Chicon 2000: Hotels
Chicon 2000
Hotels
Rev. 24-Aug-2000
Previous: All about Chicago
(Table of Contents) Next: Hotel Vacancy Charts
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One-Stop Chicago, rooms@chicon.org
See also:
* Hotel Vacancy Charts
* Hyatt Regency Chicago [Sold Out]
* Suites at the Hyatt Regency Chicago
* Fairmont Hotel
* Swissôtel [Sold Out]
* Roommates
* Parties
* Smoking
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Hotel Booking Deadline Passed
The deadline for booking hotels has passed. The hotels are now in a
blackout period, while One-Stop Chicago consolidates the hotel blocks
and sends the info to the hotels. After this is done, the hotels may
be called directly for bookings, provided there are any rooms left.
This should happen around 15-Aug-2000.
People holding reservations shouldn't call the hotels to confirm, yet,
as the hotels don't have the information. When One-Stop sends the
information to the hotels, you can then re-confirm, if you feel the
need to do so. we'll post when this happens.
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Latest On The Hotels
Our latest review of hotel reservations indicates that double-double
rooms (rooms with two double beds) at the Hyatt are sold out. It is
still possible to make a reservation for a double-double, but the
probability of actually getting one is not high. We strongly recommend
that members who have not yet made reservations and who want two beds
in their rooms reserve at the Fairmont or the Swissotel.
We are checking to see whether the number of double-doubles reserved
at the Hyatt significantly exceeds the number available. If there is a
potential problem, we will get in touch with affected members in an
effort to devise satisfactory solutions.
Also, we will soon be sending an e-mail survey to a random selection
of members in order to verify the accuracy of the hotel reservation
lists. If you receive a survey, please don't treat it as spam. Your
response will make it easier for us to accommodate everyone at the
con.
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Looking for Room at the Inn? Chicon Has More Than One.
The Chicon block at the Hyatt Regency is getting very crowded,
particularly on the night of Wednesday, August 30th. We're doing our
best to squeeze out more rooms but would like to suggest that members
who haven't yet booked consider our other facilities, the Fairmont
Hotel and the Swissotel. Each costs a few dollars a night more than
the Hyatt. On the other hand, those extra dollars buy a step-up from a
first-rate business hotel to one in the "luxury" class.
The Fairmont is giving us the steepest discount from standard rates of
any of our hotels. Rooms are large, with especially spacious
bathrooms, and none is farther than four doors from an elevator. Also,
the Fairmont will be the site of the Masquerade, the Hugo Awards
Ceremony, and several plays and musical performances. This is a
particularly good choice for singles and doubles. (Triples are harder
to accommodate, and more than three to a room is not allowed.)
The Swissotel won rave notices from Chicon V members who stayed there
in 1991. Like the Fairmont, it is upscale with "European" touches. It
will be the location for films and gaming.
Both the Fairmont and the Swissotel are close to the Hyatt (the former
slightly nearer, the latter connected by an underground Pedway).
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Chicon offers you a choice of three hotels: the Hyatt Regency Chicago,
the Fairmont Hoteland the Swissôtel. The three facilities are close
together. The Fairmont is directly south of the Hyatt, across a narrow
street with little traffic. The Swissôtel is to the Hyatt's immediate
east, reachable across another narrow street or by the underground
Pedway.
All reservations must be made through our booking service, One-Stop
Chicago. (See the hotel reservation form, above.) The one exception is
suites at the Hyatt, which must be booked through Chicon's Suites
Coordinator.
DO NOT CALL THE HOTELS TO MAKE RESERVATIONS.
Chicon rates for all three hotels are far below both their standard
rates and the rates that they are currently charging attendees at
other conventions. By comparison, the lowest rates available on
Travelocity for the weekend before
Chicon (double room) are Hyatt $179/night, Fairmont $304/night,
Swissôtel $189/night. Our rates are available for up to three nights
before and after Chicon (that is, from Monday, August 28th, through
Thursday, September 7th).
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Latest Hotel News from the Chairman.
Although hotel room booking has gone fairly smoothly for most members,
there have been some complaints, and one unanticipated problem has
emerged. Here is an update:
1. Members who want to reserve rooms during the period before and
after the convention have encountered delays in obtaining
confirmations. This problem is not due to any shortage of rooms. The
cause is the hotels' practice of putting rooms into One-Stop Chicago's
inventory little-by-little - especially for nights well outside the
"core" of the convention. Some mundane conventions overblock badly and
don't release unneeded rooms until it's too late to resell them. To
avoid being stung, the hotels hold back space until demand emerges. In
Chicon's case, demand emerged much, much more rapidly than they
expected. Both One-Stop and the hotels are scrambling to catch up.
2. Our room rate negotiations with the Swissotel suffered a serious
snafu that led to our announcing the wrong rates. The rates that the
hotel meant to offer are very good - $109/night for single/double and
$139/night for triple/quad - but are a little higher than what we
thought they were. I'm very sorry that this mistake occurred. If I had
been paying closer attention, it wouldn't have. The moral is, if you
set up a fool-proof system, take into account the ingenuity of fools.
3. If you encounter any difficulties in making your reservation,
please let me know at chair@chicon.org. If we hear about problems
first-hand, rather than via newsgroup gossip, we can deal with them
more effectively.
When we learned that the room rates at the Swissotel would be
different from those announced, we sent an explanatory letter and
revised reservation forms to all of our members. Some people
apparently misapprehended that the new form means that they must redo
their reservations. Not so. If you have already made your hotel
reservation and are satisfied with it, you can simply ignore our
latest mailing (or pass it on to a friend).
Tom Veal
Chairman, Chicon 2000
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Important Hotel Information
PLEASE READ BEFORE MAKING YOUR RESERVATION
1. One-Stop Chicago can be reached by Phone at
(800) 424-5248 (U.S., Canada)
+1 847 940-2152 (Rest of World)
8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. U.S. Central Time
2. Chicon 2000 has selected One-Stop Chicago to handle all hotel
reservations for the convention. To reserve your room, you may
call One-Stop Chicago. You may want to look at the PDF or Text
versions of the Hotel Reservation Forms for a complete listing of
rates. You may also reserve your room online, using One-Stop
Chicago's Online Hotel Reservation Form
.
3. One-Stop Chicago will accept reservations through 03-Aug-2000. On
and after 14-Aug-2000, you may call the hotels directly for
changes or cancellations or to make reservations (if rooms are
still available). Your chances of getting the room you want and
your special requests are best if you reserve through One-Stop
Chicago. Do not call the hotels before 14-Aug-2000. They cannot
handle reservations directly until then.
4. All room reservations require a $120 deposit, to be paid in U.S.
funds by check, money order or credit card. Please note that your
credit card will be charged when you make your reservation. The
deposit will be applied to your room bill. If your plans change,
the deposit will be refunded, provided that you cancel your room
reservation at least 72 hours before your scheduled arrival.
5. Suite reservations at the Hyatt Regency will be handled directly
by Chicon. If you wish to reserve a suite, write to Chicon 2000,
Attention: Suites Coordinator, P. O. Box 642057, Chicago IL 60664,
or send e-mail to suites@chicon.org, or send a fax to (312)
946-3779 (no cover sheet required).
6. Call One-Stop Chicago for suite rates at the Fairmont Hotel and
Swissotel.
7. Reservations may be canceled without penalty by calling or writing
One-Stop Chicago through and including 03-Aug-2000. Starting
14-Aug-2000, cancellations must be made by calling your hotel. If
you cancel later than 72 hours before your scheduled arrival, your
deposit will not be refunded.
8. Every effort will be made to honor special requests, but their
fulfillment depends upon availability.
9. Friends who would like to have rooms near each other should select
a designation for their group (one of their names will generally
work best) and note it on the "Other" line under "Special
Requests" (e.g., "Please place in Jane Jophan Group"). The hotels
will try to honor group requests but cannot guarantee to do so.
10. If you suffer a bona fide allergy to smoke, please note that fact
on the "Other" line under "Special Requests".
11. Room parties are permitted only at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.
Please don't ask for party space elsewhere.
12. A triple room at the Fairmont consists of one king or queen-size
bed plus a rollaway.
13. The Hyatt has a limited number of rollaways that will be supplied,
subject to availability, for a one-time charge of $20.00. Ask
One-Stop Chicago about cribs at all hotels and rollaways at the
Swissotel.
14. One-Stop Chicago will confirm your reservation within three
business days. Confirmation will be sent by e-mail (if you furnish
an e-mail address) and also by mail or fax. You will not receive a
confirmation from your hotel.
15. If you have room needs that aren't covered by the form, call
One-Stop Chicago and ask. They will do their best to accommodate
you.
_________________________________________________________________
About One-Stop Chicago
Information from Progress Report 5
by Tom Veal, chair@chicon.org
One-Stop Chicago is the Chicago Convention and Visitors Bureau's
official booking service, used by most of the major conventions held
in the Chicago area. It has been in operation for over 50 years. In
fact, its direct predecessor handled hotel reservations (quite
satisfactorily) for Chicon IV in 1982.
One-Stop's main facility in suburban Deerfield has 192 voice phone
lines and 33 round-the-clock fax lines (16 incoming, 17 outgoing). It
is staffed from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. every weekday. An 8:00 a.m. to
5:00 p.m. shift takes reservations by telephone, while the 5:00 to
11:00 p.m. shift handles mail and fax reservations. Reservations can
also be made at any time over the Internet.
Although One-Stop has a first-rate reputation and is very convenient,
our initial plan was not to use a booking service for Chicon. As will
be discussed below, the service would cost our members something (not
a lot, but more than zero), and it didn't seem essential in light of
Chicon V's mostly trouble-free experience with booking rooms directly
with the hotels.
What changed our plans was the Hyatt chain's decision - made only a
couple of months ago - to eliminate the in-house reservation staff at
the Hyatt Regency Chicago. In the future, calls to Hyatt reservations
will be transferred to a central facility that is oriented primarily
toward the needs of business and individual leisure travelers, not
conventions. The people with whom we work at the Hyatt were the first
to warn us that the new arrangement was likely to cause trouble for
Chicon. In particular, we would have no effective means to prevent
overbooking, special requests (such as room blocking) would be
difficult to honor, and dealing with problems would require
inefficient back-and-forth among the national facility, the Hyatt's
front desk and Chicon's hotel liaisons.
After considering various alternatives (such as setting up our own
booking service, trying to make special arrangements with national
Hyatt, etc.), we concluded that One-Stop Chicago would offer the best
service for our members. All three of our hotels support this
decision; in fact, they are paying One-Stop's $16 per reservation
service charge. (Incidentally, Chicon room rates were negotiated
months ago, so the One-Stop fee hasn't been loaded onto them; indeed,
one hotel responded to our choice by lowering its rates.)
The down side is that One-Stop requires a $120 deposit for each
reservation, payable by check or credit card at the time of booking.
The deposit is applied to your room charge, but, as any fan can figure
out, One-Stop gets the benefit of earnings on the float. The amount
involved is tiny for any individual attendee, but nobody likes to pay
for anything in advance. We are sorry for the inconvenience and hope
that our favorable room rates (the best quality/price ratio of any
Worldcon since Chicon V, we think) will provide some consolation.
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Information from Progress Report 2
by Tom Veal, chair@chicon.org
Hotels. As of 29-Jul-1998, we have signed contracts with all three of
our hotels. One lesson that we have learned from another Worldcon's
problems is that room blocks should be too big rather than too small.
Therefore, our block for the core nights is over 2,500 rooms, with
generous allotments for fans who arrive early or stay late. A
consequence of this strategy is that we risk having to pay substantial
facilities fees if room pickups aren't up to expectations. Happily,
because we don't have to pay charges to a convention center, we can
face that prospect, if not with equanimity, at least without stark
terror.
Information from Progress Report 2
by Dina S. Krause, hotel@chicon.org
* Adjacent to the Magnificent Mile, on the Chicago River, very near
Lake Michigan, walk to the Chicago Loop, shopping, entertainment,
museums, and parks.
* Bus transportation, door to door, to both Midway Airport
(currently $20 round trip) and O'Hare Airport (currently $28 round
trip)
* Part of the 83 acre indoor Illinois Center complex, featuring 150
stores and services, including 43 restaurants and connections to
our hotels, the Hyatt Regency, the Swissôtel and the Fairmont.
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Chicon 2000 Facilities are Second to None!
by Dina S. Krause, hotel@chicon.org
Contracts are complete with our three main hotels. The Headquarters
hotel is the Hyatt Regency Chicago, with the Swissôtel and the
Fairmont as overflow. They have all given us the function space as
well as the rooms we need and are excited about having our business;
and the space is wonderful. One doesn't even have to go outside to
reach the other hotels from the Hyatt as they are all connected
through an underground mall.
If one is a facilities liaison what would you think is the best news?
Well how about more space at your disposal! They are taking out some
fountains in the West Tower of the Hyatt and putting in a large
divisible Ballroom, with construction to be done late 1999.
All the hotels are equipped with rooms for the physically challenged;
parking rates have been negotiated; and we are working on some special
deals in the restaurants.
We are looking forward to giving you all the information, and our
great rates, about 8-12 months out. They are not yet prepared to take
reservations!
Future reports will include what will be located where and hopefully
answer any of your questions. Feel free to send any comments or
questions to hotel@chicon.org.
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From Progress Report 1
Q. "Which hotel should I choose, and when will I be able to book my
reservation?"
A. Since hotel contracts have just been negotiated, patience is in
order. Our three hotels - the Hyatt Regency Chicago, the Fairmont and
the Swissôtel - have different characters, and each will appeal to a
different subset of fans. As our headquarters facility, the Hyatt will
be closest to "the action", but the other two hotels are very short
distances away. From any spot in the Hyatt to the most remote reach of
the Fairmont is no farther than one might walk in a mid-sized mall,
and the trip can be completed without going out of doors.
Though we will have preliminary notions of hotel rates soon (probably
before you read this), the figures won't really be set until hotel
cards go out in late 1999 or early 2000. Many fans are apprehensive,
we know, due to the relatively high prices at a few recent Worldcon
hotels and the problems that the Boston in 2001 bid encountered in its
negotiations (ultimately prompting it to decamp to Orlando). Chicago
hotels are more reasonable than those in Boston, but it is only
realistic to note that several recent trends have made it harder to
obtain the dirt cheap lodgings that fans remember fondly.
First, the hotel industry isn't as "hungry" as it was a decade ago.
Hoteliers have learned the art of "yield management" (pioneered by the
airlines) and have overcome the disastrous vacancy rates that used to
lure managers into desperate efforts to fill rooms at any price.
Second, Labor Day weekend is losing its wallflower status. One of our
hotels has been approached by at least two other groups for the year
2000, and tourist traffic has picked up to the point where another has
cut its proffered room block below what Chicon V filled in 1991. The
period is still soft for the hospitality trade but not absolutely
mushy.
Third, though the country as a whole doesn't worry about inflation
these days, labor-intensive employers do. The U.S. has enjoyed an
unusual period of wage stability that now seems to be coming to an
end. Further tightening of the labor market, perhaps combined with yet
another minimum wage hike, would slash and burn hotels' profit
margins, leading to higher prices and leaner service for us consumers.
No, this is not the prologue to announcing that single rooms will cost
$300 a night, just an attempt at conservatism and caution. What we
hope for - and will work hard to get - is rates that aren't much
higher, in real dollar terms, than those at Chicon V.
_________________________________________________________________
The Headquarters hotel for Chicon 2000 is:
Hyatt Regency Chicago
The official overflow hotels are:
Fairmont Hotel
Swissôtel
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