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Symposium Hotel

Joined
Oct 4, 2010
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Location
Baldwinsville, NY
Website
www.bayberrycrafts.com
I tried to make a reservation at the #Sheraton (#Marriott Property) listed on the Symposium registration page.
The site kept throwing an error so I called the number shown on that page.

The woman I spoke to told me there was only one room left in the block and that might be causing the error...I told her a friend of mine was trying at the same time and having the same issue.

She booked the room for me and assured me that I had the last room in the block. We even joked that I could share with my buddy...but our wives would probably not like 4 of us sharing a room.

I never got a confirmation (she had my email address mis-spelled) so I called the next morning confirming.
When I did get the confirmation, it showed that my rate was $279 not the $159 conference rate I booked at.

After many calls and long discussion (up to Elite Support), Marriott will NOT honor the rate they booked me at even though it was their employee's error. It is a good thing that I didn't find out about this upon my arrival. Marriott Corporate says they can't tell a property what rate to charge (but insists that they are all one company).
I explained that we planned on extending our trip to visit other parts of NC...staying at other Marriott properties AT FULL PRICE...but that would need to be cancelled since my Symposium housing cost just doubled (so they are losing room nights).

needless to say...I am no longer a #Marriott customer
 
Joined
Jun 30, 2008
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Location
Chatham, Ont.
It sucks!
That is why I usually write down the confirmation number soon as I book it, so I have it before they send an email. Hope you can make acceptable other arrangements.
 

hockenbery

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Sorry to hear about your experience.

I had a better experience at symposium when we decided to add Sunday night to our room when we checked in.
We got it done but had to spend 3 times the time it should have taken.

The clerk said he could not honor that rate for an additional day. However I could get close to that rate through the Internet and he could switch the booking to the same room. So we booked the room through the Internet and came back to counter with the booking confirmation. he then made the room switch.
The guy at least knew how to help us work the system.
 
Joined
Mar 19, 2016
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Location
Haubstadt, Indiana
I know what you mean. All of the special rate rooms were sold out when I tried to book two weeks ago. It is a shame they led you to believe you could book at the special rate.
 
Joined
Jul 28, 2005
Messages
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Location
Alexandria, VA
Yeah, I am not sure where I am going to stay this year. Either attendance will be awesome or the room blocks were pretty small to start with.
I would hate to blow off my commitments if I can't find something that is not absurdly priced.
For a downtown area there are not many hotels.
 

hockenbery

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There is a convenience of staying in the host hotel

However there are lots of less expensive options in every symposium city.
Campgrounds, motels, the internet rentals.....

When rooms are reserved AAW has to guarantee a percentage of the room nights or pay a penalty.
A bad decision on rooms a few years ago put AAW in jeopardy of going bankrupt - fortunately the contract was cancelled by the AAW board.
So AAW understandably takes a conservative approach to blocking room.
 
Joined
Jul 28, 2005
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Location
Alexandria, VA
Bit the bullet and went with Holiday inn, not close and pay in advance to get a rate that was within $10 of the 'AAW rate'.
The glimmer of a silver lining is that parking is 'only' $7 a day instead of 12 or 15.
Lucky for me that I don't mind walking, it would suck to be mobility limited.
 

Kim Rymer

Communications & Marketing Director
AAW Staff
Joined
Mar 7, 2014
Messages
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Location
Minnesota
Hello everyone.

First, we apologize to anyone who has had an unpleasant experience and/or was not able to book a room at the AAW group rate at any of AAW's Symposium hotels. That said, I encourage anyone whose AAW Symposium hotel pricing or service didn’t meet expectations published noted on our website to contact the AAW office. We’ll advocate on your behalf with the AAW Symposium hotels, as appropriate.

Advance hotel reservations for the AAW Symposium have been vigorous (as anticipated) at all three of the symposium hotels. By comparison, the combined size of AAW’s Symposium hotel room blocks in Raleigh is more than 50 percent higher than for the 2018 AAW Symposium in Portland last summer.

Al’s comment about financial risk is spot on. The size of the AAW hotel room block for each AAW Symposium is determined between 2-4 years in advance and is a fairly complex negotiation process. In the end, any unreserved room nights that remain in the contracted blocks must be purchased by the AAW. A commitment to too many rooms places the AAW at potentially catastrophic financial risk.

AAW has a good track record of achieving a good balance between the number of rooms available and the number needed because of many years of symposium planning experience. We monitor symposium hotel block reservations (“pickup”) weekly and add hotel blocks appropriate. For example, by mid-March, as the Marriott and Sheraton hotels filled, a new block of rooms was added at the Residence Inn. Now, as those filled, we are now adding a fourth hotel, the Hampton Inn & Suites Raleigh Downtown. A link for reservations will be added to our website by April 19 for a limited block of rooms at the Hampton. While the Hampton is not as conveniently located as the other three, it offers the same nightly room rate.

We anticipate additional room nights in the AAW Symposium hotel room blocks may become available prior to the symposium due to cancellations. The availability of rooms fluctuates day-to-day. As of today, a limited number of rooms has opened again at the Raleigh Marriott City Center and the reservation link on the AAW website has been reactivated.

We encourage members to check the AAW website regularly for up-to-date hotel availability and information at https://www.woodturner.org/page/2019RaleighHotels. Please reach out to us if you have problems at memberservices@woodturner.org or 651-484-9094 (M-F, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. central time).

I look forward to seeing you in Raleigh!
Kim Rymer
 
Joined
Jul 28, 2005
Messages
390
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Location
Alexandria, VA
Thanks for the update.
Too late for me, but others will be able to take advantage.
As noted, the hotel links have read limited/full or sold out for a while now.
 
Joined
Jan 24, 2010
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Location
Cleveland, Tennessee
FWIW, we stay at Best Western hotels. Have always had good service. egsiegel's experience is not unusual. But I have had the opposite. Stayed at ahotel in Tulsa, OK. The lady at the desk saw we were staying 8 night so she upgraded us to a suite at no extra charge. I would stay somewhere else for the symposium. I have seen for events as the symposium, the hotel is next to the conference center so it is convenient in that respect.
Had an exceptional experience last year. The desk clerk told us to get the cheapest rate for a third party as Priceline. Call the motel and offer that price. Then they have an occupied room which is income plus they save 15% commission for the online service. We found that is is best to call the hotel direct and bargain.
BW has a deal- have two separate stays and get a free night!
egsiegel, enjoy the symposium!
 
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