Re: [Debconf-team] DC14 bids: certainty in Venezuela
On 05/03/13 18:53, Gunnar Wolf wrote: > Hi bidders! > > I know Moray asked while opening up the discussion for the bidding > process to try to address our questions to both bids, but this is > meant for the Venezuelan bid - No way to make it more inclusive. > > Some people have approached me with questions regarding the stability > of the Venezuelan government and the outlook for a 18 month period. We > have recently seen a strong devaluation of the formal exchange rate, Taking away the Chávez factor (which is obviously not to be understated), all these other issues could be raised for just about any other country these days: 25% of Italians just voted for what some people describe as a non-Government, and there is speculation their problems will overflow into the rest of Europe. The US even lost their AAA credit rating last year, Britain lost AAA a few weeks ago. Japan had Fukushima. Australia has a horrible immigration system that has scuttled many conferences (unless we only invite young white males with 6 figure salaries that match a `trustworthy' economic profile), so if it was my choice, I'd be choosing Venezuela or back to Managua over my own country any day. Looking specifically at Venezuala, the currency valuation itself doesn't mean so much when you consider the fact that their underlying source of wealth is oil exports (and don't forget all those gold reserves Mr Chávez recently repatriated). Given the Government commitment to free software, isn't this the model of an independent and therefore stable Government that we all aspire to see in our own countries? Neither the Venezuelan team nor the wider Debian community should be deterred by short term factors, and if anything, now is the time when the DebConf committee could well choose to place a big vote of confidence - and solidarity - with the Venezuelan local team, their country, and their free software strategy. ___ Debconf-team mailing list Debconf-team@lists.debconf.org http://lists.debconf.org/mailman/listinfo/debconf-team
Re: [Debconf-team] calendar clash
> I also pointed this out to the FrOSCon organisers, and while the > initial reason was “too late” they might in fact change the date. Don't know if the clash is the reason for it, but the date is changed to August 24/25 ___ Debconf-team mailing list Debconf-team@lists.debconf.org http://lists.debconf.org/mailman/listinfo/debconf-team
[Debconf-team] Alternative accommodation in Yverdon-les-Bains
Hi there, I have contacted again Hôtel du Théâtre [1] which is 3 minutes walk away from the station where hourly bus are going to Le Camp in 32 minutes. I have asked for availability from 11 - 18 August 2013. It is high season for them. The issue is that they booked in advance rooms for two local events on the week-end from 16 - 18 August 2013. It looks like these booking are not final and she told me she will reconfirm. I told here that the participants will pay themself the bookings. The good news is that we can have entreprise rates whish is kind of ~10%. Now, it looks like we need already the final number of room we need. Obviously, she doesn't want me to book 10 rooms and have three people coming at the end. Note: there is no air conditionning but fans in case. Cheers, Raphaël [1] http://www.hotelyverdon.ch/?lang=en signature.asc Description: Digital signature ___ Debconf-team mailing list Debconf-team@lists.debconf.org http://lists.debconf.org/mailman/listinfo/debconf-team
Re: [Debconf-team] Alternative accommodation in Yverdon-les-Bains
On 11.03.2013 16:13, Raphaël Walther wrote: Now, it looks like we need already the final number of room we need. Obviously, she doesn't want me to book 10 rooms and have three people coming at the end. Thank you for your job, but it is not really our business going so in details. I think we should provide the names of few hotels near Le Camp (in the wiki, with ev. few additional information), but we should stop there. Reservations, prices and other issues (category, room types, etc) should be a task for attendee. Doing it centralized is a huge task, which IMHO could cause only problems (no-show, overbooking because people forgot to answer mails, etc.) Remember one of DebConf motto: "we are not a travel agency" ciao cate ___ Debconf-team mailing list Debconf-team@lists.debconf.org http://lists.debconf.org/mailman/listinfo/debconf-team
Re: [Debconf-team] Alternative accommodation in Yverdon-les-Bains
On Mon, Mar 11, 2013 at 04:22:53PM +0100, Giacomo Catenazzi wrote: > On 11.03.2013 16:13, Raphaël Walther wrote: > >Now, it looks like we need already the final number of room we need. > >Obviously, she doesn't want me to book 10 rooms and have three people > >coming at the end. > Thank you for your job, but it is not really our business going so > in details. I think we should provide the names of few hotels near > Le Camp (in the wiki, with ev. few additional information), but we > should stop there. Reservations, prices and other issues (category, > room types, etc) should be a task for attendee. Doing it centralized > is a huge task, which IMHO could cause only problems (no-show, > overbooking because people forgot to answer mails, etc.) > Remember one of DebConf motto: "we are not a travel agency" While DebConf isn't a travel agency, remember that many hotels will offer conference discounts, but the conference organizers will need to discuss with the local hotels what's going on and see if they're willing to offer a conference discount at all. So, it's a happy medium to get minor information, get minor support from local hotels and share that information with the attendees. Thank you, Raphaël, for looking into the hotel. Will DebConf attendees be able to contact them and say they're with DebConf to get the ~10% off the room rate? Some attendees will be much more comfortable in hotel lodgings, which will ease a lot of the accommodation burden placed on Le Camp. The orga team doesn't have to (and should not!!) make those arrangements *for* them, but doing minor legwork (such as pre-clearing conference discounts and announcing which hotels have been contacted) still helps. :) -- -- Patty Langasek harmo...@dodds.net -- At times, you may end up far away from home; you may not be sure of where you belong, anymore. But home is always there... because home is not a place. It's wherever your passion takes you. --- J. Michael Straczynski ___ Debconf-team mailing list Debconf-team@lists.debconf.org http://lists.debconf.org/mailman/listinfo/debconf-team
Re: [Debconf-team] Alternative accommodation in Yverdon-les-Bains
I'll add that I think we should consider consider making one hotel our preferred hotel in exchange for a larger discount. This would also make things simpler for both organizers and attendees that need a hotel. On Mar 11, 2013 11:51 AM, "Patty Langasek" wrote: > On Mon, Mar 11, 2013 at 04:22:53PM +0100, Giacomo Catenazzi wrote: > > On 11.03.2013 16:13, Raphaël Walther wrote: > > >Now, it looks like we need already the final number of room we need. > > >Obviously, she doesn't want me to book 10 rooms and have three people > > >coming at the end. > > > Thank you for your job, but it is not really our business going so > > in details. I think we should provide the names of few hotels near > > Le Camp (in the wiki, with ev. few additional information), but we > > should stop there. Reservations, prices and other issues (category, > > room types, etc) should be a task for attendee. Doing it centralized > > is a huge task, which IMHO could cause only problems (no-show, > > overbooking because people forgot to answer mails, etc.) > > > Remember one of DebConf motto: "we are not a travel agency" > > While DebConf isn't a travel agency, remember that many hotels will offer > conference discounts, but the conference organizers will need to discuss > with the local hotels what's going on and see if they're willing to offer a > conference discount at all. > > So, it's a happy medium to get minor information, get minor support from > local hotels and share that information with the attendees. Thank you, > Raphaël, for looking into the hotel. Will DebConf attendees be able to > contact them and say they're with DebConf to get the ~10% off the room > rate? > > Some attendees will be much more comfortable in hotel lodgings, which will > ease a lot of the accommodation burden placed on Le Camp. The orga team > doesn't have to (and should not!!) make those arrangements *for* them, but > doing minor legwork (such as pre-clearing conference discounts and > announcing which hotels have been contacted) still helps. :) > > -- > -- > > Patty Langasek > harmo...@dodds.net > > -- > > At times, you may end up far away from home; you may not be > sure of where you belong, anymore. But home is always > there... because home is not a place. It's wherever your > passion takes you. > --- J. Michael Straczynski > ___ > Debconf-team mailing list > Debconf-team@lists.debconf.org > http://lists.debconf.org/mailman/listinfo/debconf-team > ___ Debconf-team mailing list Debconf-team@lists.debconf.org http://lists.debconf.org/mailman/listinfo/debconf-team
Re: [Debconf-team] Alternative accommodation in Yverdon-les-Bains
On Mon, Mar 11, 2013 at 11:56:16AM -0400, Brian Gupta wrote: > I'll add that I think we should consider consider making one hotel our > preferred hotel in exchange for a larger discount. This would also make > things simpler for both organizers and attendees that need a hotel. > On Mar 11, 2013 11:51 AM, "Patty Langasek" wrote: Well, I have choosen that 31 rooms hotel because it is closed to the station where the bus is but I can look for other options with the help of Tourist Office. I have received the offer that I translate here from French: They confirm pre-booking of 5 rooms from Sunday 11 to Sunday 18 August (7 nights). 2 double rooms in the main building, superior room, price is CHF 180 (instead of CHF 200) for two persons. Same room for one person would be CHF 138 (instead of CHF 155). 3 double rooms in a new building, luxious room, price is CHF 220 (instead of CHF 240) for two persons. Same room for one person would be CHF 165 (instead of CHF 175). This price are per room per night. The breakfast, VAT and service are included. Not included tourist tax of CHF 2.60 per night per person. There is also the possiblity to have 5 double rooms from 11 - 16 August 2013 with the price of CHF 138 / 180 (one persons / two persons). For each booking, they need to know : * names * dates * time of arrival * mobile phone number * credit card number and expiration date All reservations can be cancelled free of charge until 6 pm the day before the arrival date. Please say that you come to DebConf13 to the hotel and you should have the discount described above. Please let me know if you book a room. I will follow up with this hotel end of April 2013. Their email is : i...@hotelyverdon.ch Cheers, Raphaël signature.asc Description: Digital signature ___ Debconf-team mailing list Debconf-team@lists.debconf.org http://lists.debconf.org/mailman/listinfo/debconf-team
Re: [Debconf-team] Alternative accommodation in Yverdon-les-Bains
Giacomo Catenazzi writes: > On 11.03.2013 16:13, Raphaël Walther wrote: >> Now, it looks like we need already the final number of room we need. >> Obviously, she doesn't want me to book 10 rooms and have three people >> coming at the end. > > Thank you for your job, but it is not really our business going so in > details. I think we should provide the names of few hotels near Le Camp > (in the wiki, with ev. few additional information), but we should stop > there. Reservations, prices and other issues (category, room types, etc) > should be a task for attendee. Doing it centralized is a huge task, > which IMHO could cause only problems (no-show, overbooking because > people forgot to answer mails, etc.) > > Remember one of DebConf motto: "we are not a travel agency" Raphael did not spell that out directly but at least when we discussed this topic it was always clear that we don't want and should not and under no cicumstances will book rooms for anyone outside Le Camp. The sole purpose of this is to negotiate a better rate for conference attendees. If we can get a 10% discount with a simple phone call I think this is worth the effort. Raphael: To me it's not really clear what the current status of this really is. What do they actually expect from us, just an estimate of the amount of rooms we need or do we have to sign some sort of contract or even pay something in advance? I think just giving a number of expected room numbers is OK while I would oppose the latter to sign anything or pay in advance. Also it's not clear to me from your mail if we should just wait to see if the other booking for mid-August will be final or not or if they still have some rooms available or even give our participants preference if they wold book now. Gaudenz -- Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better. ~ Samuel Beckett ~ ___ Debconf-team mailing list Debconf-team@lists.debconf.org http://lists.debconf.org/mailman/listinfo/debconf-team
Re: [Debconf-team] Alternative accommodation in Yverdon-les-Bains
Hi Raphael Thanks for the additional information. This answers my questions in the previous mail. Raphaël Walther writes: > On Mon, Mar 11, 2013 at 11:56:16AM -0400, Brian Gupta wrote: >> I'll add that I think we should consider consider making one hotel our >> preferred hotel in exchange for a larger discount. This would also make >> things simpler for both organizers and attendees that need a hotel. >> On Mar 11, 2013 11:51 AM, "Patty Langasek" wrote: > > Well, I have choosen that 31 rooms hotel because it is closed to the > station where the bus is but I can look for other options with the help > of Tourist Office. > > I have received the offer that I translate here from French: > > They confirm pre-booking of 5 rooms from Sunday 11 to Sunday 18 August > (7 nights). > > 2 double rooms in the main building, superior room, price is CHF 180 > (instead of CHF 200) for two persons. Same room for one person would be > CHF 138 (instead of CHF 155). > > 3 double rooms in a new building, luxious room, price is CHF 220 > (instead of CHF 240) for two persons. Same room for one person would be > CHF 165 (instead of CHF 175). > > This price are per room per night. The breakfast, VAT and service are > included. Not included tourist tax of CHF 2.60 per night per person. > > There is also the possiblity to have 5 double rooms from 11 - 16 August 2013 > with > the price of CHF 138 / 180 (one persons / two persons). > > For each booking, they need to know : > * names > * dates > * time of arrival > * mobile phone number > * credit card number and expiration date Would it also be possible to arrange it so that interested people contact them directly and just tell them that they are attending DebConf to get the discount? Or do they require the bookings to be done throuogh you? If possible I would prefer the direct booking method because it's less work for us and more importantly because we won't have to handle cancellations, room or date changes etc. All in all much less things that can go wrong on our part. Gaudenz -- Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better. ~ Samuel Beckett ~ ___ Debconf-team mailing list Debconf-team@lists.debconf.org http://lists.debconf.org/mailman/listinfo/debconf-team
Re: [Debconf-team] Alternative accommodation in Yverdon-les-Bains
Hi Gaudenz, On Mon, Mar 11, 2013 at 06:52:54PM +0100, Gaudenz Steinlin wrote: > > Would it also be possible to arrange it so that interested people > contact them directly and just tell them that they are attending DebConf > to get the discount? Or do they require the bookings to be done throuogh > you? If possible I would prefer the direct booking method because it's > less work for us and more importantly because we won't have to handle > cancellations, room or date changes etc. All in all much less things > that can go wrong on our part. Thanks for your emails. Well, the best way is direct booking through their email address and tell them that you attend DebConf13. Please put me on CC so I can keep track of interest in this alternative offer. I will discuss end of April with hotel again to discuss bookings and room availabilty. Cheers, Raphaël signature.asc Description: Digital signature ___ Debconf-team mailing list Debconf-team@lists.debconf.org http://lists.debconf.org/mailman/listinfo/debconf-team
Re: [Debconf-team] Alternative accommodation in Yverdon-les-Bains
Hi Raphaël, many thanks for that work, I think it's a very useful service made to the DebCon13 attendees wanting to be hosted outside of the main venue. Le lundi, 11 mars 2013 18.30:15, Raphaël Walther a écrit : > Well, I have choosen that 31 rooms hotel because it is closed to the > station where the bus is but I can look for other options with the help > of Tourist Office. > > I have received the offer that I translate here from French: > > (…) > > Please say that you come to DebConf13 to the hotel and you should have > the discount described above. It would be great if you could make that that information available on (or from) the AlternativeAccomodation wiki page [0]. [0] https://wiki.debconf.org/wiki/DebConf13/AlternativeAccomodation We should also start putting "validated" information on the website, but that's only slightly related. OdyX P.S. Yes, I could do it myself, but I'm mostly offline this whole week. :/ signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part. ___ Debconf-team mailing list Debconf-team@lists.debconf.org http://lists.debconf.org/mailman/listinfo/debconf-team
Re: [Debconf-team] Alternative accommodation in Yverdon-les-Bains
On 03/11/2013 07:09 PM, Raphaël Walther wrote: > Hi Gaudenz, > On Mon, Mar 11, 2013 at 06:52:54PM +0100, Gaudenz Steinlin wrote: >> >> Would it also be possible to arrange it so that interested people >> contact them directly and just tell them that they are attending DebConf >> to get the discount? Or do they require the bookings to be done throuogh >> you? If possible I would prefer the direct booking method because it's >> less work for us and more importantly because we won't have to handle >> cancellations, room or date changes etc. All in all much less things >> that can go wrong on our part. > > Thanks for your emails. Well, the best way is direct booking through > their email address and tell them that you attend DebConf13. Please > put me on CC so I can keep track of interest in this alternative offer. > > I will discuss end of April with hotel again to discuss bookings and > room availabilty. So ok. End April should be already in registration period, so people should already plan the accommodation. I was worried that we should give the hotel the number of rooms we required, which would be a too high burden for us. ciao cate ___ Debconf-team mailing list Debconf-team@lists.debconf.org http://lists.debconf.org/mailman/listinfo/debconf-team
