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July 2009, Vol. 2, Edition 7
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If you can get a room at the ICOM meeting hotel cheaper than the our member rate, why not take it? Here's why...
Typically the host agency will recommend two or three hotels in their city they feel will be appropriate for their ICOM colleagues. It has to have adequate meeting space, comfortable sleeping rooms, business center, high speed internet, good restaurant and bar facilities and hopefully be within walking distance to the host agency, restaurants and attractions.
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DeAnna Moxley, our Administrative Manager, then negotiates with the recommended hotels to get the best total deal for ICOM. The best total deal. That doesn't mean just the cheapest sleeping rooms. It also means getting other complimentary services incuded such as breakfast and high speed internet included in the price of the sleeping room. It also means getting a good rate for the meeting room, the audio/visual equipment, welcome reception and dinner, lunches and coffee breaks. One of the reasons we hold the welcome dinner and reception in the meeting hotel is that it gives us more negotiating leverage. And, it makes us easy to find for late-comers.
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When we select a hotel, usually six months in advance, the room rates are fixed until our registration deadline and will not fluctuate with the hotel occupancy. If you register after the deadline, you may not get the ICOM rate or worse, you may not get a room.
In exchange for these negotiated lower rates ICOM has to guarantee a minimum number of rooms will be used for the meeting. The hotel then takes that number of rooms out of their inventory to sell on those dates. If we do not have the minimum number of ICOM members and guest speakers register for those rooms through our online registration system we are penalized and that penalty goes into the final meeting expenses.
If you book a room at the meeting hotel on the internet you may get what appears to be a cheaper rate. However, you may not get breakfast, high speed internet and VAT, gym access, or certain gratuities included. Those will be additional on your bill when you check out. And, your internet booking does not count in ICOM meeting our minimum guaranteed number of rooms.
So you see, booking the cheaper internet room may end up costing you and your ICOM colleagues more money in the end.
If you have any questions, please call me or DeAnna.
Gary Burandt
ICOM Executive Director
burandt@icomagencies.com
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