[FOSDEM] Hotel discounts

[Simon Josefsson]

Philip Paeps <philip at fosdem.org> writes:

> On 2013-01-02 15:38:20 (+0100), Simon Josefsson <simon at josefsson.org> wrote:
>> tor 2012-12-27 klockan 22:40 +0100 skrev Wynke Stulemeijer:
>> > We are pleased to announce that a number of hotels in Brussels are
>> > offering a discount to FOSDEM visitors. See the accommodation page
>> > (https://fosdem.org/2013/practical/accommodation/) for more information
>> > on which hotels and how to book.
>> 
>> A hint to everyone is to check directly with the hotel as well.  I got
>> 107 EUR/night at Royal Windsor when I booked now, but the FOSDEM
>> discount rate is 115 EUR/night.
>
> This is helpful to know.  As pointed out before, this year is the first
> year we're working with the Brussels Booking Desk to negotiate discounts
> for visitors.  Any comments (positive or negative) are welcome.

I think that is a good idea -- don't be discouraged by my comment.

My experience from other conferences is that "conference deals" are more
often than not matched by direct hotel deals though.  If you are
spending significant time/money on arranging these hotel deals, you
could consider if it is worth the effort.

> Note that the difference between 115EUR and 107EUR sounds a lot like
> city tax.  I would be interested to know if the rate you  were quoted
> actually includes that.  Some hotels like to charge it separately (you
> can guess how I feel about that practice).

My confirmation says "Room Rate: € 107,00 EUR includes tax and service
charges" although what they actually will charge remains to be seen.

/Simon