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[amador]

Don't I just love conference season!  I just got this email three months before my conference begins:

"We had a large number of rooms available at the ----- Hotel and many people were able to take advantage of the availability of those rooms at that rate.  Unfortunately all of the rooms have been reserved. "


Oh, "a large number", clearly not large enough to accommodate attendants three months before the conference begins, which is a more than reasonable margin.  Now we're left to look for a hotel at a luxury resort.  A teacher's conference at a luxury resort!!!  Do professional associations do this on purpose to earn commissions or what?

[ea15792]

Sounds like whoever booked the hotel block didn't study the room pick-up reports from previous years.

However, I do know some smaller conferences (particularly, when they are staffed by volunteers) often underestimate their room block because if it doesn't fill the organization or planning committee has to pay for rooms that are not booked.

Hotels will grab money anyway they can.  They'll charge $85 a gallon for coffee, increase the room rates outside of a hotel block, and suddenly create valet parking for $15 a day for attendee's.

[fiona]

If you're a teacher at a state school, you can often get "government rate" at hotels, which is sometimes better than the conference rate.

You may also be able to get a hotel room at a cheaper rate by calling the hotel directly, rather than an 800-number or whatever other setup the conference organizers give you.

The Fiona

[regular_joe]

If you're a teacher at a state school, you can often get "government rate" at hotels, which is sometimes better than the conference rate.

You may also be able to get a hotel room at a cheaper rate by calling the hotel directly, rather than an 800-number or whatever other setup the conference organizers give you.

The Fiona

I am at a state school and had no idea I could claim a "government rate" at hotels or I would have been doing so for years now! I always try to pay less than rack rate and have gotten some good deals by negotiating, but it would be great to know that I had a gov't rate to fall back on. Do hotel personnel commonly know about this?

[fiona]

If you're a teacher at a state school, you can often get "government rate" at hotels, which is sometimes better than the conference rate.

You may also be able to get a hotel room at a cheaper rate by calling the hotel directly, rather than an 800-number or whatever other setup the conference organizers give you.

The Fiona

I am at a state school and had no idea I could claim a "government rate" at hotels or I would have been doing so for years now! I always try to pay less than rack rate and have gotten some good deals by negotiating, but it would be great to know that I had a gov't rate to fall back on. Do hotel personnel commonly know about this?

Yes, hotel personnel know about government rate, but they won't volunteer the info. Ask and you usually will receive.

The Fiona

[amador]

Hey, thanks all for the info.  I'm at Cal State U.  I'm not sure I qualify for government rate.

Unfortunately, the conference is abroad, and, to my dismay, I've learned that it's not in a city as they said but at a resort nearby, which means high lodging prices even for American standards.  While I was entertaining the possibility of not attending, a) I'm not important and my absence would go unnoticed, and b) I'm lucky enough I can stay at a friend of a friend's in a nearby town.

Apparently, the executive director of that association is planning to attend my talk, I'll communicate my concerns to her in person.  I've heard she's a total b*tch, but I too can be an "a-hole magnifico".

[doctor_torrseal]

Hey, thanks all for the info.  I'm at Cal State U.  I'm not sure I qualify for government rate.

Unfortunately, the conference is abroad, and, to my dismay, I've learned that it's not in a city as they said but at a resort nearby, which means high lodging prices even for American standards.  While I was entertaining the possibility of not attending, a) I'm not important and my absence would go unnoticed, and b) I'm lucky enough I can stay at a friend of a friend's in a nearby town.

Apparently, the executive director of that association is planning to attend my talk, I'll communicate my concerns to her in person.  I've heard she's a total b*tch, but I too can be an "a-hole magnifico".

Organizing conferences is a major PITA; lots of work and little thanks.  Maybe it is her job, but I still wouldn't go to a conference and flame the organizer unless something went much more wrong than running out of conference-rate rooms.

I don't know how it works for this conference or association, but usually the process is that somebody (organizer, exec director, committee of the association) picks the location, and then the assoc. negotiates with the hotel, getting the use of the conference rooms and guaranteeing a minimum number of room reservations.  If the minimum is not met, the fees the hotel charges the assoc. can go up a lot.  The assoc. may not be able to book out the entire hotel in advance without taking an irresponsible financial risk.

Why do associations pick expensive locations?  It could be because the organizing committee wants to go there and drink mai tais by the pool, but also it's because they know that a conference in (for example) Santa Barbara will get more attendees than one in Galveston.

So you may be getting the shaft, but there are also reasons why these things happen.  Don't complain too bitterly about the organization of a conference or you might be "invited" to help with the next one!

[doctor_torrseal]

I also meant to say that for US academics, going to conferences in Europe is just infernally expensive now due to the lousy dollar/Euro exchange rate.  It was a lot more manageable five or six years ago.  I blame you-know-who.  Even if it's not all his fault, blaming him just makes me feel a little better.

[ea15792]

Hey, thanks all for the info.  I'm at Cal State U.  I'm not sure I qualify for government rate.

Unfortunately, the conference is abroad, and, to my dismay, I've learned that it's not in a city as they said but at a resort nearby, which means high lodging prices even for American standards.  While I was entertaining the possibility of not attending, a) I'm not important and my absence would go unnoticed, and b) I'm lucky enough I can stay at a friend of a friend's in a nearby town.

Apparently, the executive director of that association is planning to attend my talk, I'll communicate my concerns to her in person.  I've heard she's a total b*tch, but I too can be an "a-hole magnifico".

Organizing conferences is a major PITA; lots of work and little thanks.  Maybe it is her job, but I still wouldn't go to a conference and flame the organizer unless something went much more wrong than running out of conference-rate rooms.

I don't know how it works for this conference or association, but usually the process is that somebody (organizer, exec director, committee of the association) picks the location, and then the assoc. negotiates with the hotel, getting the use of the conference rooms and guaranteeing a minimum number of room reservations.  If the minimum is not met, the fees the hotel charges the assoc. can go up a lot.  The assoc. may not be able to book out the entire hotel in advance without taking an irresponsible financial risk.

Why do associations pick expensive locations?  It could be because the organizing committee wants to go there and drink mai tais by the pool, but also it's because they know that a conference in (for example) Santa Barbara will get more attendees than one in Galveston.

So you may be getting the shaft, but there are also reasons why these things happen.  Don't complain too bitterly about the organization of a conference or you might be "invited" to help with the next one!

Number one reason that cities are choosen are because of good transportation links.  Nothing kills a conference faster than making the majority of your attendee's have to get three flight connections to get to the city in question, and then pay $80 for a cab ride to the hotel (because there are no shuttles).   I worked with a professional meeting planner several years ago, and there are so many things that were taken into consideration when choosing a host city.  Hotel room rate was pretty low on the list of priorities. 

She had to consider everything, transportation links, availability of counter service restaurants within a 5 minute walk, meeting site fees, food & beverage minimums, cost of the AV equipment rental, and then hotel room rate. 

[ontoit]

Everything points to your role in the economic scheme of things being just a bit more important than your contribution to knowledge, sad as this may seem.

[schoolmarm]

Organizations have to block out a set number of guest rooms in order to use the ballrooms and meeting rooms.  If they don't sell out their block, they are hit with a HUGE penalty that can range from 5 to 6 figures.  One of my national organizations has now folded because they got hit with the hotel assessment.

I don't blame the organizers in reserving "few" rooms, as they know good and well that many attendees will priceline, go "motel" or stay with friends.

And now you know one of the reasons why conference fees are so high.

[ea15792]

Everything points to your role in the economic scheme of things being just a bit more important than your contribution to knowledge, sad as this may seem.

For some organizations and societies I think that's probably true.  Some organizations put the educational quality of their programming behind the economic aspects.  Others do not.

And most fields are still very intimate.  If a professional organization does (particularly a national conference) and the educational quality is poor, word gets around.  And then registration numbers drop.  Unfortunately, for smaller organizations who have had not had time to build a reputation and/or have not been fiscally conservative when meeting space was cheaper, it can mean that they have to fold.

[amador]

Organizations have to block out a set number of guest rooms in order to use the ballrooms and meeting rooms.  If they don't sell out their block, they are hit with a HUGE penalty that can range from 5 to 6 figures.  One of my national organizations has now folded because they got hit with the hotel assessment.

I don't blame the organizers in reserving "few" rooms, as they know good and well that many attendees will priceline, go "motel" or stay with friends.

And now you know one of the reasons why conference fees are so high.

Thanks for your contribution.  I understand what you say, even though that makes more sense for American-Canadian urban environments, not so much for a luxury resort where the alternatives are minimal.  Had I known beforehand that the conference was in a resort instead of a capital city as they announced, I probably wouldn't even have bothered to apply because in my experience the educational component of that kind of conferences is minimal.

To add insult to injury, they make us pay for a/v equipment.  Yeah, I know it's the hotel that charges them.  But these charges should have been announced when sending the proposal.

[csguy]

I've usually found a lower rate for conference hotels than the conference rate simply by going through an online travel agency (Travelocity, Hotels.com, etc.). That's when I don't book at Motel Sleaze near by.

[dolljepopp]

I love Motel Sleaze...