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Hotel and Travel
Hotel and Reservations
The Conference will be held in Chicago, Illinois, one of the
most popular destination cities in the United States.
Centrally located in the Midwest, Chicago is easily
accessible by air and major interstate highways.
Hotel and Reservations
Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers
301 North Water Street
Chicago, IL 60611
Reservations: 800/233-4100
The hotel room block and all sessions of the Conference
are at the Sheraton
Chicago Hotel & Towers (Sheraton Chicago).
The great location of the Sheraton Chicago Hotel &
Towers puts you in the heart of the city and offers
views of the river and lake. Directly on the riverfront,
it is within walking distance of Navy Pier, Millennium
Park and Michigan Avenue. The hotel also has an indoor
pool, various restaurants and a fitness center.
For more information on the many features of the hotel,
please visit
www.sheratonchicago.com.
To reserve a hotel room, you may make your reservations
online directly at the Sheraton
Chicago Group reservation site.
Note
that reservations will be accepted only when accompanied
by a credit card guarantee or a deposit of the first
night’s room and tax.
Deadline for receipt of reservations: February
6, 2015. When
contacting the hotel by telephone, identify yourself as
an attendee of the 56th Annual Drosophila Research
Conference.
While neither the Sheraton Chicago nor the GSA staff can
assist in finding or assigning roommates, individuals
looking for roommates may check the online bulletin
board at the Drosophila Conference Website, which opens
on November 7, 2014.
The Sheraton Chicago will process reservation requests
on a first-come, first-served basis. For general
information about the hotel go to the Sheraton Chicago
Web site at:
www.sheratonchicago.com
Room Types and Rates
Room descriptions and pictures are available at
http://www.sheratonchicago.com/accommodations/index.html
ROOM TYPE / ROOM RATE:
Single (1
person) - $219
Double (2
persons) - $239
Towers Level Single - $259
Towers Level Double - $279 -
Additional Person in any room -
$30
All rates are per
room, per night and
do not include local room tax (currently
16.4%). Maximum occupancy
per room is four people.
Room Reservation Guarantee and Cancellation
Reservation must be guaranteed with one-night’s room deposit
by major
credit card. It is the hotel’s policy to charge
your credit card the one night's room and tax deposit at
the time you make your reservation. Cancellations must
be made by 6:00 pm one day in advance of the scheduled
arrival date to obtain a refund of the deposit.
Though the Sheraton Chicago is handicapped accessible, it is
the guest’s responsibility to advise the hotel of special
needs as far in
advance as possible. Every
effort will be made to accommodate special needs.
Bulletin Board for Room Sharing
Post your request for a roommate on the electronic
Bulletin Board for Room Sharing. GSA has provided this service to
facilitate finding a roommate. Registrants can post messages
regarding what type of roommate they are looking for i.e male or
female, smoker or non-smoker and the participants will respond
directly to the registrant. Please note that potential
roommates communicate directly with each other. GSA is
only providing access to this program as a service and is not
involved in the matching of roommates.
Childcare/Family Room
Onsite childcare services may be available through your
hotel concierge. Individual or group sitters may be arranged
to provide in-room hotel childcare. Please check with your
hotel well in advance of your arrival date.
It is the responsibility of the parent(s), guardian, legal
guardian, or individual requesting childcare services to
screen caregivers and to make a determination as to the
appropriateness of the caregiver. The Genetics Society of
America does not screen any of the childcare services and
assumes no responsibility with respect to these services and
accepts no liabilities.
Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian
during exhibit hours. Parents or guardians may
bring children under the age of 18 to educational and
social events provided the children do not disrupt the
event. Under no circumstances are children under
the age of 18 allowed in the Exhibit Hall during set-up
and dismantle times.
A Family Room for nursing mothers will be available at the
Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers on level 2 in the Tennessee
room. Please note that parents and guardians are
responsible for providing infant care supplies. The
Family Room is unsupervised and The Genetics Society of
America is not responsible for any accidents or injuries
that may occur.T
Ground Transportation
Shuttle van service and taxis are available at both Midway and
Chicago O’Hare International Airports. A one-way taxi fare
to/from Midway is approximately
$33 and to/from O’Hare is approximately $45. One-way shuttle
service on Go Airport Express from O’Hare is currently $29 and $24 from Midway.
For more information and coupons go to www.airportexpress.com.
Another option is to take the train
to/from O’Hare at a cost of $5.00. The train will pick you up
at O’Hare and take you to within approximately seven blocks (or
a $7 cab ride) from the hotel.
The train fare from Midway is $2.25 For additional information go to www.transitchicago.com.
The hotel offers detailed driving directions if attendees would like to drive to the meeting.
Parking
Parking is very expensive at the Chicago Sheraton ($58/day
for valet and $52day for self park).
Chicago is a very “walkable” city and a car is generally not
needed. There are many public lots near the Sheraton, some cost
as little as $16/day.
Requests for Letters of Invitation
For security purposes, letters of invitation can only be sent to individuals that have registered for the meeting. After you have registered, you will be given a link to generate your letter of invitation. If you have questions, please contact Suzy Brown (sbrown@genetics-gsa.org).
VISA & Passports
As part of security procedures, applications for visas are sent to the U.S. State Department for a security review. For further information, visit the State Department Web site at http://travel.state.gov/visa. You can also visit the "International Visitors Office" Web site at http://www.nationalacademies.org/visas.
For International Visitors
Visitors traveling to the United States from all countries (including the visa waiver countries) are required to register personal details online at least three (3) days in advance of travel. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), is a free, automated system used to determine the eligibility of visitors to travel to the United States. It collects the same information as the paper I-94W form you usually complete enroute to the United States. ESTA applications may be submitted at any time prior to travel. An ESTA authorization generally will be valid for up to two years. DHS recommends that travelers submit an ESTA application as soon as they begin travel plans. Click here for further details.
VISAS LINKS
Meeting attendees are advised to apply for a visa as early as possible (at least three months before visa is needed). Registration refunds will not be issued for denied visas. As part of security procedures, applications for visas are sent to the U.S. State Department for a security review. For further information, visit the
State Department Web site. We advise scientists traveling to the United States to apply for a visa as early as possible (at least six months before the visa is needed). Please check with your local U.S. consulate or embassy to find out the earliest that you may apply for a visa. For further information and a list of your local US embassy (or consulate), please click
here.
To assist you with the Visa application process:
- Apply for visa at least six (6) months in advance. For countries that are on the State Sponsors of Terrorism List, the State Department suggests applying for a visa six (6) to eight (8) months in advance.
- Provide your entire trip itinerary, including travel to any countries other than the United States, at the time of visa application.
- If completion of travel plans is contingent upon early approval of the visa application, specify this at the time of the application.
- Provide proof of scientific status. For example, proof that you submitted an abstract for the meeting. Do not wait until you receive notification that your abstract has been accepted before applying for a visa. It is very rare that an abstract is denied. If your abstract followed the rules and guidelines, it will be programmed.
- Provide meeting Web site (http://www.drosophila-conf.org/2014) and copy of your letter of invitation.
- Provide evidence that you are intending to return to your country of residence. This includes such things as:
- family ties in current country of residence
- property ownership
- bank account
- an employment contract or statement from employer showing that position will continue after the dates of the meeting
- Requirements vary by passport-issuing country and citizenship (not merely residency).
NOTE: Some consulates may have backlogs in scheduling visa interviews so applicants should first contact the consulate to determine what wait times for interviews are. Click
here for visa wait times.
VISA Problems
For applications that have not been approved 30 days after the interview you should complete an
online questionnaire. You will be asked to name the meeting (54th Annual Drosophila Research Conference) and explain the purpose of your visit. Click
herefor visa wait times.
Visa Waiver Program (VWP): The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) enables nationals of 36 participating countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business (visitor [B] visa purposes only) for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. To learn more about the VISA Waiver Program,
click here
USA Visa Policy Resources – click here.
PASSPORT INFORMATION
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