[RPRWG] Howard's New Orleans Reminder
RPRWGers,
Howard says it all so eloquently, so I am just
forwarding it along to you with a subtle edit.
mike
> Dear Members of the IEEE 802.17 RPRWG,
>
> If you plan on attending the upcoming meeting of the IEEE 802.3ah
> EFM Task Force in New Orleans, please remember to make your
> hotel reservation by this Friday, August 30th, and pay your
> attendance fee by Friday, September 20th. The information you
> will require can be found on the web at:
>
> http://www.ieee802.org/3/interims/new_orleans.html
>
> In the past, some of you have been able to find a less expensive
> rate at the meeting hotel or a nearby hotel, so our hosts didn't
> get credit for your stay. This places a severe financial burden on
> the host. Our contracts with hotels always include a guaranteed
> minimum revenue from the sleeping room accommodations. At the
> Vancouver meeting, we fell short by at least a couple of hundred
> room nights, primarily because attendees were able to find less
> expensive accommodations at a nearby hotel.
>
> We negotiate the room rate for the hotel on the basis of several factors,
> including a portion of the meeting room rental fees, the audio-visual
> equipment fees, and the food and beverage fees. Thus, the group rate
> will always be a little higher than the lowest discounted rate you can
> find in a particular market. We then balance the total cost of the meeting
> against the money collected from registration, plus the host's
> contribution.
> If we run short on the room pick-up, the host gets stuck with the bill
> for the
> shortfall. This is one of the reasons why we recently started the practice
> of charging a registration fee for all attendees. When you or your travel
> department tries to save some dough by booking a cheaper room, you are
> sticking it to your fellow meeting attendees, you are really hurting
> your host,
> and you will wind up costing yourself, your company, and everybody else
> a lot more in the long run.
>
> If we continue to experience this problem, it will become even more
> difficult
> to find hosts willing to sign up for the financial liability. We will
> then be
> forced to either increase the registration fee substantially, or start
> charging
> an additional fee to everyone who attends the meeting but can't produce
> proof that they are registered at the meeting hotel. This additional fee
> will
> probably be on the order of $50 to $75 per attendee, per day.
>
> The bottom line is, please stay at the meeting hotel, and pay the group
> rate. I am going to ask our meeting planners to produce a list of the
> people who attend the New Orleans meeting but don't stay in the
> Astor Crowne Plaza. If we fall short on our room block, please believe
> me when I say that you will not want to find your name on that list.
>
> Howard Frazier
> Chair, IEEE 802.3ah EFM Task Force
--
Michael Takefman tak@xxxxxxxxx
Manager of Engineering, Cisco Systems
Chair IEEE 802.17 Stds WG
2000 Innovation Dr, Ottawa, Canada, K2K 3E8
voice: 613-254-3399 fax: 613-254-4867