OFFICIAL - Hotel/Site Selection

[JohnT]

You are. That's one of the reasons why the two hotels are prime.

[notyoueither]

Someone resend to the Marriott requesting 100 people for those dates for an IT convention.

[James]

J.T.

Originally posted by Atahualpa
While she's searching, we should think about a good military approach... just in the case of diplomacy failing.

Crunching numbers now me lord.

[JohnT]

Originally posted by notyoueither
Someone resend to the Marriott requesting 100 people for those dates for an IT convention.

Be my guest.

[Jon Shafer]

Uhhh... I wouldn't rely on the Light Rail... It's been down for, what is it now, a year? No end of that in sight.

Though there are "Light Rail Shuttle Buses" which essentially take the same route, it's not quite as convenient as the actual Light Rail.

[JohnT]

Thanks, Trip.

[duke o' york]

Other possibilities?

Hilton Pikesville
1726 Reisterstown Rd, Pikesville, MD 21208

Meeting Space
Guest Rooms 171
Suites/DBL-DBLs 2/138
Largest Mtg Rm 7,052 Sq. Ft. - 600 people.
2nd Largest 2,881 Sq. Ft.
Ded. Exhibit Space N/A

http://www.hiltonmeetings.com/global...lusterid=&bid=

Burkshire Marriott
10 W Burke Ave, Towson, MD 21204

* 19 meeting rooms
* 11,000 sq ft of total meeting space
* Largest meeting room is Stoneleigh with maximum meeting space of 1,779 sq ft and maximum seating capacity of 200
* Maximum of 19 breakout meeting room(s)
* High-speed Internet Access for Business >>

http://marriott.com/property/propert...WT_Ref=mi_left

Sheraton Baltimore North
903 Dulaney Valley Rd, Towson, MD 21204

S. Fitzgerald Ballroom A1-4 57' × 120' 6840 Sq.Ft. - holds 850 people in the ballroom, theatre style.

http://www.sheratonbaltimorenorth.com/

[JohnT]

Kewl. This weekend, I'll be released from dial-up hell and get back to sweet, sweet broadband... java-driven RFQ forms that take 2 minutes to load up at 25k... here I come!

[JohnT]

Good news on the hotel front!

Thursday, a VIP from Firaxis emailed me in regards to Apolycon and in the email they mentioned their experience in setting up official Firaxis events.

Not being afraid to ask for assistance (how else do you think this thing is going to get done? ), I asked for some names at the Marriott and got them - apparently, Firaxis hosted their Civ 4 release party at the hotel last week and the Marriott is very familiar and accomodating to their needs.

With the new info I got in touch with their "Corporate Meeting Manager", dropped a name or two, and had a very agreeable conversation with her. They are going to give us a quote and we'll go from there.

So... we have a good chance at getting the preferred hotel at the preferred date.

Unfortunately, it's likely not going to be at the preferred price. Room rates will be high - $135-150/night, if their website is any indication. But... that's not horrible, especially if you room with another Apolytoner. That's not Ritz-Carlton rates, which exceeded $400/night for our stay in New Orleans.

[JohnT]

:rends shirt:

Just found out that the 14th-16th won't be available as the hotel signed a contract Friday with another convention. Paula wasn't informed until she received an email yesterday - when I called today, I was told the bad news.

However, August 4-6 is still open at that Hotel.

[duke o' york]

Just out of curiosity, how much will you be pwned for if you cancel a booking ages in advance?

[JohnT]

I'm sure the small print will tell me. There will be a sliding scale, of course - something cancelled 1 day in advance will cost you more than something cancelled 6 months in advance.

[Beta]

Originally posted by JohnT

Unfortunately, it's likely not going to be at the preferred price. Room rates will be high - $135-150/night, if their website is any indication.

That's OK, I'm sharing a room with con.

And yes - it could be worse. The room price that is. Choice of room mates - probably not.

[JohnT]

Hotel updates...

Some of these people are beginning to piss me off. Except the Marriott folks, whom are the most expensive and cannot accomodate us until August 7th....

So let's start with them. I'm in contact with a Ms. J..., the Corporate Sales Manager for the Marriott. She has been helpful, even to the point of keeping me updated as to her schedule. Their room rates are $129.00 across the board - dbl/dbl, King, with no surcharge for extra guests (at least on the RFP - the contract could be different). Local taxes on rooms are 13%, so a two night stay should run $291.54 assuming no extras (movies, massage, sauna, whatever).

Their banquet and food expenses... well, see the attached spreadsheet. The food portion of your convention fee, as currently structured, will cover a dinner buffet, two breaks, and a welcome breakfast buffet and will easily be the largest component of that fee. Do note that all sodas, fruit bars, bottled waters, etc are charged on consumption and that we've budgeted multiple drinks per meal. Alcohol will not be provided by the convention as a component of your fee, but, if possible, ApolyCon will have a cash bar for the banquet.

[JohnT]

Embassy Suites is more promising (We think) on the price front... but I haven't been able to contact their sales rep since last Thursday, which concerns me.

Their room rates are comparable to Marriotts - a little cheaper at $119 for Single and Double rates, but there's a $10 surchage for Double/Double rates making those rates equal to the Marriott - no savings there for roomies. The tax is the same, 13%, making a two night stay $270... except for people rooming.

I have yet to receive any catering/banquet quotes so I can't give you those numbers, but I really wouldn't expect them to be more than 10% less than Marriotts (if you're expecting them to be lower, that is), as Embassy Suites is a Hilton brand.

Their big problem is that they countered with the weekend of July 7th, which apparently is the weekend of the World Cup finals (?). Not wanting to decrease attendence at the Con, I've been calling and emailing the rep about availabilty of alternate dates (as well as a number of other issues) and have yet to get any info. If she doesn't answer her phone by 9:30 this morning, I'm going around her.