Re: Hotel situation

[Behcet Sarikaya <[e-mail]>]

On Wed, Dec 16, 2015 at 6:14 PM, Deen, Glenn (NBCUniversal)
<[e-mail]> wrote:
> Thanks Ray for clarifying things.  I know that setting this meeting up has
> been a lot of effort due to currency problems, locations not wanting to
> make long term commitments to the iETF, etc.
>
> And to be fair, YOU and IAOC DID warn us that rooms would be limited at
> the Hilton.
>
> You're also right that BA is more like Dublin, as I attended both ICANN
> Dublin and ICANN BA this past year, and the ICANN attendees where very
> much split up between hotels.   In both places it worked well for ICANN
> and they are 2-3 times as big as an IETF. Though I suspect they are much
> less sensitive to event pricing as the IETF is.  The fact they don't
> charge any attendance fee, reflects the difference in funding level ICANN
> enjoys.   Attendees were spread out between many hotels in BA and it
> seemed to work, at least I didn't hear much in the way of complaints.
> There also seemed to be a lot of good hotels in the area at different
> price points.
>
> In BA taxi's as John L. noted are cheap, though they can be hard to find
> at times, and they didn't use Uber (there was some other taxi app that I
> need remember before we go down there).  That should hopefully make it
> much easier for people not at the venue hotel to move between their hotels
> and the venue both quickly, comfortably, and safely.
>
>
> Unfortunately for the IETF, there are a lot of competing large groups all
> looking for meeting space+rooms, and it isn't likely to get better for a
> while. Which is good because it means the economy is continuing to improve
> and that will help support more participation, but it's bad because it
> means pressure to pay more to make the IETF more attractive than other
> groups, and a lot of those other groups are playing with much bigger
> budgets.
>
> Spending more isn't necessarily the only option, and it would change the
> IETF.  Sure we could be more attractive, and get massive room blocks if we
> just spent a lot more money, but one of things I think that helps the IETF
> continue to be so successful, is that it's run as a pretty lean ship. It
> has let the IETF continue during tough years like 2008-2010 without making
> major changes.  People should look at the IAOC's presentation on the IETF
> budget, there is a lot of good info there. Compared to nearly every
> organization of it's size, the IETF is run very effectively on a lean
> budget, THAT"S A GOOD THING and something that I know Ray and IAOC work
> hard to maintain. Thank you BTW.    At the same time: We enjoy
> comparatively cheap registration fees compared to most other week long
> technical events. PLUS We get great cookies and even ice cream at breaks,
> and cokes at breakfast! PLUS We have solid sponsors who have treated us to
> great socials. PLUS BEST OF ALL: We get great meeting rooms and the best
> network and wifi anywhere.  So like many things, all could be fixed by
> spending more $$$$, but that's the easy way out, but not necessarily the
> best way.
>
>
>
>
> A couple of suggestions that may alleviate some of the frustrations:
>
> 1.  Can an weekly update count of block rooms and nights available be
> maintained, perhaps weekly on the IETF meeting site?  This would help
> people making reservations
>     know when they can skip trying a hotel because it is sold out.   I
> know this is hard to keep 100% current, because some people will book &
> then cancel, but any info is helpful.
>
> 2. Is it cost feasible to run some sort of shuttle between the venue and
> the overflow hotels?  It may not be, but it would help with the distance
> and safety concerns.
>
> 3. A longer term solution is to perhaps increase our bargaining power by
> building longer term relations with a few locations. I see that we do some
> of this already, perhaps formalizing it might be an option.
>
> So instead of spending more $$$, one solution might be to change from
> having such a wide variety of places we hold meetings to having a small
> set of locations, which have hotels which will give us enough space,
> including nearby overflow hotels, and good meeting space.  That way we
> could build multi-year relationships with individual venues and hotels.
>
> We could still do the 1:1:1 rotation, but with perhaps 2 or 3 favored
> locations in each of the 1:1:1 regions.  Having a couple in each region
> gives us a fall back if something isn't available and a better negotiating
> position.
>
> This might look like:   Vancouver/Japan/Honolulu/? for AP,
> Berlin/Paris/Prague/? for EU and San Diego/Vancouver/Boston/Philadelphia/?
> for NA.
>

+1 for these suggestions.
I think IEEE 802 does this type of business. Their policy is to keep
people in the same hotel, by providing registration fee discount up to
$300. That means going to the same places every two years or so.
That's the price you pay, there is no silver bullet.

Behcet
>
>
> -glenn
>
>
>
> On 12/16/15, 3:24 PM, "Ray Pelletier" <[e-mail]> wrote:
>
>>Glenn,
>>
>>> On Dec 16, 2015, at 12:54 PM, Deen, Glenn (NBCUniversal)
>>><[e-mail]> wrote:
>>>
>>>    Q- Whatąs the room block size we are getting at the recent venues
>>> compared to what we got at previous ones like Vancouver, or Berlin?
>>
>>There are many hotels in Buenos Aires but they do not have many rooms.
>>
>>When we announced on 10 December that registration would open on 16
>>December
>>we said:
>>
>>Registration and hotel reservations for IETF 95 in Buenos Aires will
>>open at 1500 UTC Wednesday, December 16. Hotel reservations will include
>>the headquarters hotel and the contracted overflow hotels available
>>at that time.
>>
>>Because hotels in Buenos Aires have a limited number of guest rooms,
>>the IETF has been negotiating contracts with ten hotels.  Hotels not
>>available on December 16 will be announced when available.
>>
>>On 16 December we said:
>>
>>1. Hilton Buenos Aires (Headquarters Hotel, block of 300 rooms)
>>2. Holiday Inn Express Puerto Madero (30 rooms)
>>3. Sheraton Buenos Aires (140 rooms available)
>>4. InterContinental Buenos Aires (150 rooms)
>>5. Sheraton Libertador Hotel (70 rooms)
>>
>>Buenos Aires is not Vancouver, Berlin, London, Paris or San Francisco.
>>It's more like Dublin, if you recently attended the ICANN conference
>>there.
>>
>>>
>>>    Q - Are hotels artificially limiting availability of the IETF block
>>>by
>>> only releasing parts of it to the web booking?
>>>        Iąve seen hotels do this for other events.  While the whole block
>>> maybe 500 rooms, they release them in 50 room blocks as the
>>>        reservation block fills.  This creates the lucky 10th caller
>>> scenario, where if you hit it at just the right time you win.
>>
>>That's not the case here, or anywhere we have negotiated agreements.
>>
>>We strive to contract for 600 on a peak night at the so-called
>>headquarter's hotel,
>>but it depends on where we are. If we are in an area surrounded by
>>hotels, and
>>at lower price points, we might contract for 400 on a peak night, and
>>overflow
>>hotels for another 200 - 300 rooms on peak to get 780 rooms on peak.
>>
>>Typically if we don't get our target room block it's because there's
>>another group
>>at the hotel, or sometimes it's because the hotel is concerned about the
>>risk
>>of setting aside 70 - 90% for a group they've never done business with.
>>This concern
>>is also typically reflected in the cancellation provisions for guest
>>rooms they will
>>sign up to, and/or when they start cutting back the number of rooms in
>>the block.
>>All of which is evident in our first meeting in Latin America and Buenos
>>Aires.
>>
>>For those who managed to make a reservation outside the IETF block, but
>>at a
>>higher price, we are trying to get you in the block at the IETF rate.
>>
>>Another 4 or so IETF contracted hotels are in the works and will be
>>announced
>>as soon as they are ready.
>>
>>Ray
>>
>>
>>>
>>> -glenn
>>>
>>>
>>
>