Ole, In the (somewhat far) past, my memory was that the IETF rate was *less* then the normal available rate. This trend to higher rates is something I only remember seeing over the last 5 or so years. Perhaps my memory is just flawed, as I haven't done the work to verify this, but I don't think so. I think in the spirit of transparency we really need to understand why this trend has occurred. >From looking at the list of things we get for the IETF rate, the only thing I see in the list that is really important to the individuals paying the room-fees is in-room (typically) IETF-class internet. Breakfast is great, but it is included only when this is the norm for the region/hotel, so really isn't a real benefit compared to rack rates. I strongly feel that the "free or subsidized meeting rooms" should come out of the meeting fees, not *hidden* in the hotel rates. You also don't mention the free hotel rooms/suites. Again the value here and subsidy in the IETF rates really should be known, but in either case, these too should come out of the meeting fees. I personally think the issues to focus on/fix are the lack of transparency and the current approach of distributing meeting costs to the hotel rate. Lou On 8/23/2011 2:07 PM, Ole Jacobsen wrote: > > You said: > > "At root is that we are trying to negotiate a purchase at a discounted > price without committing to buying any particular number of rooms, > versus only a limited number of possible sellers." > > When negotiating a group rate we actually ARE committing to buying a > certain number of rooms (the "room block"). There are certainly pros > and cons with group rates. On the pro side: guaranteed rate (but not > necessarily the absolute lowest available at any time), included > benefits (breakfast, Internet, if applicable), free or subsidized > meeting rooms where applicable. On the cons side is of course the > cancellation policy (not that it has to be as onerous as this one). > > Ole > > > Ole J. Jacobsen > Editor and Publisher, The Internet Protocol Journal > Cisco Systems > Tel: +1 408-527-8972 Mobile: +1 415-370-4628 > E-mail: ole@xxxxxxxxx URL: http://www.cisco.com/ipj > Skype: organdemo > > > _______________________________________________ > Ietf mailing list > Ietf@xxxxxxxx > https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf > > > > _______________________________________________ Ietf mailing list Ietf@xxxxxxxx https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf