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Make
Hotel Reservations Your First Priority
The response to our 2008 National Conference on
Guardianship has knocked our socks off. Every year NGA hopes for an even
larger crowd and as our Conference grows increasingly popular, our
room block has maxed out this year.
This is great news for NGA’s membership because, as a result, your
association won’t face severe financial liability. Recently one
association was forced to pay $40,000 for unused sleeping rooms and
another faced the brink of bankruptcy because of hotel attrition fees
associated with a Conference.
But our popularity comes with a price. If you waited to make Conference
arrangements, you must make room reservations your first priority
because other large events in Nashville are making it harder to book
a room.
The good news is that over the past weekend NGA was able to negotiate
for a very limited block rooms as an “overflow” option at the
Sheraton Music City Hotel. Other rooms are also available in the city
and as recently as Friday people reported finding nearby rooms at a good
rate. Follow these tips in your room search:
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Your first call should still be to our host hotel,
the Sheraton Nashville Downtown. Do not go online or use the general
toll-free reservation line. Call them directly at 615-259-2000.
Although the hotel is currently fully booked, cancellations do
occur. While you won’t be privileged to receive our group discount
rate, you may obtain a room that opens up.
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If the host hotel reports no available rooms, make a
call to the overflow hotel. Do not go online or use the general
toll-free reservation line. Call them directly at 615-885-2200. This
contract is so new that the hotel cannot begin processing
reservations for the NGA block until Wednesday, September 3, when
the group rate will be coded their system. If you encounter a
problem beginning Wednesday, your NGA contact is Jeanmarie Kline,
CMP (jkline@helmsbriscoe.com).
Sheraton Music City Hotel
777 McGavock Pike, Nashville, TN 37214
Phone: 615-885-2200 /
www.sheratonmusiccity.com
The NGA Discounted Room Rate is $160 for a single or double, plus a
city tax of $2.50 Per night, 9.25% state tax, and 6% occupancy tax.
This discounted NGA rate includes round trip shuttle service for
the NGA Conference hotel. The shuttle pick-up and drop-off time
will be available to you upon check-in.
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We are getting good feedback from people who are
using online resources such as expedia.com, hotwire.com,
priceline.com, etc. Hotels often make deals with these companies
and keep a few of their rooms in inventory specifically for the
Internet. Check the policies before making any reservation online.
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Room sharing is a great idea to help fit
everyone in the hotel…and cut your expense. We’ve already had
several NGA Board members agree to share rooms and split the bill.
Use the NGA Listserv to send a simple message indicating whether you
have a room you are willing to share or if you are seeking someone
who will offer to pair-up. All responses for these match-ups should
be one-on-one. Follow Listserv protocol to include your name, phone
and email address so interested parties can contact you directly and
not by a Listserv reply. (If
you haven’t signed up for the Listserv, this is a great time to
become part of this member-to-member exchange. Federal Spam
regulations require us to ask you to opt-in for this free member
service. Sign-up directions are in the “Members Only” section of the
NGA website or contact us at info@guardianship.org.)
With nearly 500 people expected for the Conference,
we’re sure you understand that at this point NGA can’t seek and secure
hotel rooms for every individual, or find you a better room rate.
However, if in using the suggested options you encounter problems, your
NGA contact is Jeanmarie Kline, CMP at
jkline@helmsbriscoe.com.
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