Conference and Hotel General Information

Program Sessions

Why Las Vegas?

Registration

Registration Confirmation

Why Las Vegas? Isn't that a Boondoggle?
— by Claire Shanley, Executive Director

Well, as Executive Director of ASAP for almost 20 years, I have to say, when it comes to ASAP training conferences, nothing could be further from the truth. There was a point in time that the ASAP Board of Directors felt that any gaming city would be perceived as a boondoggle. For the first 11 years of the Western Regional Training Conference (WRTC) we avoided Las Vegas and Reno for this exact reason. However, it did not go unnoticed that government agencies were meeting in Las Vegas simply because it was cost-effective.

ASAP conferences require a tremendous amount of support services — per diem rooms for up to 350 participants, multiple (simultaneous) meeting rooms, a business center, IT support, full meal services, and other requirements frequently eliminate smaller facilities from consideration. Other benefits to meeting in Las Vegas are that airlines do not require a Saturday night stayover, per diem expenses are typically lower than other meeting locales, and there is an abundance of affordable sleeping and dining options available.

In 2002 the ASAP Board decided to hold the WRTC in Las Vegas at the Stardust Hotel. That year still holds the record for paid registration attendance at 346. Not only was the conference well-attended, each of the sessions was at capacity, including early morning sessions as well as late afternoon sessions. The ASAP delegates proved to be very dedicated to their education and appreciative of the opportunity to meet and learn with their peers. This has been the standard for ASAP meetings whether they are in Washington, D.C., Cleveland, Ohio or Las Vegas, Nevada.

Based on the success of the 2002 program, ASAP held the 2005 WRTC in Las Vegas at Harrah's Hotel. Although we did not exceed our 2002 numbers, this conference holds the record for our second highest paid attendance at 341 registrants. The Harrah's staff was extremely helpful and worked with ASAP on budgetary issues. More importantly, at the conclusion of the 2005 program, Harrah's was willing to commit to hosting ASAP in 2006 or 2007. This is highly unusual for a hotel to commit to this piece of business that far out. The benefits to ASAP for being able to secure a hotel more than one year out are well worth considering — and as a result, the Board voted to come back in 2007.

The WRTC offers over 40 educational sessions over three FULL days. Each day has three, four or even five tracks of concurrent sessions. Sessions begin at about 8:00 am and go until about 4:30 pm and sometimes until 5:00 pm. It is a lot of information for the attendees to absorb, and at the end of the day, they are more than ready for a break. As already mentioned, the educational sessions are very well-attended throughout the entire Conference. Attendees receive a two-inch binder with supportive materials for the various sessions — even if they did not attend that particular session. It is ASAP's practice to disseminate as much information as possible to all participants. We expect the attendees to use the binders as a reference tool when they return to their offices. To think of the ASAP conference as a boondoggle — wherever it is held — is just a misconception. For 2007, Harrah's Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada is meeting ASAP requirements in terms of space, sleeping rooms, food/beverage, and budget. Las Vegas offers excellent airline connections and affordable dining options, especially for those on per diems.

The Facts Behind ASAP Meeting Site Selection

ASAP is a non-profit, professional, membership Society. It is not a government agency. Therefore, ASAP does not qualify for discounted rates that are sometimes afforded to government entities.

The Western Regional Training Conference (WRTC) is always held out in the West. Many years ago, the FOI and Privacy Act Officers made it very clear that training programs needed to go beyond the Washington, D.C. beltway. There were many people out of the D.C. metropolitan area who needed training but the agencies found that per diem travel costs for the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area were prohibitive. Hence, the WRTC was born.

Due to the meeting requirements for the WRTC, ASAP is usually very limited in its hotel choices.

1. ASAP requires hotels to honor the federal government per diem rate for our registrants. Many hotels will not even bid on ASAP conferences because they do not want to give up so many sleeping rooms at the government rate. Quite frankly, they can afford to wait for a "better piece of business." Some hotels make counter offers that would require ASAP to meet on the weekend or over major holidays.

2. Most hotels will not consider committing to a government per diem more than one year out. This is fairly standard practice. In fact, many will not consider it more than 3-6 months out. This is why you rarely see the WRTC dates and sites announced early. We know it is frustrating for agencies trying to budget and plan training, but the circumstances are dictated by the market and are beyond our control.

3. The WRTC requires a lot of meeting space which means that ASAP needs hotels that are geared to "group meeting" business. Typically, these hotels service a different clientele and usually have a choice of more profitable business.

4. All hotels require ASAP to guarantee a certain number of sleeping rooms. If ASAP fails to meet this number, then financial penalties are invoked. Many times meeting room rental costs are waived based on the number of sleeping rooms used. If ASAP fails to meet that number, then in addition to attrition penalties, meeting room costs can be assessed.

5. ASAP tries to meet in cities that are airline hubs or offer convenient connections.

6. Virtually all hotels require ASAP to meet a minimum of food and beverage (F&B) revenue. For the WRTC and depending upon the city, this amount is usually somewhere between $45,000 and $90,000. Since the hotels have to provide the federal government per diem sleeping room rate, they offset this loss in revenue by the food and beverage amounts. This is why ASAP provides lunches and coffee breaks at its conferences. Without a guarantee for food and beverage revenue, hotels simply will not bid on ASAP business.

7. ASAP has looked at various convention centers. In most cases, the convention centers have even more restrictive policies, including the right to bump contracted business for a more profitable piece of business. This uncertainty is simply something that ASAP cannot live with. Further, the costs at many convention centers are prohibitive for ASAP. Without any sleeping room revenue, the convention centers tend to have very high food, audio visual and meeting room costs.

Many times our members offer suggestions about available/affordable hotels and cities. In every case we have found that the hotels are too small or will not offer the government per diem to ASAP during our conference time. It is true that we could find a good deal in the Southwest during August!