BEA Update: Hotel ABA Filling Up; Action Required for Free Badges

Reservations for Hotel ABA 2009, the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn, the popular home to ABA members during BEA 2007, are capped at 500 and filling fast. Offering a room rate of $183 per night exclusively to ABA bookstore and provisional members, Hotel ABA will also be the site of a series of nightly social events during BookExpo America 2009 sponsored jointly by ABA, BEA, and participating publishers.

BEA will be held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City from Thursday, May 28, through Sunday, May 31. A block of rooms has been reserved at the Brooklyn Marriott for Wednesday, May 27, though Sunday, May 31; the special member rate will be available until Monday, May 4, or until the group block is sold out, whichever comes first.

Under a joint ABA/BEA initiative, all ABA regular bookstore and provisional members are entitled to free admission to this year's trade show. The number of free badges a bookstore will receive is based on a store's sales volume as well as participation in the 2009 Winter Institute.

Every regular ABA store and provisional member is entitled to at least one free admission to BEA, with additional badges available to stores in an ABA dues category of two or higher. ABA dues categories correspond to store sales volume. A category two store will receive two free BEA admission badges; a category three store, three free admission badges, etc., thus enabling larger stores to bring additional staff. One additional free BEA badge is available to each member bookstore that was represented at the Winter Institute to allow booksellers to continue the educational experience begun in Salt Lake City at this year's ABA Day of Education at BEA.

In order to receive their free badges, stores must authorize ABA to share relevant information with BEA officials by completing a simple form on BookWeb.org. All specific sales data provided to ABA for dues calculation purposes will be kept strictly confidential.

This year ABA's Day of Education on Thursday, May 28, will be returning to the convention center as part of a series of innovations designed to invigorate the convention and to give booksellers and other industry professionals more networking opportunities.

BEA and ABA are working together to cover the cost of providing ABA bookstore members with NYC MetroCards to travel between Brooklyn and the Javits Center for the four days of the convention. Shuttle bus service will also be available between Hotel ABA and the convention center.