ACCOMODATION - CIVR2006
 
Conference Hotel



The technical program of CIVR 2006 will take place at the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel, http://www.missionpalms.com/. This hotel is conveniently located adjacent to ASU, and is in downtown Tempe. The Mission Palms is the only full-service deluxe hotel that is located in the heart of festive downtown Tempe, Arizona. The hotel offers 303 spacious guest rooms and over 30,000 square feet of conference and meeting space. In addition, the attendees can also enjoy recreational activities on site that include rooftop swimming pool, two spas, a sophisticated fitness center, and a tennis court. Just outside the front door of the hotel the attendees can find over 170 restaurants, shops, galleries, and movie theaters.

IMPORTANT: Hotel Room Reservation

The Tempe Mission Palms Hotel offers discounted group rates for CIVR 2006 conference attendees. Please fill out the hotel reservation form below and send it to the hotel according to the instructions in the form. Important: Please be noticed that this is the ONLY way for you to get the discounted group room rate. Although the hotel provides online room reservation, please DO NOT use it. You will not be able to get the CIVR 2006 discounted room rate if you reserve your room online.

Hotel Room Reservation Form (Reservation Deadline: June 12, 2006).

Once again, please make sure NOT to reserve your room online through the reservation page at the hotel website. Thank you for the collaboration.


Why stay at the conference hotel?

It's the center of activity of the conference, that's why! You'll be able to network easily with other conference attendees. It's a quick trip to get to the program and functions, and just as quick to nip back to your room for a break. You'll have a better conference experience.

That's obvious. But there are other reasons that you need to consider before you look at another hotel. The conference organizers have taken their role of finding a conference site very seriously. They looked at a number of locations. The needs of attendees as individuals were considered as well as the need for conference meeting spaces.

Everyone enjoys meeting in a comfortable conference venue, offering quality service and support for workshops, tutorials, plenary sessions, etc. As the quid-pro-quo for that service and support, the conference guarantees that a percentage of attendees will stay in the hotel. The hotel generally discounts the rate for conference attendees from their normal charges. The hotel rates are negotiated based on the number of expected attendees and the meeting space required to comfortably accommodate them. The basis for negotiation with the hotel are the statistics from the conference in prior years. The contract with the hotel then guarantees specific numbers of sleeping rooms will be used each night during the conference. A complex negotiation of meeting room space, functions and events (with food), and sleeping room provides the most value per dollar for the conference and those attending it.

If the conference does not meet the contracted sleeping room commitment, the hotel gets paid anyway. Unfilled rooms can cost the conference thousands of dollars.  (The conference does not get credit for the re-sale of sleeping rooms unless the hotel is completely filled.) The next conference in the series cannot negotiate as beneficial a hotel contract, and the registration fee is then under pressure to increase unreasonably.

What if we don't contract for sleeping rooms? Attendees will pay more to stay at the conference hotel. The conference will incur additional expenses for meeting room rental fees, which can be quite costly. The hotel will not hold a block of rooms for attendees, which may leave some people quite a distance from the conference venue. In short, the conference ends up with higher expenses, many of those attending will pay a higher price for their hotel rooms, future conference registration fees will be pushed higher.

Please support the conference by staying at the conference hotel.


Other accomodations

There are other alternatives to the main conference hotel within one-and-a-half miles of the conference location. The below costs have been estimated using http://www.expedia.com, by conservatively picking rates at the peak season in Tempe. The distances are measured from the main conference.

Name

Rate

Distance (miles)



Courtyard by Marriott Tempe

~$65

0.25

Twin Palms

~$90

0.5

Holiday Inn Tempe

~$115

1.00

Phoenix/Tempe-University Travelodge

~$50

1.10

Comfort Inn & Suites At ASU

~$75

1.10

Hampton Inn Stes Tempe AZ

~$89

1.50