Grants talk:TPS/Rburdette/ELI 2012
Thank you for submitting this proposal. It looks like a very promising opportunity to support. I would like to ask for two clarifications about the costs:
- As a point of frugality, our travel policy offers per diem rates for meals and incidentals at a rate of 75% the US federal (GSA) rate. For Austin in February, that works out to $71*0.75=$53.25. Please amend your request accordingly.
- How crucial is it that Mr. Staley stay at the conference hotel? The Hilton is quite expensive, generally exceeding our standard of accommodation for volunteers and staff. Are there more modest options still reasonably practical in terms of accessibility or proximity to the venue?
Thanks. Asaf Bartov (WMF Grants) talk 21:02, 5 January 2012 (UTC)
- We may be able to find him a less expensive hotel near the conference site if needed. Depending on how far away he'll need to be to be within budget, we may need to then factor in transportation costs from a his hotel to the Hilton host hotel. Rburdette 20:08, 11 January 2012 (UTC)
- Thanks, Rebecca. Please let us know if you can find a less pricey option after investigating and update your budget accordingly. In my opinion it would be reasonable to include a budget for local travel if the less expensive hotel is far enough from the venue (public transport is preferred if practical). Wolliff 20:12, 11 January 2012 (UTC)
- The Hampton Inn, 4 blocks away, is $652 (with tax) and the Hilton Garden Inn, 3 blocks away, is $624 (with tax). This leads me to believe that many other downtown Austin hotels are of similar price. We do know, however, we can save about $150 total when booking both the flight and hotel together on Orbitz or Expedia, but I cannot accurately reflect that in a detailed price breakout, only in an overall. Also, I should note that as the conference nears, room availability is getting slim in the downtown area so I'm hesitant to underestimate rooming in the event we are subject to availability. Rburdette 22:40, 11 January 2012 (UTC)
- Thanks, Rebecca. We'll take this info into account and let you know if we have any questions. Wolliff 23:29, 17 January 2012 (UTC)
- The Hampton Inn, 4 blocks away, is $652 (with tax) and the Hilton Garden Inn, 3 blocks away, is $624 (with tax). This leads me to believe that many other downtown Austin hotels are of similar price. We do know, however, we can save about $150 total when booking both the flight and hotel together on Orbitz or Expedia, but I cannot accurately reflect that in a detailed price breakout, only in an overall. Also, I should note that as the conference nears, room availability is getting slim in the downtown area so I'm hesitant to underestimate rooming in the event we are subject to availability. Rburdette 22:40, 11 January 2012 (UTC)
- Thanks, Rebecca. Please let us know if you can find a less pricey option after investigating and update your budget accordingly. In my opinion it would be reasonable to include a budget for local travel if the less expensive hotel is far enough from the venue (public transport is preferred if practical). Wolliff 20:12, 11 January 2012 (UTC)
- We may be able to find him a less expensive hotel near the conference site if needed. Depending on how far away he'll need to be to be within budget, we may need to then factor in transportation costs from a his hotel to the Hilton host hotel. Rburdette 20:08, 11 January 2012 (UTC)