On Aug 24, 2011, at 9:34 AM, George, Wesley wrote:
From: ietf-bounces(_at_)ietf(_dot_)org
[mailto:ietf-bounces(_at_)ietf(_dot_)org] On Behalf Of Keith Moore
Sent: Wednesday, August 24, 2011 8:37 AM
To: Ray Pelletier
Cc: John C Klensin; Secretariat IETF; IETF-Discussion list; Lixia Zhang
Subject: Re: Hyatt Taipei cancellation policy?
$300/night is far too high a ceiling for a guest room rate. A more
reasonable ceiling would be in the ballpark of $150.
I don’t understand why we keep throwing around hard and fast dollar figures.
Every person, whether paying their own way or using a corporate expense
account is going to have a different view of what is ok vs what is
unacceptably high, and that may or may not line up with the market rate
reality of the actual location chosen. As others have pointed out in the
past, the only limit that would make sense is to use something like the US
gov’t max travel rate guidelines, which are indexed to things like USD value
vs. local currency, average cost by location, etc. [...]
I think you're missing my point. I'm concerned about the total cost of
attending an IETF meeting, or IETF meetings in general. The per night room
rate obviously isn't the only factor. But when the room rate goes much above
$150/night, it starts to become a very significant factor, often the most
significant factor, in total travel cost.
More broadly, when IETF negotiators start thinking it's okay for rooms to cost
much more than $150 per night, there's a serious disconnect going on. Maybe
they don't realize it, but at that point they're actively working to exclude
participation from those not supported by large companies or governments.
I'm not arguing for a hard, fixed ceiling for room rates or anything else. I'm
saying that the average total cost of attending an IETF meeting needs to be
kept down.
(Having said that, I personally don't mind if the conference hotel is expensive
as long as there are reasonably priced alternatives nearby. In Quebec City I
stayed at a very nice hotel in the old town, about 5 minutes' walk away. But I
also realize that for some participants, even that distance might be a
significant burden.)
Whether the room cost is reasonable for a particular location matters if you're
getting reimbursed by someone who will only pay the USG per diem rate. And for
those in that situation, it's a valid concern. It's just not what I happen to
be concerned about.
Keith
p.s. I keep thinking that we should try, at least once, holding a meeting on a
college campus between semesters. Colleges tend to have lots of meeting
space, campus networks with wi-fi, lots of food available nearby (though
perhaps not "fine lunches and dinners"), and the ones that have popular sports
teams tend to have plenty of nearby hotel rooms available at reasonable prices
in the off season. Some colleges will want to charge conference center rates,
but I bet that there are lots of colleges struggling to make ends meet that
might be willing to cut a deal.
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