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<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Good
Afternoon Venka and All-<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>ConferenceDirect
is offering to provide venue procurement services for FOSS4G 2011 in either
Denver or Bogota. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>The
Bogota Corpocentros Center or <span style='color:black'>Corferias Convention
Center, and the Colorado Convention Center all offer expansive facilities and
state-of-the-art technology. These types of venues will likely require
significant facility rental, but could be considered prospective options, if
the host organization could offset this expense with some type of sponsorship
subsidy. A Convention Center facility like Denver is usually best
utilized for “city-wide” groups that attracts attendance of 2,500
to 10,000 or more conferees, and has the need to utilize two or more primary
hotels for housing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black'>Free Standing facilities such as Educational/University and
Government Agency venues often collaborate with NPOs, and can offer their
facilities to you at little or no cost. These venues can also offer
Catering and Audio Visual Services at a lower cost than a traditional
hotel. The biggest drawbacks of free standing facilities like these are:
1) Availability. Universities and government institutions have limited
availability during time periods where they regularly schedule their own
sessions. 2) Transportation. When utilizing a free standing
facility, it is still advised that you separately contract housing (a hotel or
hotels) for the Conference attendees. This being the case - an added cost
for transportation service arrangements may be required in order to shuttle
attendees between the conference venue and host hotel(s).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Downtown
or Larger Convention Hotels are a good option for groups of 250 to about 1500
people. Facility/Meeting room rental at hotels can often be negotiated
and even WAIVED – if the group’s “number of attendee to hotel
room block” ratio is no more than about 3:1. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Group
rates for lodging at convention hotels may be less than you think.
Through ConferenceDirect’s proprietary purchasing system – I have
access to actual group rates that have been quoted at many hotels/resorts (see
attached sample). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>As
for a Registration Fee estimate: If your 2011 Conference program is going to be
similar to past events, it is probably wise to establish your Registration Fee
budget based on what is now in place in Barcelona. Or by using the
“constant” values suggested within the osgeo-conference-budget-template.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>I
do believe that ConferenceDirect could help exceed FOSS4G’s 2011
“best case” $44K surplus scenario projected in the template - if
you are able to control, offset or eliminate meeting room rental charges, and
attract 900 to 1000 total attendees who will book a minimum of 300 peak night
hotel rooms.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black'>Kevin<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black'>Kevin G. Bell</span><b><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:
Pristina;color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black'>Global Account Executive<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#00375A'>Conference</span></b><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#4D725C'>Direct®</span></b><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=ES-MX style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black'>Mesa, Arizona<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=ES-MX style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=ES-MX style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black'>phone: 480-380-7678<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=ES-MX style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black'>fax: 480-302-7872<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=ES-MX style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black'>cell: 602-740-0839<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span lang=ES-MX style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black'><a href="http://www.conferencedirect.com/"><span style='color:
black'>conferencedirect.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black'>ConferenceDirect is a worldwide provider of outsourced meeting
planning solutions. The portfolio of offerings includes: Site Selection &
Contract Negotiation, Conference Management Services, Housing &
Registration. ConferenceDirect is pleased to provide these services on an
individual or "all inclusive" basis.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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