Like a BART station and a shopping mall, a hotel was always going to have its drawbacks compared to a full-fledged convention center. Still, YumeConUSA’s showrunners were pleased with how their first go at the DoubleTree went.

YumeCon had long been held and organized at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills. As the event grew, it eventually moved away from the community college and closer to the heart of the Bay Area. A one-off at the Palo Alto Event Center in 2023 was followed by two years at the Holiday Inn San Jose before being relocated to the DoubleTree by Hilton for 2025.

The DoubleTree is a stone’s throw away from San José Mineta International Airport and downtown. Its location, spacious floor plan as one of the largest event venues that isn’t a convention center in the south Bay Area (1.75 times larger than YumeCon’s available space at Foothill), and a very accommodating management has made the hotel a fairly popular choice for conventions. FanimeCon, based at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, hosts its 18-and-up Silver Island at the DoubleTree while MAGWest takes place there in August. Although conventions are naturally a great financial boon for the hosts, some venues are opposed to having fan-run conventions so the DoubleTree staff was eager to stand in contrast.

Of course, as organizer Celia Hayes put it at the closing ceremony, being in a hotel and not a dedicated convention space meant it “had its quirks.” The first floor’s con operations were split in two: the west side was where the info desk and registration as well as the Artist Alley-slash-Vendors Hall are located, whereas gaming, panels, and the maid cafe were in the east. To get to the other side, congoers had to walk through multiple restaurants and lobbies.

On the second floor was the main stage, and this floor had to be accessed via staircase on the west side. As a result, one going from the gaming area to the main stage would have to travel past the lobbies and restaurants before scaling the two flights. It especially didn’t help that signage was limited to small plaques on each door, which Hayes admitted was an “oversight on me personally.”

The oddball layout, obviously designed with vacation stays and business trips in mind, also meant some sacrifices had to be made like the removal of a karaoke room. Parking was also a nightmare for attendees since they only had what the hotel could give; although there were plenty of office buildings surrounding the DoubleTree with giant and empty parking lots since it was a weekend, Hayes was unable to convince their tenants to lease the space even after offering to pay for them (ironically, she used to work at one of those buildings herself). If anyone dared to park there for the con, they would be towed.

Hayes quipped that she’d love it “if I could rebuild the building and put it a little closer,” but the drawbacks “kind of just comes with the territory.” A future YumeCon could take place elsewhere as the con is not locked into a contract with the DoubleTree.

Besides the funky floor plan, Hayes and her team also had to deal with the logistics in getting some guests of honor. SungWon “ProZD” Cho and Emi Lo are prominent names in the voice acting industry whom they got onboard, and both had a meet-and-greet table set up in the Vendors Hall.

In what was seen as a major coup, the con successfully recruited Hinata Satō. A voice actress who starred in series like Love Live! Sunshine!!, D4DJ, and Project SEKAI COLORFUL STAGE!, Satō would’ve been the first Japanese guest of honor in YumeCon history.

As luck would have it, customs got in the way and Satō couldn’t get a visa secured, so her appearance was canceled. Hayes explained the visa process began in April but “hit a snag” along the way and despite reaching out to three Senators and a Representative, “there was no way to get her in the country.”

Being a smaller convention, guests of honor are usually arranged six to eight months in advance while larger cons do so as early as 18 months, so YumeCon couldn’t find a replacement in time either. It was certainly a shame to miss out on someone of Satō’s prestige, and there were attendees and even an idol group who performed with her in mind, but the confidence in the knowledge that a con as modest as this could draw such star power was present.

Despite the tribulations behind the scenes, things went quite smoothly for the average attendee. The turnstile count for the con—which includes returning faces later in the weekend—was 1,462 while unique attendees totaled 811.

Reception was overall positive, with many commenting on the more casual yet warm atmosphere compared to other cons. Indeed, YumeCon’s slogan (from a former business partner of Hayes) is “Dreams of a Friendlier Anime Con” because its goal is to provide a more inclusive experience that isn’t burdened by larger expectations.

“This is my passion project,” said Hayes. “I do love this con and I hope that other people love this con as much as I do.”

Featured image credit: Justin Nguyen