Travel Information

TAU 2009 will be held at Lakeway Resort in Austin, Texas on February 23-24, 2009. TAU has negotiated a special rate of $189+tax/night for a lake side room with balcony, or $159+tax/night for a hill side room. The deadline to take advange of this special rate is Feb 9 . To make the reservation, call Lakeway Resort reservations at 512-261-6600 and mention the code ACM.

Why stay at the workshop hotel?

The simple answer is that it's a really nice hotel (see the picture above), at a reasonable price.  There are no other hotels conveniently located in close neighborhood. If you stay at Lakeway, you will have more time for relaxing and networking, instead of driving. If you are still not convinced, you should read the following paragraphs.

Stay at the workshop hotel to support TAU  

The workshop leaders have taken their role of finding a workshop site very seriously. They looked at a number of locations.  The needs of attendees as individuals in addition to the meeting space were considered.

Everyone enjoys meeting in a comfortable conference venue, offering quality service and support for workshops, tutorials, plenary sessions, etc.  As the quid-pro-quo for that service and support, the conference guarantees that a percentage of attendees will stay in the hotel.  The hotel generally discounts the rate for workshop attendees from their normal charges.

The hotel rates are negotiated based on the number of expected attendees and the meeting space required to comfortably accommodate them. The basis for negotiation with the hotel is statistics from that workshop in prior years.  The contract with the hotel then guarantees specific numbers of sleeping rooms will be used each night during the workshop.  A complex negotiation of meeting room space, functions and events (with food), and sleeping room provides the most value per dollar for the conference and those attending it.  If the workshop does not meet the contracted sleeping room commitment, the hotel gets paid anyway. Unfilled rooms can cost the workshop thousands of dollars. 

Please support TAU and the SIG by staying at the workshop hotel!