Re: Hyatt Taipei cancellation policy?

[Keith Moore <moore@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Aug 24, 2011, at 9:34 AM, George, Wesley wrote:

 

From: ietf-bounces@xxxxxxxx [mailto:ietf-bounces@xxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Keith Moore
Sent: Wednesday, August 24, 2011 8:37 AM
To: Ray Pelletier
Cc: John C Klensin; Secretariat IETF; IETF-Discussion list; Lixia Zhang
Subject: Re: Hyatt Taipei cancellation policy?

 

$300/night is far too high a ceiling for a guest room rate.  A more reasonable ceiling would be in the ballpark of $150.

 

I don’t understand why we keep throwing around hard and fast dollar figures. Every person, whether paying their own way or using a corporate expense account is going to have a different view of what is ok vs what is unacceptably high, and that may or may not line up with the market rate reality of the actual location chosen. As others have pointed out in the past, the only limit that would make sense is to use something like the US gov’t max travel rate guidelines, which are indexed to things like USD value vs. local currency, average cost by location, etc. [...]

I think you're missing my point.  I'm concerned about the total cost of attending an IETF meeting, or IETF meetings in general.  The per night room rate obviously isn't the only factor.  But when the room rate goes much above $150/night, it starts to become a very significant factor, often the most significant factor, in total travel cost.

More broadly, when IETF negotiators start thinking it's okay for rooms to cost much more than $150 per night, there's a serious disconnect going on.  Maybe they don't realize it, but at that point they're actively working to exclude participation from those not supported by large companies or governments.  

I'm not arguing for a hard, fixed ceiling for room rates or anything else.  I'm saying that the average total cost of attending an IETF meeting needs to be kept down.

(Having said that, I personally don't mind if the conference hotel is expensive as long as there are reasonably priced alternatives nearby.  In Quebec City I stayed at a very nice hotel in the old town, about 5 minutes' walk away.  But I also realize that for some participants, even that distance might be a significant burden.)

Whether the room cost is reasonable for a particular location matters if you're getting reimbursed by someone who will only pay the USG per diem rate.  And for those in that situation, it's a valid concern.  It's just not what I happen to be concerned about.

Keith

p.s. I keep thinking that we should try, at least once, holding a meeting on a college campus between semesters.   Colleges tend to have lots of meeting space, campus networks with wi-fi, lots of food available nearby (though perhaps not "fine lunches and dinners"), and the ones that have popular sports teams tend to have plenty of nearby hotel rooms available at reasonable prices in the off season.   Some colleges will want to charge conference center rates, but I bet that there are lots of colleges struggling to make ends meet that might be willing to cut a deal. 

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