Talk:Accommodation

Sundial Court

I have a message from the Sundial Court saying that they are fully booked for August 4-31, 2014. Can someone please look into that?--Dthomsen8 (talk) 15:23, 22 June 2013 (UTC)

Cost of accommodation

One of the extraordinary nice surprises in Hong Kong was that the dorm accommodation, which by the way, was almost truly luxurious, was included in the reservation fee and I didn't even realise this until I arrived. Are there any projects to offer subsidised accommodation for visitors from abroad to benefit from lower prices? Having had the experience of the crowded bunk bed accommodation in the YHA in DC, I' m not sure that this would appeal to some people evn if they are travelling at their own expense but nevertheless on a limited budget. Kudpung (talk) 05:41, 18 August 2013 (UTC)

I don't really know London, but there should be some student accommodation available. E.g. University of Westminster, International Lutheran Student Centre (results of a web search). Some local input is needed, and perhaps an investigation made into provisional block bookings. -- Trevj (talk) 11:48, 15 January 2014 (UTC)

80 to 90 pounds a night is rather steep for those of us coming from non-first world countries!Thelmadatter (talk) 00:49, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

WMF investigated dormitory accommodations in London and they turned out to be higher than what we could get at this hotel (especially including internet and breakfast); if people can share a room it will be 45 pounds per person. This is reasonable for London. It's one of the most expensive cities in the world! --EYoung (WMF) (talk) 18:32, 3 May 2014 (UTC)

Following the link, it also seems to be demanding you book for the full five days to get the negotiated cost. This won't be suitable for everyone and drives up the cost significantly. CT Cooper · talk 23:53, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

@User:EYoung (WMF): important issue here, just thought I'd ping in case you're not following this page. Thehelpfulone 23:56, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

I just played around with the system and I think you can adjust the dates for the booking, so perhaps you could have two links: one for people who would like to attend the hackathon and the main conference, and one for those that'd like to just attend the main conference? The dates of the Hackathon are 6th and 7th of August, and the main conference is 8th, 9th and 10th. Therefore, perhaps one link from the 5th-11th August (6 nights) and another from 7th-11th August (4 nights)? Thehelpfulone 00:02, 3 May 2014 (UTC)

There is now a way to change the dates by clicking "change" on the top of first page after following the link. I swear a few hours ago you could only change the number of people with that button? CT Cooper · talk 01:36, 3 May 2014 (UTC)

I only tested it out once you posted so I could change the dates from that point, but what I meant was that the two links would provide you with pre-filled dates as appropriate so you wouldn't need to change them yourself, also minimising the opportunity to make a mistake on the dates. Thehelpfulone 02:02, 3 May 2014 (UTC)

Yeah I agree that multiple links would be helpful. Also, would it be appropriate to set this page up for translation? CT Cooper · talk 02:07, 3 May 2014 (UTC)

Sure, I've added the appropriate translation tags but it'd probably be best to wait until the new links are clarified before we mark the page for translation, so once that's confirmed then you can click on the "Mark this page for translation" link on the top of the page. Thehelpfulone 02:20, 3 May 2014 (UTC)

You can select number of nights you need as part of the registration process. I will look into two links and see if they can do this.--EYoung (WMF) (talk) 18:32, 3 May 2014 (UTC)

More choices

When are more choices for accommodation expected to be posted?

Could someone in conference planning give an opinion as to the likelihood of the conference organizers being able to recommend any housing rates less than what is offered at Thistle City Barbican Hotel while still at a place where lots of Wikipedians would be expected to stay? Blue Rasberry (talk) 11:33, 12 May 2014 (UTC)

I was planning to mark this page for translation once all options are posted, so the sooner this happens, the better. Also, the 10th June deadline is potentially quite tight so it would best to give people plenty of time to consider their options. Given the costs, I'm interested in sharing a room and I guess many others will be too. This will require a lot of forward planning and communication to get organized. Perhaps setting-up a page for this purpose would be a good idea? CT Cooper · talk 17:00, 13 May 2014 (UTC)

Receipt of accomodation

One of the Visa requirements is a receipt of your hotel reservation or where you intend to stay. Could you provide something like that? --105.83.66.86 01:12, 7 June 2014 (UTC)

@EYoung (WMF): @Stuart Prior (WMUK): Hello, I am helping some people apply for their visas to come to the conference. Right now there is no recommended hotel for Wikimedia community members. I am from the United States and have the luxury of waiting until a hotel is announced, but people who need visas to the UK are under more stress to pay and get a receipt for their hotel stay. Either of these two things would be helpful for this population:

• a date by which a recommended conference hotel will be announced, or the actual announcing of a hotel
• the granting of a WMF or WMUK letter to embassy visa people which says that the conference has organized a hotel for the attendees, and that persons giving the letter do in fact have confirmed housing

If either of these things are not possible, it puts the people from developing countries in a difficult situation in which they are pressured to pay more for any hotel now just to legally apply for their visa. People who apply for visas to come to the UK are our most valuable guests, and I really would like them to be in the hotel where the most other Wikimedians are staying.

Could someone say something about the dates during which a hotel recommendation will be confirmed, or otherwise give a contact option for helping with visa requirements for hotel proof? Thanks. Blue Rasberry (talk) 15:46, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

I remember being told that we had to hurry with scholarship results because people needed to complete visa applications as soon as possible. That was two months ago. I'm getting very concerned about the visa situation now. Getting visas is going to be hard enough for some people; added complications will make it impossible. CT Cooper · talk 21:01, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

No recommended hotel options

Hello, the one recommended hotel seems full and there are no other recommended options. I noted this on the page. I am hoping for some other hotel to be recommended so that I can stay in a place with other Wikipedians. Thanks. Blue Rasberry (talk) 12:48, 14 June 2014 (UTC)

According to the mailing list, additional hotels were to be listed as soon as the current one was full. I had a go myself and regardless of what dates I put in, it also showed as full for me. @EYoung (WMF): It looks like now is the time to start listing additional hotels? CT Cooper · talk 13:54, 14 June 2014 (UTC)

Given my board have just paid a heap of money for someone's flights, only to find that the hotel is full, it would be nice to have some information soon so that we don't have to worry about availability and the cost doesn't escalate unnecessarily. Orderinchaos (talk) 11:02, 17 June 2014 (UTC)

Clean-up needed

I appreciate the recent updates, but I've deliberately held-off marking some recent revisions for translation as the page could do with another tidy-up to make it more readable and less as a wall of text. I'll tackle it tomorrow morning (UTC), and then mark the page for translation again. CT Cooper · talk 22:31, 26 June 2014 (UTC)

I've completed my intended improvements. CT Cooper · talk 15:58, 27 June 2014 (UTC)