Preregistration

The Program for the 119th annual meeting of the AHA, to be held January 6–9, 2005, was mailed to members in October. It is also online at the AHA's web site, www.historians.org/annual. The meeting preregistration form was in the September 2004 Perspectives (page 35) and was included with the Program mailing. Preregistration is also available online through a link from the AHA's web site. Preregistration requests must be received by Friday, December 10, 2004. After this date, individuals will need to register at the meeting.

Accommodations

Hotel reservations must be made exclusively with Seattle Housing Bureau, the housing vendor for the Seattle Convention and Visitors Bureau. Reservations will be accepted through the link on the AHA web site (www.historians.org/annual); the call center; and fax, or mail (only if accompanied by a check deposit) through December 6, 2004. Reservations for suites must be made by contacting the Housing Manager at 206-461-5894, and cannot be made via the Internet, fax, or mail. The hotel reservation form was on page 33 of the September Perspectives and was also in the Program mailing. A deposit will be required for each reservation—$125 for a room, $250 for a one-bedroom suite, and $375 for a two-bedroom suite. It is worth remembering that the special meeting rates are available from January 3 through January 12, 2005.

The call center (toll-free 888-877-0255) will accept reservations from the United States and Canada during the normal business hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PST, Monday through Friday. International callers may call 206-461-5881 (also during the same business hours) to make reservations. Faxes from the United States and Canada may be sent 24 hours a day, seven days a week to 206-461-5853, but will be processed only during business hours. International attendees may fax their reservation forms to 847-940-2386. The reservation form can be mailed (but only if accompanied by a check for the deposit) to Seattle Housing Bureau, 701 Pike Street, Suite 800, Seattle, WA 98101. The check should be made payable to the Seattle Housing Bureau, in U.S. funds, drawn on a U.S. bank.

The Seattle Housing Bureau will send a confirmation of all new reservations, modifications, and cancellations within 10 to 14 days. Confirmation will be sent via e-mail, fax, or mail. Room reservations made by Internet and phone are confirmed immediately with a confirmation number. Please note that the individual hotels will not send out a separate confirmation.
The cutoff date for the AHA's official block is December 6, 2004. After this date, although remaining inventory in the block will be released, rooms can still be reserved at the discounted annual meeting rates if space is available. If all the hotels sell out, the AHA will work with the bureau to secure additional hotel rooms. Meeting attendees can continue to make and modify (depending on availability) or cancel reservations through 5:00 p.m. PST on December 22, 2004, through the Seattle Housing Bureau by telephone, fax, mail, or e-mail. Attendees will not be penalized for any cancellation made on or before December 6. Cancellations received after the cutoff date, December 6, 2004, will be assessed a $25 processing fee. Reservations cancelled within 72 hours of the arrival date will be charged for one night's room and tax. Cancellations will be refunded through the same method of payment by which the attendee originally paid the deposit. After that date, attendees who wish to cancel must contact the hotel directly. Reservations canceled after December 22 but prior to 72 hours of arrival date are subject to forfeiture of the entire amount of the deposit.

Travel Arrangements

Association Travel Concepts (ATC), the official travel agency for the annual meeting, has negotiated discounts with United Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, Enterprise Rent A Car, and Avis Rent A Car to bring attendees special air and car rental rates that are lower than those available to the public. To take advantage of these rates and benefits, call ATC at 800-458-9383 (9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday), fax 858-362-3153, or e-mail reservations@atcmeetings.com. A link to ATC's web site is also available through the AHA annual meeting web page, www.historians.org/annual.

Airfares: By calling ATC, attendees will secure discounts of 10 to 15 percent on the lowest available airfares on tickets purchased more than 60 days prior to the meeting. For tickets purchased less than 60 days prior, the discounts will be 5 to 10 percent off the lowest available fares. Some restrictions may apply and service fees will vary. Discounts apply for travel Monday, January 3 through Wednesday, January 12, 2005. Attendees may also call an airline directly and give the relevant ID number to obtain the discount—ID number 510CK for United, ID number VXBVVF for Continental, ID number DMN206949A for Delta, and ID number NM5RC for Northwest.

ATC will also search for the lowest available fare on any airline serving the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. ATC provides personalized service, advance seat assignments, special meal requests, frequent flier program updates, electronic ticketing, e-mail access for convenient booking of your tickets, and more.

These cost-saving options may also be obtained by booking online using the "travel" link on the AHA's web site (www.historians.org/annual). Low fares that are available only on the Web can also be found using the ATC search engine. Attendees can explore region-to-region flat zone rates and consolidator and net fares without a Saturday night stayover to find lower fares. Attendees can also arrange to rent a car through Enterprise (ID number 32H7476) or Avis (ID number J952801) by contacting ATC (800-458-9383), with discounted rates effective January 3 through January 12, 2005. o

—Sharon K. Tune is the AHA convention director.