On Aug 23, 2011, at 1:34 AM, John C Klensin <john-ietf@xxxxxxx> wrote: > > > --On Monday, August 22, 2011 20:16 -0400 Ray Pelletier > <rpelletier@xxxxxxxx> wrote: > >> ... >> As for the rates, they are high. Taiwan is expensive, >> particularly given that the hotels know what our options are >> when we book the TICC. The Hyatt knew that foreign visitors >> needed to use the Hyatt as headquarters and charged >> accordingly. Since the time of our site visit, 2 new hotels >> have been constructed in the vicinity of the TICC (Le Meridien >> and W), which may provide more competition for Hyatt in these >> circumstances. At the time we were working on this event, >> there were no acceptable options. > > Ray, > > I know you want to find sponsors and go where the sponsors want > to go. I accept the explanation that you negotiated as hard as > you could for both room rates and cancellation policies. But I > have to wonder, especially in the light of Lixia's observation > about the US Govt rate (which, internationally, is often a > pretty good measure for the higher end of a reasonable rate in a > given city), whether there is a stopping rule. We were told in > Quebec that you had given up on one Southeast Asian city because > rooms would have cost over USD 300 a night. I don't remember > hearing about a sponsor there. What looks like USD 275 net is > not all that much less than USD 300, especially if the dollar > continues to sink. > > So, if you had a sponsor for a future meeting at that other > location, would an estimated USD 300 be acceptable? USD 350? > > I obviously don't have all of the information available to me > that you and the IAOC do, but it seems to be there is always > another alternative. If there are no local ones, that > alternative is usually described as "just say no and go > elsewhere". What I'm trying to understand, mostly for the > future and with the understanding that it is presumably much too > late for Taipei and the several following meetings, is whether > you would ever consider that an option for a meeting for which > you have a sponsor if you hold it in a particular place or if > you and the IAOC really believe there is no alternative under > those circumstances. I think we need to adopt a simple rule of thumb whereby we do not book venues where room rates of less than $200 USD are unavailable - sponsor or otherwise. Tom > > john > > > john > > > _______________________________________________ > Ietf mailing list > Ietf@xxxxxxxx > https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf > _______________________________________________ Ietf mailing list Ietf@xxxxxxxx https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf