apartments to be rented out for short-term lets if they were not specifically built for the short-term market (i.e. the Key Collection and StayCity apartments that are part of the convention block are permitted).

The exception to this will probably be if the house/apartment is a person’s primary residence and then only if either let out for a maximum of 90 days per annum, and for a 14-day maximum period, or if the entire property is not rented out (i.e homeshare accommodation).

As of yet we do not know the full legislation, as it is still with the Dáil (the Irish legislature) so we cannot even be sure if the new legislation will grandfather in existing bookings.

The official site from the Minister for Housing is here: https://www.housing.gov.ie/housing/private-rented-housing/residential-tenancies-board/minister-murphy-announces-new-reforms

Disappointingly, we are hearing stories of landlords making preemptive moves to get out of the short-term let business and cancelling existing bookings. So we would like to now advise members who have rented houses/apartments for their trip to Dublin from a private landlord to contact them and confirm that their booking is still good.

And please note although this is colloquially termed the AirBnB law, it covers all short-term lets including those made privately and through other companies and platforms.

We wish we had more definite news to pass on, but we are as much in the dark as anyone, and the current issues we are hearing, stem from actions taken in preparation for the new legislation, rather than the legislation itself, making it even harder to ascertain the impact.

If you are affected please do look to our accommodations, there may be something that could suit you.

Accommodation page: https://dublin2019.com/location/accommodation/

Hotels page with map link & rates link: https://dublin2019.com/location/accommodation/hotels/

You can book directly with Conference-Partners, our hotel booking bureau.

Members with access needs should contact access@dublin2019.com as soon as possible, immediately if you can please, as we are still holding a small number of accessible rooms at various hotels with easy wheelchair-friendly commutes to the CCD, but we have to release these shortly. Our team are happy to assist.

My thanks and once again, contact your landlord and confirm your plans please.

Very best

James

James Bacon
Chair
Dublin 2019, an Irish Worldcon

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We’ve had a spot of bother.

We identified a suitable mobie hire company, who were happy to work with us, and we had sufficient mobies for Dublin 2019. Unfortunately, that provider had a fire and lost the majority of their stock. As you can imagine this would normally be a difficulty that solution focused fans could overcome. We just find more…

Many hours and days have been spent investigating this and we have had support from the Irish Wheelchair Association. Yet there are still fewer mobies available than we would like in Ireland. We’ve now engaged internationally and are continuing to pursue all and any avenues of opportunity that will rectify any shortage.

As we continue to seek creative solutions to this problem, we are asking that anyone interested in hiring a mobie for Dublin 2019 please fill out our online form (https://dublin2019.com/forms/mobility-scooter-rentals/).

This is vital. It will help us know how many additional mobies we need to source and we appreciete your time and efforts doing this as promptly as you can.

Our access page is here: https://dublin2019.com/about/accessibility-services/
And the Mobility Scooter form is here https://dublin2019.com/forms/mobility-scooter-rentals/

Our teams are working and will continue to work hard to serve everyone’s needs. For more information on Access services at Dublin, please visit https://dublin2019.com/about/accessibility-services/. Our team will answer questions as best they can at access@dublin2019.com

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