Have you done some research on the expected demand (e.g. survey the organisers of the mentioned programs, community builders, maybe Wytham Abbey event organisers)?
I can imagine the location and how long it takes to get there (unless you are already based in London, though even then itās quite the trip) could be a deterrent, especially for events <3 days.
(Another factor may be āfancinessāāIāve worked with orgs and attended/āorganise events where fancy venues were eschewed, and others where they were deemed indispensable. If that building is anything like the EA Hotelāor the average Blackpool buildingāmy expectation is it would rank low on this. Kinda depends on your target audience/āuser.)
Not done any research (but asking here, now :)). I guess 1 week is more of a sweet spot, but we have hosted weekend events before at CEEALAR. In the last year, CEEALAR has hosted retreats for a few orgs (ALLFED, Orthogonal, [another AI Safety org], PauseAI (upcoming)) and a couple of bootcamps (ML4G), all of which we have charged for. So we know there is at least some demand. Because of hosting grantees long term, CEEALAR isnāt able to run long events (e.g. 10-12 week courses or start-up accelerators), so demand there is untested. But I think given the cost competitiveness, there would be some demand there.
Re fanciness, this is especially aimed at the budget (cost effectiveness) conscious. Costs would be 3-10x less than what is typical for UK venues. And there would be another bonus of having an EA community next door.
Have you done some research on the expected demand (e.g. survey the organisers of the mentioned programs, community builders, maybe Wytham Abbey event organisers)? I can imagine the location and how long it takes to get there (unless you are already based in London, though even then itās quite the trip) could be a deterrent, especially for events <3 days. (Another factor may be āfancinessāāIāve worked with orgs and attended/āorganise events where fancy venues were eschewed, and others where they were deemed indispensable. If that building is anything like the EA Hotelāor the average Blackpool buildingāmy expectation is it would rank low on this. Kinda depends on your target audience/āuser.)
Not done any research (but asking here, now :)). I guess 1 week is more of a sweet spot, but we have hosted weekend events before at CEEALAR. In the last year, CEEALAR has hosted retreats for a few orgs (ALLFED, Orthogonal, [another AI Safety org], PauseAI (upcoming)) and a couple of bootcamps (ML4G), all of which we have charged for. So we know there is at least some demand. Because of hosting grantees long term, CEEALAR isnāt able to run long events (e.g. 10-12 week courses or start-up accelerators), so demand there is untested. But I think given the cost competitiveness, there would be some demand there.
Re fanciness, this is especially aimed at the budget (cost effectiveness) conscious. Costs would be 3-10x less than what is typical for UK venues. And there would be another bonus of having an EA community next door.