This is what I've got, if we like it, I'll put the full proposal online here (extracts below) and then see about sending it to the Association if it meets with approval. If it's a no, then I'll go back to the drawing board. I'm pushing to use a hotel mainly because: 1. No room hire. We have a bedroom spend and/or food and beverage commitment instead. 2. Community. A whole bunch of Drupalers in the same place creates an amazing feeling - more so than if people are scattered across multiple hotels. We also have 24 hour access to the function rooms so if someone wants a code sprint at 1am, they can have it.

Dates

The proposed dates are Friday August 28th to Monday August 31st 2009 which is a bank holiday weekend. A weekend, and a bank holiday weekend at that, makes hotel room rates significantly cheaper – about half the normal price, in fact. This should also allow people who cannot take weekdays off work to still attend the conference (planning for single and two day membership options to facilitate this) and hopefully the reduced prices will encourage workplaces to grant funding to those seeking it.

Venue

The proposed venue is The Radisson Edwardian Hotel and Conference Centre near Heathrow London Airport (website). It is a 5-star hotel with 43 conference rooms, 450 bedrooms, ample car parking, excellent facilities and the perfect environment for a community-oriented conference. Its proximity to Heathrow airport makes it incredibly accessible for travellers coming from both outside and within the UK. Using a hotel means we can avoid room hire charges (extortionate in London) in return for booking bedrooms and spending money in the hotel. Bedroom rates are per room per night and include breakfast: Single=£65, Twin/Double=£85, Triple=£110. In order that we are not charged for the conference space, we need to have at least 130 rooms with two occupants and meet a ￡60,000 spend on bedrooms. This averages at 260 people in twin/double rooms plus a further 60 people in singles over four nights (the exact method of meeting the spend is flexible) - this is perfectly manageable.

Overflow Hotels

Should we fill the Radisson, there would be two overflow hotels: the Marriott London Heathrow and the Renaissance London Heathrow. The Marriott will offer family rooms (which the Radisson lacks) with two double beds in each and is only 250m away. The Renaissance will offer double and single rooms at around the same price as the Radisson however rooms in the Renaissance will only become available to book once the main hotel is full as we have a bedroom commitment to meet at the Radisson. The Renaissance is approximately 300m away and on the opposite side of the road – there are pedestrian crossings between the two.

Budget Alternatives

Given the reduced price of the hotel rooms, once travel costs to get between the con venue and alternative accommodation is factored in, there isn't much difference in price/night if people are willing to share (and we can facilitate finding sharers). However, Brunel University's Uxbridge campus has single ensuite rooms available for ￡38/night and is 52 minutes away by bus (no changes). There are also a number of hostels in central London (use http://www.visitlondon.com/accommodation/host... to find them) which would be significantly cheaper but journey times vary greatly and should be checked before booking (use http://tfl.gov.uk to check). Members who don't mind sleeping on a couch could try CouchSurfing (http://couchsurfing.com).

Food and Drink

As for the bedrooms, we've also got discounted rates on drinks and a special menu for the conference. Breakfast and Dinner will be served in the Hotel Brasserie with additional seating in Newbury 1 & 2. Breakfast: served daily between 08:00 and 10:30. Lunch/Snacks: sandwiches, filled rolls, filled jacket potatoes and a salad bar will be available in Newbury 1 between 11:00 and 17:30 daily. Dinner: a buffet will be served between 18:00 and 20:00 daily at the special rate of ￡8 for a main course and a dessert. Dinner tickets will need to be bought in advance from the hotel reception. After 20:00, the hotel will serve its usual (and therefore full price, but very tasty) menu. Evening Snacks: cold snacks (including sandwiches) will be served in the Atrium (outside the Commonwealth on the 3rd floor) from 20:00 till 22:00. Late Night Breakfast: hot bacon, sausages and veggie sausages in bread rolls will be served in the Atrium from 23:00 till 01:00. So, thoughts?