Re: Championship Hotel Reservations - How Did it Go For you?
 

Hm, just tried to book via the online system and didn't get very far. Does anyone know if these reservations are only available for FRC, FVC or FLL teams? Are they available for volunteers who are considering flying down to help? And are wrap party tickets available for volunteers who are not affiliated with teams?

~Kathie
(not affiliated with any particular team!)

Re: Championship Hotel Reservations - How Did it Go For you?
 

Not terribly impressed.

Our travel coordinator called precisely at 9:00am on the day reservations opened and was DENIED a block of rooms at the Embassy Suites. Rather than wasting time and getting shut out of anything near the venue we went with the Westin.

If...

A) You can't block larger quantites of rooms, we should have been told.

B) There were a small number of rooms available at particualr hotels, we should have been told.

C) There was a more efficient way to get the larger blocks of rooms, we should have been told.

This is the first time since Orlando that our team will participate in the post-competition party. In the past I have questioned the price tag (in Orlando it was free and definitely worth paying for had they asked!) and this year decided it was time to give it another go. I'm hoping it's worth the expense otherwise this will be the last year our team attends the party.

I'm sure the reservation system is good for smaller teams and new teams but when your traveling with 45+ people, it doesn't seem to offer many benefits.

Just my 2 cents.

Sean

Re: Championship Hotel Reservations - How Did it Go For you?
 

Team 254 had no problems calling in when the system first went up. We got rooms at Embassy Suites.

The other team we work with had big problems. One of their mentors called at exactly 6 am local time to book some rooms. She was told that Embassy Suites had 11 rooms open that could be blocked for her. She started to give the woman on the phone the names of the students in the rooms, and asked some questions about the process, assuming that those 11 rooms had a hold put on them as soon as she said she wanted them.

After entering around 20 names, she found out that infact they do NOT put a hold on the rooms prior to taking the names. So she lost all 11 rooms because someone else snuck in before she could finish giving names.

She was understandably quite mad that they gave her rooms away, and asked to speak to someone higher up to complain to. Steele told her that she'd have to send an email, which wasn't likely to get anywhere, and unacceptable in her mind. She tried to find contact info for anyone at Steele other than the number given to make reservations and was unsuccessful.

Moral of the story--don't waste your time giving them all the names. Tell them you want john doe in every room 4x, or you run the risk of losing your rooms.

Re: Championship Hotel Reservations - How Did it Go For you?
 

There is definitely inconsistency in the Steele room booking process. I called at exactly 9am. MOE needed more than 20 rooms, so it was recommended that we speak to an agent directly (this came from the FIRST e-mail that was sent to travel coordinators). We followed these instructions and were told by an agent that, since we were a large group, we should fax all the information.

Well, since I was already on the phone with the agent, I asked if I could book these rooms live instead of fax. I was worried that our fax would be put into a queue and we would be behind teams who already faxed in their reservation list. I gave the agent one name for each room. It was a tedious process, but as others have stated, it was the best way to ensure we got the rooms.

At 9:00am, I was told that there were no rooms available at the Embassy Suites. I am disappointed that the agents were not communicated the same message. Obviously, there were rooms available, however, they were in smaller blocks and we could not have gotten all our people in. I asked point blank how many rooms were available at the Embassy and the reservation agent told me that they never had any.

FIRST - please read the feedback here in future planning. It is a shame for teams to go through this process with large teams. Per these comments, a number of teams are not participating in the wrap party and others are booking outside of the package deal.

Re: Championship Hotel Reservations - How Did it Go For you?
 

Mr. Moe, regarding the Hyatt, We stayed there last year and three years ago and found it to be very nice. We had no complaints except the fact that it took forever to get the entire team downstairs becuase of so many people using the elevators but you can't really avoid it unless you lave earlier than everyone else.
They also have this dinner buffet thing that they offer and I think it was worth the cost.
I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Re: Championship Hotel Reservations - How Did it Go For you?
 

We went a different route. We booked our 16 rooms at the Hampton inn & suites a week or so before the Steele information was available. I understand that we will not be able to go to the wrap party but in my 6+ years it hasn't been anything special since Orlando 2000. We had no problems getting a large group reservation & at a HUGE savings over the previous 3 years (Hyatt, Marriot, Hyatt) We really liked the Hyatt but at an estimated $200 per room savings and adding in that we have suites it was hard to pass up.

Mr. Moe the Hyatt is very nice and quite accomidating. If anyone knows anything about the Hampton inn & Suites I would love more input. & if you want to know about the Hyatt or Marriot Marquis send me a message.

Re: Championship Hotel Reservations - How Did it Go For you?
 

One of our team's mentors stayed at the Hampton last year. The rest of the team was in the Omni. He thought the Hampton was great. They had a nice room, and free breakfast. Infact, the only reason the rest of the mentors ate breakfast all weekend was because he brought us food from their free breakfast.

Re: Championship Hotel Reservations - How Did it Go For you?
 

What do teams do about hotel reservations when you don't know if you'll qualify until March? Reserve and cancel if you don't make it? Wait until you know you qualify, then scramble?

I'm wondering if a number of hotel rooms free up in March from teams that hoped to qualify, then didn't.

Until last week, we didn't even dream of going to Atlanta, as only 3-4 Vex teams out of 50 get to attend. But after doing better than expected at our Vex Scrimmage, I'd say we have a chance, albeit a small one. Our team only has 5 students, so we'll probably only need 2 rooms, 3 max.

Suggestions/recommendations would be appreciated.

Re: Championship Hotel Reservations - How Did it Go For you?
 

you should have made reservations back at the beginning of the season, around september. with 100,000+ people going to nationals, all hotels get filled extremely quickly.

Re: Championship Hotel Reservations - How Did it Go For you?
 

The story I heard about Omni is that all FIRST teams were banned from staying there by hotel management because we didn't comply with their rules well enough. Can anyone confirm this as correct (or incorrect)? Maybe it is time to leave Atlanta, if we are not allowed to stay at the most conveniently located hotel.

I think we are staying at a Day's Inn near Centennial Park.

Re: Championship Hotel Reservations - How Did it Go For you?
 

i agree, i think the hotels(expecially the "richy" ones) are getting tired of all the hyped up and spirited teams in thier hotel lobbies pretty much non-stop. next year we should do it across the country, as in california or even alaska!:D

Re: Championship Hotel Reservations - How Did it Go For you?
 

Can you tell us more about the dinner buffet? We're trying to figure out how to feed 80 to 90 people on Friday night without spending a fortune. Do they have a large room where the buffet is held? Do you remember how much it cost? Were food the choices sufficient to accommodate everyone?