The opinions expressed here are solely held by me and do not represent the official positions of any other events I am affiliated with. My experiences are mine, they do not reflect the experiences of other attendees.
CLAW 2025 has come and gone, and I have Opinions™ about it. The last time I went, CLAW took place at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Cleveland: almost everything happens in the host hotel. The vendor mart, education classes, and a playspace are all steps from your hotel room. When it comes time to eat, there are plenty of options all within easy walking distance. There's even a train that runs directly from the airport!
For whatever reason, CLAW 2025 didn't have a host hotel. Instead, they moved the event to the IX Center out by the airport and the attendees are spread out over several different hotels scattered around suburban south Cleveland. There's no point in beating around the bush: this sucked. Everything you want to do at the event requires so much effort and coordination. If you don't have a car you can take the shuttles that don't run consistently or shell out for a Lyft. Food options at the IX Center are limited and expensive, so that adds another layer of complexity to the ordeal. The quality of the hotels varied widely; from a brand new LaQuinta to the RL that felt like it came straight out of the backrooms. This confluence of factors lead to a reduced overall attendance as well. Most of the classes I was able to attend felt downright empty. The vendor mart had the usual suspects, but I'm worried they weren't able to make a profit, let alone break even.
The IX Center
I think Cleveland gets a bad rap. Sure the river caught on fire a few times, and there was that balloon incident, and its in Ohio; but its not a bad town. Contemporary Cleveland has a lot going for it, and I think the future is bright.
The IX center on the other hand perpetuates every negative stereotype there is to have about Cleveland. CLAW was in the basement of the facility and it felt like the cheap seats. Peeling wallpaper, stained ceiling tiles, expensive food and drinks, no windows, the list goes on.
Geographically, the IX Center is located near the airport aaaand not much else. Pedestrian access is theoretically possible, but its a hike. The nearest restaurant is a ~20 minute walk away, but the route isn't pedestrian-friendly, consisting of high speed roads with no sidewalks and a few big intersections. I think the IX Center is fully aware of that and has no problem shafting attendees to its events on food and drink. Simple sandwiches were going for $14, while a cup of coffee was $6, plus another dollar for non-dairy cream options, with an additional $1 if you paid with a credit card.
The other thing I fucking hated was the lack of reliable cell service in the IX Center. In some parts of the building there was a public wifi network from the IX Center that I had to, I shit you not, sign up for. First and last name, email address, and password. Talk about a privacy nightmare. But that was slow and wasn't working in the primary social space or vendor mart. Installing cellular repeaters costs money and cuts into the profits the IX Center could make from selling internet service, which is presumably why it was a dead zone.
One of the mistakes I think CLAW made was assuming that the empty space they had needed to be filled. Previously there hasn't been a central "stage" area; just the vendor mart and maybe a small lobby area outside. Events like this don't really need a stage for entertainment. In the case of CLAW 2025, the stage here was mostly a source of incredibly loud music and announcements that made it really difficult to have conversations in the primary social space. The stage was also hosting rounds of kinky family feud and bingo; events that (in my opinion) belong at a bar that's trying to appeal to vanilla and kinky gays at the same time.
CLAW shines when it comes to the educational classes and sessions. Having sat through so many Rope 101 classes over the years, the baseline skill level at CLAW is so refreshing. Granted, there are definitely classes for beginners, but if you're interested in getting into the more nitty-gritty details of headspace and restraint with a bunch of like minded folks, CLAW is great for that. I really wish they'd done a little better with the pacing though. I constantly found myself wishing there was a little more time between classes. There was also a reoccurring issue with the rope classes I wanted to attend going on at the same time. How do I choose!?
The Hotel
Boy oh boy do I have some thoughts about the RL hotel. I overheard the front-desk attendant mentioning there's a renovation coming soon, which explains a lot. It feels like they just 100% gave up on maintenance a few years ago; moldy ceilings in the hallway, doors that don't close properly, peeling wallpaper, sketchy elevators, the list goes on. Perhaps the room we were in was just the exception, perhaps not. Normally the quality of a hotel room doesn't bother me that much. After all, I'm just sleeping there right? Well when you're spending a few extra hours there waiting for your party to assemble before you head off to the convention center, you want a nice place to wait.
Apropos of nothing, I'll also note that the shuttle I rode only once round-trip didn't appear to have any accommodations for people with accessibility issues. I've heard that there wasn't shuttle service between all the hotels, and there definitely wasn't service to the playspace.
The Playspace
This is less an issue with CLAW and more an issue with myself I guess. We went over on Saturday night to check it out and the vibes were bad. If you're into a lot of flogging, whipping, impact play, etc then this was the place to be. Doubly-so if you're super duper into a loud DJ and speakers mere feet from your scene area. Unfortunately I was more in the mood for a relatively chill bondage scene, but the atmosphere made getting into that headspace impossible. I don't get overwhelmed easily, but this was almost too much to handle. Luckily there was a much quieter space upstairs where I was able to chill out a little with my friends.
Also; again this is just my opinion, but maybe a medical & piercing scene right inside the front door isn't the best idea for a semi-public event. I know a lot of folks (like me) might not really appreciate having to walk past that. It's the sort of thing that should probably be happening in a private session or somewhere with less foot traffic. Ditto for the top-of-their-lungs scream inducing scene that was happening when we first arrived.
I really hate to be so negative about this. Events are HARD. The amount of effort and energy that goes into putting on even something a quarter of the size of CLAW takes a herculean effort. I applaud the staff and volunteers for making the most of a bad situation. Hopefully, next years CLAW lands a nice big host hotel again and we can put this experience behind us.