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THE LOCATION AND HOTEL

The Westin Playa Bonita, Panama City, Panama, is an oceanfront property with its private beach. There are numerous direct and connecting flights to Panama City, Panama, from major US, Canadian and European cities.

Participants from Asia may connect via Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Miami, Dallas, London, Frankfurt, Paris and Washington, to San Juan. The temp. is expected to be 80-85 F.

HOTEL RESERVATION

You must reserve the hotel only for the days that you plan to attend the conf. as your paper will be arranged within your hotel reservation. If you do not plan to attend the entire conf., then you should reserve within the first half (Jan. 2-6), or second half (Jan. 6-10). Technical sessions will start on Jan. 3 and continue to the morning of Jan. 9; the two conf. dinners are expected to be on Jan 3 and Jan. 8. It will be great if you could attend at least one of the conf. dinners. The reservation can be cancelled before Dec. 1 w/o any penalty, however if you are not almost sure that you will attend, then you should not reserve (see reservation/cancellation penalties in the registration form). The link for reservation will be provided later, it will take you directly to the conf. rates. You must make reservation yourself w/o involving a travel agent or a third party as otherwise you can not get the heavily discounted conf. rates.

There is a $4 bellman (roundtrip) and $2 maid gratuity per room per night, in addition to charges below.

CANCELLATION & EARLY DEPARTURE PENALTY

Since this is a resort, the following policies which are typical of resort, apply. All cancellations or changes MUST be approved by the conference and the hotel in writing (E-mails will be acceptable), otherwise the penalties as stated will apply.

1. 
   You must stay at least 4 nights to get the conference rate, if you stay less than 4 nights then you may be subject to additional registration fee of $150.
   
2. 
   Reservations can be cancelled without penalty on or before December 1, 2018.
   
3. 
   Reservations can be changed, i.e. arrival and departure dates can be changed without any penalty on or before December 10 as long as the participant stays same number of nights as in the initial reservation.
   
4. 
   Cancellations between December 1 and 72 hours of your arrival date will be charged one night deposit, irrespective of what the reservation conditions mentioned in the reservation document.
   
5. 
   No shows, i.e. if your reservation is not cancelled and you do not arrive on your reservation date, you will be charged for all days reserved, except for cancelled flights with documented no possibility of re-scheduling, or for documented hospitalized sickness of the participant only. In the latter case, the charge will be only for one night.
   
6. 
   Arrival or departure later or earlier than the initial reservation will be subject to required payment of all nights not stayed, except in cases where the guest stays the same number of nights as in the initial reservation by adjusting the arrival and/or departure dates.
   

OTHER HOTELS APART FROM THE ABOVE HOTEL:

If a participant stays at a hotel different from the above hotel, or make reservations for the above hotel using internet wholesalers (e.g. Orbitz, ….) or travel agents, then he/she will pay a higher registration fee (additional $US 150, see Registration Form). This is done because the organizers get the special rates for the participants by guaranteeing a certain no. of rooms. If this ‘quota’ is not met, the hotel charges penalties to the organizers. The additional registration fee partly reimburses the penalties charged to the organizer. You must make reservation by directly contacting the hotel, or using the above procedure for on-line reservation, to avoid additional registration fee.

OTHER ADVANTAGES FOR MAKING A DIRECT RESERVATION RATHER THAN THROUGH A WHOLESALER (e.g. Orbitz , Expedia, Hotel.com):
The reservations made directly through the hotels after identifying yourself as part of this conf. can be cancelled without any penalty up to December 1. As far as we know, these advantages are not there if you reserve through wholesalers or travel agents.

INSURANCE:
The conf. organizers are not liable for your health, hotel room or for any other thing related to the conf. The reservation is directly between you and the hotel. Please carry your own insurance for any protection that you desire.