Wi10: Let ABA Know If Your Plans Have Changed

The Grove Park Inn, the host hotel for Winter Institute 2015, sold out in record time; however, Wi10 registrants can add their names to the hotel waitlist through the form available here. The American Booksellers Association will contact those on the list on a first-come, first-served basis when rooms become available. The association is working with the Grove Park Inn and another hotel property in the area to ensure that all registrants will have a room and transportation to the Grove Park Inn. Watch for an announcement regarding a second hotel property in the coming weeks.

Wi10 registrants who are no longer planning to attend and/or who no longer need their Grove Park reservations are asked to notify ABA at [email protected] as soon as possible so waiting booksellers can take their places. Anyone who would like to have his or her name removed from the waitlist for Winter Institute registration and/or the hotel waitlist is also asked to send an e-mail to [email protected].

Booksellers with rooms at the Grove Park Inn who are willing to share their accommodations with a fellow bookseller are encouraged to post that information to a new forum on BookWeb.org. Forty roll-away beds are available to ABA members on a first-come, first-served basis at the cost of $40 per roll-away bed per night. The maximum capacity is four people to a room, with no more than one rollaway bed per room. Booksellers must notify ABA’s Maria Rodriguez about their room-sharing arrangements, so the hotel waitlist can be updated. Roll-away beds will be assigned in the order in which ABA is notified of a room share.

Those who have registered and secured their hotel reservations are encouraged to make their travel arrangements as soon as possible. Information about travel choices is available here.

Booksellers are also encouraged to explore the options provided by the Southern Hospitality Overnight Program (SHOP), developed by the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance. This program allows booksellers to stay overnight with a SHOP host and then carpool to and from the event. Visit the SIBA website for details, including host cities and suggested airports.

Winter Institute attendees who are making their travel arrangements should keep in mind that prior to the Sunday, February 8, evening Opening Reception, there will be several afternoon tours, including Historic Trolley Tours of Asheville, Biltmore Estate Tours, and free tours of the Thomas Wolfe Memorial, as well as guided and self-guided tours of the Grove Park Inn. Sunday afternoon will also feature the Downtown Asheville Indie Retail Crawl. The Trolley Tours and Biltmore Estate Tours will also be offered on Thursday. Ticket purchases are required for these two tours.

Winter Institute 2015 is made possible by lead sponsor Ingram Content Group and the support of publishers large and small.