There have been some significant developments of note to all collectors who opt to stay at the Grand Hotel, and/or attend the Saturday Convention Dinner, so please read the summary provided below before booking.
The Grand’s 2026 Convention room rates
We’re pleased to announce that the dinner, bed & breakfast room rates applicable to the convention weekend (i.e. the Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights) are unchanged from 2025. Some collectors have made it known that they would prefer to have bed & breakfast terms, giving them the option of dining elsewhere. We’ve discussed this with staff at The Grand, who are willing to offer collectors a choice of dinner, bed & breakfast – or bed & breakfast – so for the first time in the history of the convention, the choice is yours.
Further good news is that collectors who choose to extend their stay before or after the convention weekend will now pay a lower amount for these ‘shoulder nights’. The period this applies to is Monday 9th until Wednesday 18th November (with the exception of the three convention nights). The Thursday night before the convention starts has become increasingly popular in recent years, but you’re welcome to stay longer if you wish.
Please note that this year The Grand will request advance payment when you book. However, if you opt for DB&B and book any shoulder nights, The Grand will charge you the B&B rate for the shoulder nights, but if you state that you will require dinner on these nights, you will only be charged £12.95 for these dinners (payable when you arrive), instead of the £15 that normally applies if anyone books dinner at Reception.
B&B and DB&B rates are summarised in these tables:
Bed & Breakfast Rates
| Dates | Single room (per night) | Double room (per night) |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 9 Nov – Thurs 12 Nov | £60 | £70 |
| Fri 13 Nov – Sun 15 Nov | £73 | £96 |
| Mon 16 Nov – Wed 18 Nov | £60 | £70 |
Dinner, Bed & Breakfast Rates
| Dates | Single room (per night) | Double room (per night) |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 9 Nov – Thurs 12 Nov | * | * |
| Fri 13 Nov – Sun 15 Nov | £86 | £122 |
| Mon 16 Nov – Wed 18 Nov | * | * |
*Guests requiring dinner on these nights will be charged for B&B, but can pre-book dinner for £12.95 per night, payable on arrival.
How to book your room
Bookings should now be made via this Central Reservations number: 0161 923 0333 (+161 923 0333 from outside the UK). Please book during these hours: Mon to Fri 8am–6.30pm, Sat & Sun 9am–5.30pm.
In order to benefit from the above special rates, you should refer to the Film Convention Room Freesale, or you can state the code FILM180226. Indicate your dates, B&B or DB&B terms, and whether you want a single or double room.
Guests must book a minimum of two nights, to be eligible for the special rates.
Our allocation of rooms will be available until six weeks before the convention, but can still be booked beyond this period, subject to availability.
2026 Convention Dinner charges
Collectors staying at the Grand have previously been able to ‘transfer’ their Saturday night meal to the Convention Dinner. There was a period (ending in 2019) when we collected a supplement in relation to this – to help cover the cost of the function room hire fee – but the raffle revenue became so substantial that we have since fully subsidised this cost.
However, the cost price of dining out has risen significantly in recent years and last year the cost price of the Convention Dinner (£30) was double the cost of booking dinner in The Grand’s restaurant. This disparity resulted in a much higher (£640) room hire fee, which we paid in order to facilitate last year’s dinner transfers, but we can’t afford to subsidise the dinner via comparable sums every year.
This year, the cost price of the dinner is £32.50. The Grand are eliminating the room hire fee but will instead charge us a £17.50 transfer fee for every guest with DB&B terms who attends the Convention Dinner.
We will continue to use raffle revenue to partially subsidise the dinner, and so we will absorb the 2026 price increase and we will try to hold the price at £30 for two more years. Therefore, that’s what we will charge collectors who are not staying at The Grand, and Grand residents with B&B terms. If you stay at The Grand with DB&B terms, we must request a (subsidised) transfer fee of £15. Apologies that this pushes up the cost for DB&B guests, but we hope you’ll feel it still represents good value for money. In fact it took until 2024 for our dinner price to reach the amount Derann charged for their last dinner in 2010!
How to reserve your place at the dinner
As we now need to collect a payment from everyone attending the dinner, there will be considerably more administration involved. I’m therefore grateful to my Blackpool team colleague Jeremy Norman, who will process the bookings and payments. Payment via bank transfer is ideal, or PayPal or a cheque can be accepted if necessary.
To reserve your place, please contact Jeremy via email jerry9633@hotmail.com or telephone 07770 424180 (+7770 424180 from outside the UK). Jeremy will provide appropriate details regarding bank transfers, etc. Please complete your booking by 30 October, if at all possible.
I’m not giving up all my dinner-related responsibilities, so I’ll still be working on elements such as the table plan and the quiz questions, as well as hosting on the night. Dave Watson also remains highly involved in ways that include the spectacular raffle. The film show that concludes the evening will be presented by Phil Slater. We hope you will help us to celebrate the 40th Convention Dinner this year!
Adrian Winchester, convention co-organiser
Blackpool Film Collectors' Convention 