Hotel
Reservations and Availability
Reservations can be made by PHONE, FAX, MAIL or ONLINE between April
1, 2009 and September 11, 2009. Requests received after August 21,
2009 will be processed on a space-available basis. To receive the
convention room rate, reservations must be made through the Sweet
Adelines International Housing Bureau, Experient.
Please
Note: RENAISSANCE®
NASHVILLE Hotel is SOLD OUT.
Make
a reservation online
Telephone:
Toll-free
(800) 611-2720 or (330) 425-9330 M-F 9:00 am – 5:00 pm EDT
Fax: Fax the housing
form to 330.963.0319
(All
rates are per room and are subject to a 15.25% sales tax and $2
city tax, both per room, per night.)
|
RENAISSANCE®
NASHVILLE
(Headquarters Hotel)
611 Commerce Street, Nashville, Tennessee 37203
Single/Double $189 *
Triple/Quad $199 *
*
SOLD OUT
|
SHERATON NASHVILLE DOWNTOWN
623 Union Street
Nashville, TN 37219
Single/Double $153
Triple/Quad $163
|
|
DOUBLETREE
HOTEL NASHVILLE
315 Fourth Ave North
Nashville, TN 37219
Single/Double
$150
Triple/Quad $160
|
HILTON
NASHVILLE DOWNTOWN
121 Fourth Ave South
Nashville, TN 37201
Single/Double $164
Triple/Quad $174 |
|
HOMEWOOD
SUITES NASHVILLE DOWNTOWN
706 Church Street
Nashville, TN 37203
Single/Double $159
Triple/Quad $169
|
HOLIDAY
INN EXPRESS DOWNTOWN NASHVILLE
920 Broadway
Nashville, TN 37203
Single/Double $142
Triple/Quad $152
|
|
HAMPTON
INN & SUITES NASHVILLE - DOWNTOWN
310 4th Ave South
Nashville, Tennessee 37201
Single/Double
$165
Triple/Quad $175
|
MARRIOTT
COURTYARD NASHVILLE DOWNTOWN
170 4th Ave North
Nashville, TN 37219
Single/Double
$141
Triple/Quad $141
|
|
LOEWS
VANDERBILT HOTEL
2100
West End Avenue
Nashville,
TN 37203
Single/Double
$184
Triple/Quad $194
|
NASHVILLE
MARRIOTT AT VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
2555 West End Ave
Nashville, TN 37203
Single/Double
$159
Triple/Quad $169
|
|
EMBASSY
SUITES NASHVILLE AT VANDERBILT
1811
Broadway
Nashville, Tennessee 37203
Single/Double
$178
Triple/Quad $178
|
HOLIDAY
INN SELECT NASHVILLE VANDERBILT
2613 West End Ave
Nashville, TN 37203
Single/Double
$142
Triple/Quad $152
|
|
THE
HUTTON HOTEL
1808 West End Ave
Nashville, TN 37203
Single/Double
$189
Triple/Quad $189
|
|
For
questions about convention or housing, contact Nancy
Aloway
(nancy@sweetadelineintl.org). For questions about registration and
Rising Star Quartet Competition, contact Lana
Clark (lana@sweetadelineintl.org).
Check back frequently for additional convention information.
Shuttle
Bus Information
Members
and guests in possession of room keys from the following Sweet Adeline
hotels are eligible for complimentary shuttle service:
•
Loews Vanderbilt
• Sheraton Nashville Downtown
• DoubleTree Nashville
• Homewood Suites Nashville Downtown
• Nashville Marriott at Vanderbilt University
• Embassy Suites Nashville at Vanderbilt
• Holiday Inn Select Nashville Vanderbilt
• Holiday Inn Express Downtown Nashville
• Marriott Courtyard Downtown
The
Renaissance, Hilton Nashville Downtown and the Hampton Inn will
not have shuttle service, as they are close to the convention center
and Sommet Center. If you want to ride the shuttle to another hotel
to visit friends or other choruses, just present your room key for
passage on to the bus.
For non-competing attendees who choose to stay at a hotel not commissioned
by Sweet Adelines a shuttle pass can be purchased in advance online
or onsite. Shuttle passes are $75 per person and can be purchased
in advance through the Sweet Adelines web site, or onsite at the
ticket office.
Scooter
Rental
If you need a scooter in Nashville, please contact ScootAround.
For rentals simply complete the inquiry form on their website
or call toll-free at 1.888.441.7575
and a Scootaround Rental Specialist will provide you with a no-oblilgation
rental quote.
Answering Some of Your International Convention Questions
It is very important that competing choruses accurately estimate the number of hotel rooms needed during the week of convention. Since competitors make up approximately 50 percent of our convention attendance, they are vital to the organization’s ability to fulfill its contractual obligations to the hotels in our block. Most hotel contracts require that at least 80 percent of the room block be actualized or attrition penalties are levied.
Last year, after the deadline for dropping rooms, one of the competing choruses dropped a significant number of rooms from its original estimate. This not only put the organization in a significant attrition situation, it put the chorus in jeopardy of significant penalties for dropping rooms after the deadline date. Because we were able to negotiate the attrition, the Board agreed not to penalize the chorus. If the organization had incurred attrition penalties, the Board would have been forced to penalize the chorus several thousand dollars.
In addition to the potential loss of income due to attrition penalties, there is a possible loss of income if competitors and other attendees choose to stay outside the hotel block. This income helps to stave off significant increases to the convention registration fees. Sweet Adelines International receives a per room per night rebate from every hotel in the block to help offset convention expenses. Also, the company we work with for convention site selection and management, Experient, is paid solely through commissions on hotel rooms actualized in our block. Because of the potential loss of income for both Experient and Sweet Adelines International, the Board enacted the “fair share assessment” for all competitors who choose to stay in a hotel or other accommodations outside our contracted block.
Another factor related to attendees’ staying in our block is busing, our single largest convention expense. Busing companies use a formula based on the location and number of hotels, number of rooms contracted at each hotel, and an average number of people per room to estimate transportation needs. Our transportation, therefore, is planned for and limited to only those attendees staying in our contracted hotel block. For those who choose to stay outside the block, a bus pass is available for $75 per person.
Some attendees ask about the type of hotels that are chosen for the convention, questioning why we don’t have more lower-rated properties in our block. The primary reason is that our chorus competitors require an inordinate amount of meeting space for their riser rehearsals and meal functions. The only properties with this kind of space are the larger, higher-rated hotels. Of course, we work hard to negotiate the best possible rates at all hotels.
The intent of this article is to heighten awareness of these issues. Our goal is to make the international convention successful and a break-even venture. With everyone’s cooperation, and particularly that of our competitors for whom this event primarily is planned, we can continue to offer the high-quality convention that our members have come to enjoy and expect.
