Question

What if I want or need to arrive before Feb 28 or stay after Mar 4?

Answer

As with previous Summits, you’ll have the option to extend your reservations to include an early arrival, i.e., before Feb 28 or after Mar 4. Attendees will be responsible for 100% of the room costs for days outside of the approved dates.

Question

What if I want to arrive on Feb 28 and leave on Mar 5?

Answer

In this case, the attendee will need to decide which of the two “flexible” days he/she wants covered by Microsoft funding. It would be either Feb 28 or Mar 4, but not both. The attendee can certainly make those reservations, but he/she would be responsible for the costs for one of those dates.

Question

What if I request a room share for the approved dates and I want to come early or stay late? Can you find me a roommate?

Answer

The event team will do our best to provide some options for you, but they’ll focus efforts on room pairing for the approved Summit dates.

Question

I typically like to bring my spouse to the Summit. How will the new room sharing requirement impact this?

Answer

There are a few scenarios to explain.

1) If your spouse is also an MVP or RD, then you qualify for the room sharing, will be assigned a single room, and Microsoft will cover 100% of the room and tax for the 4 approved days.

2) If your spouse is not an MVP/RD, then you can opt for the Elective – Single Room and Microsoft will pay for 50% of the daily room and tax costs. While the daily costs for the hotel rooms vary from hotel to hotel, the average cost is about $240 per night. You’d then be responsible for about $120 per night for the 4 nights and 100% of any extra nights you book.

3) If you require a single room due medical reasons, and you also want to bring your spouse, then you can select the Special Dispensation Single Room and Microsoft will pay for 100% of the daily room and tax costs for the approved 4 days. For additional information please contact 2009MVPGlobalSummit@microsoft.crgevents.com but realize that the deadline for submitting any special dispensation requests to this email alias is February 20, 2009.

Question

Why didn’t you put us in less expensive hotels and pay 100%, rather than give MVPs the option to share or pay single supplement in a more expensive room?

Answer

We need hotels to be located in the centre of Seattle for easy access to the Convention Centre. We need to have a limited number of hotels for efficient transportation. Plus we need to ensure availability of rooms for 1400+ guests.

Question

Can I get my own hotel and just register for the event?

Answer

Yes, you can attend the Summit and arrange your own accommodations. However we remind you to still register for the event. If you arrange your own accommodations beyond the official Summit hotels. (Hyatt, Westin, Sheraton, Renaissance in Downtown Seattle) and without using our registration process, you will also be responsible for your transportation. Transportation is only provided to and from the Summit hotels. Microsoft will only fund arrangements made through the registration site at the official Summit hotels under the terms already outlined above.

Question

If I agree to room share and I don’t have a roommate identified, how will you find someone to room with me?

Answer

Summit pairing revolves around key criteria: gender, country of origin, language and also in response to information that attendees put in the Special Notes section that provides further guidance.

Question

If my roommate cancels what is the process?

Answer

Once we learn that a roommate cancels, the event team will ask you if you have an alternate roommate to pair with you. If not, the event team will find an alternate roommate to pair you with. If it’s not possible to find a roommate who matches your gender and other criteria, you will be granted a single room for the 4 approved days, and Microsoft will cover 100% of the room and tax charges. If the cancellation occurs so late that there is no single room to assign to you, you will remain in the double room and Microsoft will still cover 100% of the room and tax for the 4 approved days.

Question

My roommate was able to book a hotel room at the Grand Hyatt but now when I go in to register, the hotel is no longer available. What should I do?

Answer

So as not to deplete the inventory of rooms at another hotel where you do not plan on staying, please complete your registration without making a hotel room reservation, contrary to what the registration instructions state. Then please call the registration vendor if you are in North America and relay on the situation to an agent, providing pertinent details such as your roommate’s name, your name, your requested check-in and out dates, along with your credit card details as the hotel will need that to complete the booking. If you are not in North America, you may still call the registration vendor (a message can be left if after hours with all of those details) with the information or you may email them with it, if you are comfortable with emailing credit card details. The agent will then make the changes to your reservation record manually.

Question

I will be sharing a hotel room with another MVP/RD at a hotel other than the Grand Hyatt. Do we both need to request a hotel room when we go in and register online?

Answer

Yes. In order to receive the complimentary hotel nights, you and your roommate must comply with all of the following requirements:

• Please choose “Occupancy: Double (Two Beds)” while booking your hotel reservation to select your roommate.
• Both you and your roommate must check-in to the hotel. If your roommate cancels or fails to check in, Microsoft reserves the right to select a new MVP or RD roommate. If you decline the replacement roommate assignment, then you may have to move to a single room and you will be responsible for 50% of the room charges.

Question

Are there hotel rooms available for smokers?

Answer

For those of you who would like a smoking room, we have very limited options to offer. Out of all the hotels in our reservation block, the only hotel with a very few smoking rooms is The Grand Hyatt. If you would like to note a request for a smoking room at that hotel, please do so in the “Special Hotel Requests” section.

Initiative 901 gives Washington the nation's strictest statewide smoking ban, barring smoking in places such as bars, restaurants, clubs, bowling alleys and non-tribal casinos. Additionally, many hotel chains have changed or are in the process of changing to all non-smoking rooms nationally (and soon internationally).

Question

What is the deadline for being guaranteed a hotel room reservation?

Answer

All hotel room requests submitted online as part of the registration process by 17:00 PST February 13, 2009 (as we were able to negotiate an extension from the previous deadline of February 6) should not have a problem being accommodated, subject to hotel availability. After that date, hotel room choices may be very limited or not available at all and thus there is no guarantee of a hotel room in our block after February 13, 2009.

Question

What is the deadline for cancelling a hotel room before incurring extra charges?

Answer

If you have any changes that need to be made to your hotel reservation after February 20, 2009 please contact the hotel directly and not the Summit registration team.

If you make changes to a reservation during the three day window (72 hours) prior to check-in, the hotel may charge you for one night. The same applies if you do not cancel the hotel room reservation and then do not show up. Microsoft will not be paying those penalties on your behalf.

Question

Will internet access be provided in the hotel rooms?

Answer

There are a few scenarios to explain:

Hotel Guest Rooms: Only wired internet access is complimentary. Wireless is available in some hotels for a fee.

Hotel Working Lounges: We have secured one working lounge at each of the 4 hotels where complimentary wireless internet access will be provided 24x7 starting at 08:00 on February 28 until 24:00 on March 4. These rooms are intended for those attendees who are sharing a hotel room and who may have a need to be online at the same time as their roommate, and/or wish to work late into the night and not disturb their roommate. Details will be included in the Summit Pocket Guide handed out at registration.

Hotel Business Centers: Each of the 4 hotels has a business center, typically open 24x7, with at least one computer with internet available for guest use.

Hotel Lobby/Public Spaces: Three of the 4 hotels have complimentary wireless access in these areas. Only the Grand Hyatt charges a nominal daily fee through T-Mobile.