On Aug 9, 2014, at 2:06 PM, John C Klensin <john-ietf(_at_)jck(_dot_)com>
wrote:
--On Saturday, August 09, 2014 13:42 -0400 Ray Pelletier
<rpelletier(_at_)isoc(_dot_)org> wrote:
Mary
Thanks for the questions.
There is construction at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, but
during IETF 91 there will be no construction Monday through
Thursday. Construction will resume on Friday.
Ray,
I hate to ask this question but how confident are you about
those promises? Several of us have not-very-fond memories of
what I assume was a large rotary hammer/ drill at the Fairmont
(or several of them) but I'd assume the hotel would consider
that "a little drilling" or "preparation for the next round of
construction" not "construction". So
The construction referred to at Fairmont was not actually construction
being conducted by the hotel, but by the City of Toronto.
(1) Do you have a clear agreement about what constitutes
"construction" in the contract, ideally one that you would be
willing to share with us?
There is no definition of construction in the contract. The agreement states:
“The Hotel has received confirmation and agrees to stop construction
during the dates of November 10 - 13, 2014, inclusive. Construction will
resume on Friday, November 14, 2014, from 09:00 to 5:00pm; normal
construction schedule is Monday through Friday, 09:00am - 5:00pm.
There will be no construction on Saturday and Sunday.”
(2) If there is any ambiguity in that agreement, does the hotel,
an outside contractor, or we get to decide whether something is
"construction" or not? (Clearly we didn't have much useful
input at the Fairmont because they were drilling/hammering all
week).
This was not a Fairmont issue. Construction was being conducted by the
City of Toronto and not within our control or within the control of the
Fairmont.
There will be no construction over the weekends or between Monday
through Thursday of our event.
(3) Are the provisions of that agreement strong enough that, if
the prohibition were violated, the hotel would feel serious
pain, not just, e.g., the guarantee that we would never return
and/or the need to discount a few rooms?
There is no “serious pain” penalty provision in the contract addressing
violation of the Hotel’s agreement to cease construction during our meeting.
Our long-standing relationship with Hilton and their commercial interest in
our
continued/repeat business is our leverage.
Finally, if they are able to postpone construction for
Monday-Thursday, what is the plan for the meetings, classes, and
side-events that normally occur on Saturday and Sunday? We've
been in hotels with "no construction during the meeting days"
promises before when the pre-meeting weekend has been completely
disrupted.
As indicated above, construction will not be conducted on Saturday or Sunday.
Finally, has the IESG agreed to not schedule WG meetings for
Friday? If not, what is the justification for an agreement that
could result in its being impossible or at least terribly
difficult for WGs scheduled on Friday to get work done?
Or mildly difficult, or not difficult at all just to round out the
possibilities.
The construction itself is not in the buildings where our meetings are being
held,
but in another part of the property. Our meeting space is located in the
Mid-Pacific
Conference Center, which is separated from the construction site by the Tapa
Convention Center and the Tapa Tower.
We will discuss the nature of the construction work being done to see if we
can
further minimize any impact on Friday’s sessions.
Ray
john