London Hotel Comparison Report 37 th DASC in 2018 Denise S. Ponchak June 6th, 2016
London Venue Selection Process An RFP was created in CVENT http://www.cvent.com/rfp/hotels Hotels that met the meeting space within 2 miles of Imperial College were selected as suppliers and sent the RFP 16 RFPs were sent out. 8 were turned down for reasons such as not enough space, or our conference would not generate enough revenue, etc. Two were assessed to have too little meeting space via their internet sites (Millennium and Intercontinental). Two Suppliers submitted proposals outside of CVENT via email (Hilton London Kensington and Imperial College). Hotel room costs are higher than we are used to. Government Per Diem for London is $322 not including taxes or 227 before VAT or 283 including VAT. Most hotels do not require a minimum number of rooms, in fact it is pretty much the opposite. They call it Accommodation, vs the normal Contract approach we are used to.
37 th DASC RFP
RFP Additional Information provided to suppliers 37th Digital Avionics Systems Conference London, UK September through Early October 2018 Day Hotel Rooms Meeting Rooms # of Meeting Rooms Set Up A/V Requirements Food & Beverage Friday 5 Saturday 40 Conference Office 1 Lockable room. Requires a large table, power and wifi Computer and Printer none Registration Area 1 3-4 Tables, Internet Access, Power Computer and Printer Sunday 75 Conference Office 1 Lockable room. Requires a large table, power and wifi Computer and Printer Afternoon beak for 40 people near break out rooms Registration Area 1 3-4 Tables, Internet Access, Power Computer and Printer Break Out Rooms 5 20 people in classroom seating Computer, Screen, Podium or Table Monday 160 Conference Office 1 Lockable room. Requires a large table, power and wifi Computer and Printer Morning and Afternoon beak for 40 people near break out rooms Registration Area 1 3-4 Tables, Internet Access, Power Computer and Printer Break Out Rooms 5 20 people in classroom seating Computer, Screen, Podium or Table Board Room 1 25 People around a single table Computer and Screen Tuesday 160 Conference Office 1 Lockable room. Requires a large table, power and wifi Computer and Printer Morning break for 160 people near Plenary Registration Area 1 3-4 Tables, Internet Access, Power Computer and Printer Lunch for 160 People Exhibitor Area 1 20-25 Exhibitor spaces (10'x12') Power and WiFi for each Exhibitor Afternoon Break for 160 People in Exhibitor Area AM: Plenary Session 1 200-300 People seating in Theater Computer, 2 Screens, Podium, Raised Table for 8 Evening Reception in Exhibitor Area for 160 People PM: Break Out Rooms 8 40 people in theater seating Computer, Screen, Podium or Table Wednesday 160 Conference Office 1 Lockable room. Requires a large table, power and wifi Computer and Printer Morning and Afternoon beak for 160 people in Exhibitor Area Registration Area 1 3-4 Tables, Internet Access, Power Computer and Printer Luinch for 160 People Exhibitor Area 1 20-25 Exhibitor spaces (10'x12') Power and WiFi for each Exhibitor Break Out Rooms 8 40 people in theater seating Computer, Screen, Podium or Table Board Room 1 25 People around a single table Computer and Screen Thursday 90 Conference Office 1 Lockable room. Requires a large table, power and wifi Computer and Printer Morning and Afternoon beak for 100 people in Exhibitor Area Registration Area 1 3-4 Tables, Internet Access, Power Computer and Printer Lunch for 100 People Exhibitor Area 1 20-25 Exhibitor spaces (10'x12') Power and WiFi for each Exhibitor Break Out Rooms 8 40 people in theater seating Computer, Screen, Podium or Table Friday 20 N/A 0 Lockable room. Requires a large table, power and wifi none none
Respondents Proposals were also received from: Imperial College Hilton London Kensington Radisson Blu Edwardian Heathrow
Hotels/Venues/Dates Considered Conference Dates in the RFP: Event Dates Sun, Sep 09 2018 - Thu, Sep 13 2018 Alternate Date 1 Sun, Sep 16 2018 - Thu, Sep 20 2018 Alternate Date 2 Sun, Sep 23 2018 - Thu, Sep 27 2018 SafeComp will take place in Västerås (Sweden) Tuesday 18th to Friday 21st September. (Barbara Gallina); she requested the 37 th be the week before or after. 8 Hotels in London near Imperial College were considered based on meeting space and location: 1. Hilton London Kensington visited on 5/23/14 4-star 2. Ibis London Earls Court visited on 5/24/14 3-star 3. Imperial College visited on 5/24/14 modern campus accommodation 4. Royal Garden Hotel visited on 5/25/14 5-star 5. Amba Hotel Marble Arch visited on 5/25/14 4-star 6. Radisson Portman Blu visited on 5/26/14 4-star 7. London Marriott Grosvenor Square visited on 5/28/14 5-star 8. Grosvenor House, A JW Marriott Hotel visited on 5/28/14 5-star
Map of the Hotels near Imperial College
Map of London Public Transportation
Tutorial Discussion The present DASC Schedule includes tutorials on Sunday (2 sessions) and Monday (3 sessions) which equates to 5 sessions per room. Maarten suggested 3 rooms for planning which equates to 15 sessions. Since we pay for meeting space and A/V per day, it would be best to utilize Sunday for 3 sessions which equates to 6 sessions per room. Then, if we reduce the rooms from 3-2 (reducing the total sessions from 15 to 12); we achieve a 33% cost reduction. Imperial College costs 440 per day for room rental and A/V.
A/V Discussion Computers are a large cost component of our A/V requirements. They average 200 per day each. Imperial College is 90 per day. We need 6 computers concurrently, and our computer rental totals approximately 3960 or 660 ($934) per computer. We could buy laptops for less than this amount on and save money. Need to make sure the a/v ports are compatible. Afterwards, we could raffle them off, keep them for other conferences, donate to a school. Could Conference Catalyst provide them?
Hotel Comparison and Recommendation Hilton London Kensington IBIS London Earl's Court Imperial College Royal Garden Hotel Amba Marble Arch Hotel Radison Portman Blu London Marriott Grosvenor Square Grovesnor House - JW Marriott Contact Person Stefan Groenwald Adriana Rusu Suzanne Hoy Laura Sacchi Emma Rathbone Martina Abbati Joanne McHugh Cristian Tanase POC Email Stefan.Groenwald@Hilton.com h5623-sb@accor.com s.hoy@imperial.ac.uk LauraSacchi@royalgardenhotel.co.uk emma.rathbone@amba-hotel.com martina.abbati@radissonblu.com Joanne.McHugh2@marriotthotels.com Cristian.Tanase@Marriotthotels.com Nearest Tube Stop Shepard's Bush West Brompton South Kensington High Street Kensington Marble Arch Marble Arch Marble Arch Marble Arch Distance to Imperial College 2.2 miles 1.6 miles 0 0.8 miles 1.7 miles 1.7 miles 1.8 miles 1.6 miles Dates (2017) Hotel Overall Impressions Hotel Room Impressions 30-Sep-2018 to 04-Oct-2018 Busy with tourists Restaurant Yes (130) 25-Sep-2018 to 27-Sep-2018 Unavailable for tutorials Skempton Hall 09-Sep-2018 to 10-Sep-2018 23-Sep-2018 to 24-Sep-2018 09-Sep-2018 to 13-Sep-2018 16-Sep-2018 to 20-Sep-2018 23-Sep-2018 to 27-Sep-2018 09-Sep-2018 to 13-Sep-2018 09-Sep-2018 to 13-Sep-2018 16-Sep-2018 to 20-Sep-2018 23-Sep-2018 to 27-Sep-2018 09-Sep-2018 to 13-Sep-2018 16-Sep-2018 to 20-Sep-2018 Hotel attached to a convention center. Glassware could be cleaner in restaurant. College atmosphere Excellent Excellent Nice, Fresh, Young Upscale 5-star 5-star Older, needs refurbishment, worn, more like a 3-star Nice for a 3-start Did not see a hotel room Amazing Practically amazing, lots of modern conveniences Excellent Did not see Did not see Yes (2). One is a restaurant that is also the breakfast buffet. The other is the Pub. No Yes Yes (220) Yes (150) Yes - Gordon Ramsey "Maze" Yes Lobby Bar Yes Yes, they have a Pub No Yes Yes Very small within restaurant Yes Yes Number of Hotel Rooms 601 504 N/A 394 692 272 237 494 Room Rate 129 (Fr, Sa, Su) 159 (Mo, Tu, We, Th Fr) 110 N/A 240 229 259 359 340 Internet included in room rate included in room rate Included included in room rate included in room rate included in room rate included in room rate included in room rate Breakfast included in room rate included in room rate N/A included in room rate (in-room or restaurant) included in room rate (in-room or restaurant) included in room rate not included, 10 supplement included in room rate VAT included in room rate included in room rate no VAT for Skempton included in room rate included in room rate included in room rate included in room rate included in room rate Pool/Fitness Center No/Yes No/Nearby N/A No/Yes No/Yes No/Yes No/Yes No/Yes Total Meeting Space (sq ft) 7,160 sq. ft. 16,145 Plenty 12,000 12,000 15,000 16,000 40,000 Meeting Space Impressions Not enough meeting space. Plenty of meeting space. Felt open but airwalls may feel restrictive Skempton, No VAT Number of break-outs 6 max 6+ 7 break outs in Skempton Plenary area very nice. Break-outs spread out a bit. Really nice, all with natural light. Extra room for exhibitors. Nice with natural light but may be small in the congregating space. Have to use plenary space to get to 6 Enormous amount of space 6 incl large ballroom split in two. Some additional smaller rooms. 6+ 6+ 12 32 WiFi in Meeting Space Yes Free Free Free, highest speed in London Free Yes Yes DDR 52 minimum of 120pax @ 94 DDR minimum of 150pax @ 89 DDR DDR Total (3-days, 420) 21,840 37,380 Meeting Space Cost per Day 450 to 750 per beak-out 100 per Office Included in DDR 200 per room Included in DDR Meeting Space Total (Tu-Th) (Just an estimate for comparison) 9,300 0 A/V Onsite Provider Screen and Projector included in Room Rental Laptop cost 210.00 AVC Live, a PSV Company Total: DDR + Meeting Space + A/V 34,920 37,380 + A/V 2.15 pp (Tea, Coffee, Biscuits) 94 80 79 Total F&B Minimum: 115,000 140 258 (120) 323 (150) 39,480 33,600 33,180 115,000 58800 800 (2 rooms per day) 1200 (3 rooms per day) 0 0 15,300 240 per room per day Screen, Proj, Laptop 960 (2 rooms per day) 1440 (3 rooms per day) PSAV 350 per break-out (Screen, Projector, Laptop TUTORIALS: 2,018 (2 rooms, 6 sessions) 2,963 (3 rooms, 5 sessions) 45,780 36,840 36,580 + A/V Minimum Room Nights unsure none none none none none Lunch Space/Impression Restaurant (150) plus Exhibitor area (too small) Large Space, Standing (Fork) Lunch recommended N/A plenty of space All inclusive package philosophy, only missing the laptop 850 per room 4 free benefits 10,000 minimum LCD Screen & Projector included in the rate. Laptop is 180.00 per day Onsite Provider Onsite Provider 10 per person Networking standing lunch with Exhibitors or seated in restaurant Networking standing lunch with Exhibitors or seated in restaurant (150) Use Plenary Plenty of Space Exhibitor Space/Impression Very small (4) in the Atrium Lobby Pre-function area, in lunch space N/A large-prefunction area nice room of plenary Ballroom Foyer plenty of space plenty of space Location Impressions Concessions Recommendation Not much nearby, short walk to Tube across several busy streets Not much nearby, residential area, short walk to Tube station. Comp WiFi for all guests 40 Comp Deluxe Upgrades 20 Comp Exec Upgrades Complimentary Lobby Registration Very low hotel cost Maybe - if room cost is the No - not enough event space most important consideration Nice Campus area, near major museums and kensington Park Food Cost is pick and choose and low cost Recommend for Tutorials Beautiful location right by Kensington Palace. Bus runs right out front to many Closest hotel to a metro stop. Closer in locations. to tourist sites. Closest to Imperial College and they do a lot of functions for them. Conference Office complimentary No - Higher Cost and space is disjoint This hotel had the most meeting space to fit the needs of the DASC. Recommended Nice quiet neighborhood just a few blocks from Oxford Street Mayfair Mayfair Complimentary Office Ballroom included free in DDR None None Maybe if negotiate down the hotel room cost No - too costly No - too costly
Recommendations Imperial College for the Tutorial Program They are not able to host the entire conference because we do not utilize the large plenary everyday and that is a requirement. I think they would be perfect for the tutorials and save money. Plus, we could consider having some extra talks on Monday for regular attendees. Amba Hotel Marble Arch First Choice Best all around value. Very good location and beautiful hotel. Radisson Portman Blu Second Choice Beautiful Modern 4-star Seems very willing to negotiate. Nice quiet location but close to Marble Arch Tube stop.
Imperial College Photos Exterior Plenary Plenary Skempton Hall Skempton Hall Cafeteria
Amba Marbe Arch Hotel
Amba Hotel Marble Arch Half of Plenary Exhibitor Area Pre-function Area Break-out Room Exterior Guest Room
Radisson Portman Blu
Radisson Portman Blu Plenary Exhibitor Area Break-Out Room Break-out Room Exterior Guest Room
London Dinner Venue Ideas Natural History Museum (South Kensington) Victoria and Albert (South Kensington) Kensington Palace Medieval Banquet: ( 33.44 pp) http://www.medievalbanquet.com/ Thames Dinner Cruises: ( 82 pp) http://www.bateauxlondon.com/cruises/thames-dinner-cruises/ Whitehall Banquet House
Recommendation Request a Best and Final Offer from: Amba Marble Arch Addison Portman Blu Imperial College (if agreed to hold tutorials separate). Release the Hilton and two Marriott properties. Note: This is not a trivial effort, the amount of time to perform this work was over 100 hours corresponding to hundreds of email plus a week to visit the hotels and discuss the options with them.
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