Hotel ABA: Don't Be Caught in the Cold

As booksellers enter, what is for most, their busiest season, the American Booksellers Association wants to draw their attention to the rapidly decreasing number of rooms available at Hotel ABA at BookExpo America 2006 in Washington, D.C. In the two weeks since registration for the hotel, The Doubletree Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia, opened, more than half of the rooms available at the special rate of $129 per night have already been booked.

Just minutes from the Washington Convention Center and downtown D.C., the Hotel ABA offers a special package of amenities exclusively for member booksellers, including complimentary coffee and pastries each morning; a series of publisher-sponsored receptions each evening; a member hospitality suite; a special concierge table in the hotel lobby; dedicated shuttle bus service between the hotel and convention center; and ARCs for booksellers each night.

The special hotel room rate is available for the nights of Monday, May 15, through Monday, May 22, 2006. BEA will be held from Wednesday, May 17, through Sunday, May 21, 2006, at The Washington Convention Center. Booksellers planning to participate in the special "ABA Legislative Day" on May 17 (from noon to 6:00 p.m.) and ABA's full day of free educational programming on May 18 should plan on arriving in Washington by Tuesday evening, May 16, or by Wednesday morning.

There are two ways for ABA member booksellers to book rooms, which are being reserved on a first-come, first-served basis:

• Book Online: Booksellers will need a special code that is accessible by clicking here. (A BookWeb user name and password is required to access this page.) ABA member booksellers who do not already have a user name and password can create one by clicking on "Register for BookWeb" on the site's homepage. (An ABA ID number is required to register for BookWeb.)
• Call-In Reservations: Booksellers can also book a room by calling ABA's Margaret Petrie at (800) 637-0037, ext. 6614. She will verify ABA membership and book the room.

For more information about the Hotel ABA/Washington, D.C., visit www.bookweb.org/read/8230 or contact Petrie at [email protected].