Update on BWE France 15

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tim
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Update on BWE France 15

Post by tim »

All,

I'd like to update you on the current plans for BWE in France in 2015. As you know, logistics for this type of trip are always challenging, and so we are building a framework that will meet the needs of most people and make sure that everyone that participates has a fantastic experience.


SCHEDULE

The Bordeaux events will begin the morning of Monday May 18th 2015 and end the evening of Friday May 22nd 2015. Thus, we would expect most people to arrive in Bordeaux on Sunday May 17th. We will also plan an optional dinner in Paris on Saturday May 16th. The Paris dinner will NOT be included in the cost of the Bordeaux trip.

Tentative plans are to start with tastings at 10am each day. We will also have an afternoon and evening free, most likely Wednesday, in order to give people a break.


COST

The group cost will be responsible for the following:
1. Air-conditioned bus transportation to and from all venues in Bordeaux
2. Four/Five lunches and Four dinners in Bordeaux. Some lunches may be "box lunch" style.
3. Miscellaneous items such as tips, water, glasses, etc.

Individuals will be responsible for the following:
1. Hotel costs and reservations (more below)
2. Transportation to and from Bordeaux, including airfare. (note, we will provide support for train tickets from Paris to Bordeaux)

We will set a hard budget limit of $2000 per person. Once we get estimates for the bus, make food arrangements, etc, we will have a clearer idea of the actual cost. My estimate is that the group cost will likely be between $1200 and $1500 per person. Cost also depends on how many people participate and how we can share costs. As of the moment, there is not going to be an option to do a "half trip". There are many reasons for this, including the difficulty predicting how the costs will split across the days. If anyone has any personal challenges that would not allow them to attend the entire week, then we can look at this on an individual basis as we get closer to the event.

For the hotel, you should budget around $1000 per room for six nights (Sunday through Saturday), double occupancy. See below for more information.


DEPOSIT AND LIMIT OF PLACES

Due to the limitations of how many people can be accommodated for Chateau visits, we have a firm limit of 25 people. The minimum number of people to make the trip successful is around 12. In order to get firm commitments, we will be collecting a deposit to assure your space on this trip.

The deposit will be $300, of which $100 will be non-refundable. On March 1st, the full $300 will become non-refundable and we will begin collecting the rest of the per-person cost.

(The one exception is that if we do not reach a minimum of 12 people sending in deposits, then we will come back and ask if we should continue with the event. In that unlikely event, then the entire amount will be refundable.)

In the U.S., stefan will set up an account and will be collecting money. I will make arrangements with European-based participants. For those that have expressed interest, stefan or I will send you a private message with instructions for where to send the check. You can always reach out to stefan directly if you would like to be proactive.


HOTELS

We have decided that, like last time, the main hotels will be at the Bordeaux Lac area. Alex will be reaching out to his local contacts to see if we can arrange to have a group rate at one of those hotels. There are several hotels from the Accor group (Mercure, Pullman, Ibis) at all price levels.

The advantage of the Bordeaux Lac hotels is that they reduce the overall time to get to and from the chateaux. The downside is that they are outside of the city center. However, at the start of 2015, the Bordeaux Tram system will open right in front of the hotels to connect the Bordeaux Lac area to the center of Bordeaux. This will make things incredibly easy for people to visit the center of Bordeaux from Bordeaux Lac.

Once Alex figures out any group rates, he will report back so you can make reservations directly.


MEALS

As before, we are going to focus on having many meals at chateaux. We also might have one or two at restaurants. More on this as we make arrangements.


PARIS

I will propose to have a meal or event in Paris on Saturday the 16th of May. This will be completely optional, and as people begin making their travel arrangements, we'll see how many people are interested in this. The other option would be to have a Paris dinner on the Saturday after Bordeaux. I'd appreciate any feedback on this.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me.

Thanks,

Tim
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JimHow
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Re: Update on BWE France 15

Post by JimHow »

Great job Timmy and the organization team.
I'm in for four!
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Nicklasss
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Re: Update on BWE France 15

Post by Nicklasss »

I encourage the organisation team to continue the good work, to organized he 2015 BWE convention.

I can't commit now, but surely, I would like to attend. But with 3 kids under 6 years old, I guess it will be "not approved by mom" to leave for a full week. And going to France for a week, why not 2?

We'll see...

Nic
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dstgolf
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Re: Update on BWE France 15

Post by dstgolf »

Looking good Tim. Thanks for all of the work being put in to make this happen. We're in for three with Danielle,myself and a return appearance for my brother Larry who has jumped at the opportunity to return.
Danny
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