Hotel status, Feb. 3
Here is where we stand with hotel rooms as of today, Feb.3:
WESTIN: A very few number of king rooms are available. Also, with some shuffling of the inventory, additional suites have been made available to us. You can learn more about reserving suites by clicking here. Double rooms are completely sold out and the kings are likely going to sell out very soon.
COURTYARD: A very few number of king rooms are available. Doubles are completely sold out, and the kings are expected to sell out very soon.
OMNI: Plenty of rooms of all types are still available.
DOUBLETREE: Plenty of rooms of all types are still available.
HINT: When using the online reservation system, if you receive a "sold out" message, try changing the room type (or leaving the preferred room type field blank), or try putting in a different arrival and/or departure day. It could be that the rooms are only sold out on a single particular day. If that happens, please let us know by emailing ceo(at)anthrocon.org and we will see if we can scrounge up more rooms for that day.
UPDATE: It's been pointed out that the confirmation email that the Westin sends has an error in the field used to calculate the cancellation penalty. The penalty for cancelling a room is limited to the one-night room deposit that was made. The system had been pulling the number from the wrong field. The Westin apologizes for any confusion.
Additionally, even with the non-refundable deposit we still have people cancelling, and the hotels get many calls from people who want to change their room type. That means that at any given time one or two rooms listed as "sold out" may sporadically become available again. It does not hurt to check, because as much as we try, Anthrocon cannot keep up with the changes that are made on a minute-by-minute basis.
I am a bit curious was it due to rooms opening up later than usual ?
Like the rush to get a room at the main hotel ?
There has always been a rush to grab rooms, especially at the Westin. This is the first year the con has tried this kind of 'blow up the dam and watch the flood' type of setup. I feel certain that the Board of Directors will look over the results after the con. One thing I feel sure they'll look at is the number of rooms that were reserved but were never occupied, as this change was made to try to lower that rate.
If it turns out it worked the way they intended, they'll keep the rule. They may fine-tune it or go back to the way things were before. It will all depend on the answer to these questions: "Did it do what we wanted it to? Can we think of a way to make it work better?"
I am even making colorful graphs and pie charts as we speak.
Ooh statistics! I love statistics. Pie as well.
Nooooo! 
Kage assisted by Power Point! 
The world is doomed! Doomed I tell you! Run for your lives!
I'll be sure to bring some thin mints for your troubles for doing the pie charts and everything hehe.
I refuse to be just a statistic!
Unless I get to be a little <1% sliver on the pie chart all to myself.
Last night I made my reservations from the on-site link, to enjoy the hospitality and refinement of the Omni William Penn - the walk up the street is a trifling affair, and the appointments of the William Penn are more than worth the effort of that walk. I've stayed there on two previous AnthroCons.
thats where im staying, good to hear that its worth it ^^
The one think I don't like though is how the Westin now says you have to pay the "entire" cost of the room if you cancel your reservation. One would think paying a non-refundable deposit as already required would be enough. Thankfully I have every intention of going so it's not really a concern. ^_^ It would bother me though if I had to cancel due to an emergency or something of that nature.
And yes--I wants to see colorfull pie charts and stats to! 
as many people have pointed out, that is a typo in the software.
Apparently not when I panicked when I made a mistake for the duration of my stay. Figuring that the deposit wouldn't take in effect until February 3rd, I canceled the reservation and rebooked. When I called the Westin I was told that I paid for the full amount of the room that I had canceled. They told me the last day to cancel the room was December 31st, 2009.
That is not what our contract says. Please send an email to ceo(at)anthrocon.org with your full name and the original confirmation number, if you have it.
Will get on that right now. Thank you 
*hugs*
My confirmation email states the same information.
"USD 123.00 deposit is due on Wed, Feb 3, 2010 and will be charged to the credit card provided.
The time for cancelling without penalty has passed.
If you cancel the forfeiture amount will be 369.00.
Room taxes may be charged on deposits and any penalties."
I got the same thing.
Will they let us know exactley when they take that money? I used my credit/debit card and i like to keep it balanced.
The charge for the deposit would take in effect on February 3rd. The rest will be processed on the day you checkout.
Please see the update to the original post.
"USD 123.00 deposit is due on Wed, Feb 3, 2010 and will be charged to the credit card provided.
The time for cancelling without penalty has passed.
If you cancel the forfeiture amount will be 369.00.
Room taxes may be charged on deposits and any penalties."
Yeah, that's about what mine said, as well--with the exception of the exact amount, which is more because i expect to be in attendance longer. Gee, i hope that's not quite right...
Please see the update to the original post.
If memory serves, they usually post it within a month's time. However, I'd recommend you watch this hotel like a hawk. They had me fill out a credit card authorization form last time I booked (and why they didn't do it this year I have no idea) and then went and charged my credict card three times over the course of 2 months for the deposit. I must have called them around 30 times over three months in attempt to have this mistake corrected. They would promise to call back and didn't. They said they'd have it corrected withing the day but wouldn't. In the end, they did nothing until I told them my bank would be filling a formal investigation into the matter--and suddenly, magically, it was fixed within the same day! I didn't have a choice in the matter either because had I waited past 90days I'd be liable for the mistaken charges according to the terms of my credit card. This year, I booked over the phone and asked for a room for 4 and they booked me for 2. Upon checking the e-mail I caught the mistake and had it corrected.
So, in summary, the Westin is a very nice hotel and the staff are very friendly, and I also have great confidence in the furs running the furry end of things, but when it comes to the management of the hotel itself, well, let's just say I don't take anything for granted. So, I'd be checking my credit card statement if I were you.
I'm going to stick my neck out and guess that I probably had a small stroke of bad luck in 2008 and that my expereince was in the minority. Still, it never hurts to be carefull! And, I know one things for sure: You're going to have a great time at Anthrocon and you will enjoy being at the hotel! ^_^
Thanks for that, I'll keep an eye out, just incase.
You have no idea how much I'm kicking myself for forgetting. Considering I've had some other big things going on in my life (we were voting whether to go on strike at work) I had other things on my mind, although I should have made a note to keep a closer eye on reservation status here. Last night I happened to see a FA journal from a friend talking about reserving his room at the Westin, so in a fit of screaming I jumped over to the AC website and then on to the Westin reservation page. When I went to book a room I kept getting a timeout error, so I had to call their number at the Westin and talk to reservations directly (now 12:30 AM Thursday by this point).
The girl on the phone was very sweet and helpful but the best I could get was a room from Wednesday to Friday, then skip two nights and come back on Sunday to stay until Monday. The only way I'll get even a king single room for the full Wednesday-Monday stretch is if there's a cancellation that allows it on the schedule. *grumbles and sighs*
Talk about a mad rush for rooms!
Skyfox
Anyone notice that the details of Westin's confirmation email is white text on a white background?
When I looked at the email after making the reservation (by phone) I noticed this. Well, "notice" is a bit of an understatement--it's kind of hard not to miss a giant block of nothing.
I figured it was just IE6 being, well...IE6. But looking at it at home under Firefox, it was the same result. No big deal since I highlighted the text to eyeball the details, but I was curious as to whether anyone else had this (I didn't see any comments on this thread.
---PCJ
This is the first report we've had. Has it happened to anyone else?
Well I'm certainly glad my Dad got up early to make the reservation when the room block opened, my friends and I are happy to have a room at the Westin this year.
While the Doubletree was very nice, I knew I needed a room at the Westin due to this will be my first year fursuiting.
-Silverwulf
I'm going to be fursuiting is being at the Omni/DoubleTree going to be a problem? (First Year at AC)
I'm going to be fursuiting is being at the Omni/DoubleTree going to be a problem? (First Year at AC)
I can't speak for the Omni (3 blocks away.)
Last year, I stayed at the Doubletree (6 blocks away or like that.)
The Doubletree has some sort of shuttle-van that I saw fursuiters
waiting for and entering and exiting.
(I didn't want to wait for a shuttle, and I needed the exercise
anyway, so I just kept walking.)
I expect the Doubletree will make the shuttle-van available again
on request. If the Omni has one, or if 3 blocks is short enough,
now that I can't speak to.
Generally speaking, it's not a problem. There will be a moderate bit of walking outside, which you must anticipate for. If there's rainy weather (As does happen upon occasion), you may want bring your suit to and from the DLCC without wearing it, and put it on in the Headless Lounge.
--Chi
And before anyone asks, and to quell any rumors, the Westin did not sell out immediately. They were still taking reservations at 9 AM on February 3, 24 hours after opening.