Why is the registration fee lower if I stay at the JW Marriott Indianapolis?
The Importance of Staying at the URISA GIS-Pro Conference Hotel
GIS-Pro 2011 Conference attendees and exhibitors are encouraged to stay at the official Conference hotel, the JW Marriott Indianapolis. The JW will be the site of all conference activities and also serves as the Networking Hub for discussions before and after hours.
Meeting the Room Block - Conference hotels work with associations like URISA to fill as many sleeping rooms as possible for the use of their meeting space and services. Our goal, of course, is to negotiate the best deal for URISA and its members with minimal risk. If we do not fill our room block for the conference, URISA is penalized for nonperformance of the contract. This penalty can be quite substantial and would greatly impact the financial stability of the association. In order to avoid such penalties, we are doing everything we can to make it a bit more attractive to stay at the conference hotel and fill the room block.
As an added incentive, we will also raffle three (3) conference registrations to GIS-Pro 2012 for host hotel registrants.
(You may not be aware that URISA's committee and Board members volunteer their time and also pay for their conference registration, hotel rooms and travel, including our conference in Indianapolis.)
We feel that the GIS-Pro 2011 hotel package is competitive, especially when transportation costs and convenience are considered. Of course, less expensive properties are certainly available and we understand that you will make the decision on where to stay based upon your own circumstances.
We realize that you have many options in the Indianapolis area, but we hope that you will consider staying at the JW Marriott.
If you have any questions about this policy, please contact Wendy Nelson at URISA. (847/824-6300)
