SITE AND SELECTION

Setting the Meeting Date

Checking with GSA Headquarters

Please check with GSA headquarters before committing to dates.

You can avoid attendance headaches if you determine far in advance whether dates and locations of other section meetings and meetings with related interests will conflict with yours. You might also find that, should overlapping with another section occur, you and the other section officers can work out changes that would benefit attendance for both sections.

If you have conscientiously worked out these details, you should be ready to book your meeting. Book as far in advance as feasible. There is much competition today for choice sites on choice dates. When looking for sites, make sure to get in writing a 1st option hold on meeting space and sleeping rooms. This way hotels can not book another group with out giving you the first chance. Please be fair. Release any tentative booking as soon as you know it will not be used.

Holiday
Use the long-range calendars in this section for your planning.

Beware of local holidays and festivals that can conflict with your meeting. For example, St. Patrick's Day is a big day in New York City. People flock to the city to see the parade, and hotel space is at a premium. Local holidays, festivals, or sporting events also can affect any outside services you may need, and transportation may be slowed.

Spring Break and university schedules should be considered when determing a date for the meeting.

Holiday “off-periods” for domestic metropolitan hotels are Christmas, Easter, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving weeks. Some holidays now have been moved to make three-day celebrations. If your membership is interested in holiday periods for your meeting, these periods may save you money. You might compete for facilities with local events planned during your meeting, but the added promotional value of a major local event could boost your attendance substantially.

Overlap with Other Scientific Meetings

AGI publishes a calendar of events that runs up to two years ahead. One purpose of these calendars is to help avoid the possibility of related meetings being scheduled in conflict with each other.

Standardization of Section Meeting Dates

Official meeting dates are to be restricted to the days of the volunteered technical sessions ONLY. Pre- and post-meeting field trips are not to be included in the official meeting dates.