The Conference Hotel
The conference hotel is the historic Boston Park Plaza Hotel & Towers. This is the same hotel that served as the venue for the Conference the last time it was in Boston in 1996. For general information about the hotel, visit the hotel's website. Note that the hotel is a 100% non-smoking facility, as are all hotels in Boston. Note also that the Park Plaza is an historic hotel, so don't be surprised to discover that, unlike in modern hotels, the rooms vary enormously in layout and size, even for a given type room.
Attendees with disabilities who require accommodation with regard to their hotel rooms should communicate their needs directly to the hotel at the time they reserve their room.
IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT RESERVING ROOMS
We have reached the quota of rooms in our Room Block several times, at which point the hotel's reservation system stops accepting reservations under our booking code. So far, the hotel has agreed each time to add more rooms to our block when this has happened. Occasionally, there have also been glitches with their online reservation system.
If you encounter a problem when trying to reserve online, we suggest that you then try calling the hotel's reservation desk (instructions below). If you still have a problem, please notify the conference co-chair who is coordinating with the hotel at hotel@iajgs2013.org, and we will try to help.
Special Room Arrangements
Room Rate
A special rate was available for conference attendees. Rooms with one king, one queen, or two double beds were available, each for $189 per night plus taxes of $27.31 for a total of $216.31. Rooms with a king bed are also available on the concierge floor (the so-called Tower, the top floor of the hotel) for $289 per night plus taxes of $41.76 for a total of $330.76. There is a special rate for suites as well, but suites have to be booked by calling the hotel. Now that our quota of rooms has been filled, not all room types (if any) will be available at the conference rate.
Reservation Code
The code for making reservations in the conference block is "IAJGS" (without the quotes when reserving online).
Time Period
The special rate covers arrivals as early as Monday, July 29, 2013, and departures as late as Wednesday, August 14, 2013. It also includes Wi-Fi in the guest rooms at no additional cost. However, since the room block has been filled up, the hotel may not offer rooms at the conference rate for all of those dates. They have already stopped offering the rate for the Saturday night before the conference starts.
Cut-Off Date
The cut-off date for reserving rooms in the Room Block is 5:00 pm EDT on July 11, 2013. After the cut-off date, and after all the rooms in our block have been reserved, it is at the hotel's discretion whether to accept additional reservations, which may be at the prevailing rates (not the special conference rate).
Reserving Online
The hotel has created a Web portal for reserving rooms online. When you click here, the site will open in another window or tab. In the field labeled "Code:", enter "IAJGS" (without the quotation marks and in upper and/or lower case). Then enter the other information and click the "SEARCH" button. Available rooms will be shown, and you will be able to select and reserve your room.
Note: Some people have encountered problems using the hotel's website. Here are some tips.
- The tabs on the reservations page above the information area—with labels SEARCH, AVAILABILITY, EXTRAS, REVIEW, PAYMENT, and CONFIRMATION—can only be used to move to an earlier step in the reservations process. The current step is indicated by the tab that is white and has a little triangle at the bottom.
- You move from one step to the next by clicking buttons located on the right-hand part of the screen (and they may be off the screen in your browser if the window is too narrow). The buttons have various names, including SEARCH, RESERVE, and CONTINUE. The site, unfortunately, is not consistent about where it places the buttons, and sometimes you have to hunt for them.
If you select dates outside the range for the special offer, the site will reject your request. In such a case, you will have to make your reservation by phone (see below).
Reserving by Phone
To reserve a room by phone, call the hotel at 800-225-2008. Tell the reservations agent that you are with the group "IAJGS".
Hotel Cancellation Policy
The hotel generally allows cancellation with no charge up to 3 pm on the day before one's scheduled arrival. Our contract, in fact, allows cancellations up to 6 pm on the scheduled day of arrival. Even though the hotel website quotes the standard cancellation policy, they will honor the terms of the contract.
Because we have used up all of the rooms in our original block, we ask that you release your room as soon as you know that you will not be attending the conference. That will allow another attendee to get a room.
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Quick Links
Hotel Photos
Main entrance of the hotel on the street called Park Plaza at the corner of Arlington Street.
View of the lobby looking toward the main entrance. The conference will take place primarily on the mezzanine level, visible in the photo, with smaller functions on the fourth floor.
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