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Frequently
Asked Questions
Why don’t you take all credit cards?
It’s too expensive. Additional cards, beyond what we accept, would
incur an extra monthly charge on top of what we already pay to have the
ability to
process charges. The Association, as economists, attempts to minimize costs.
That's the conference rate for the hotel? I paid a lot less at the
ASSA meetings!
The conference hotel rates we are quoted depend on the specific dates
we need, the occupancy rates of the hotel on those dates, and the number
of rooms we
commit that our participants will purchase over the days of the conference.
The ASSA brings the hotels it contracts for between 8,000 and 10,000 room
night bookings. The SEA has more like 1,000. As a result of the time
of the year,
i.e. Thanksgiving as opposed to immediately following Christmas, hotel occupancy
rates are higher and the vastly smaller number of rooms we contract for,
we, and almost all other professional associations, pay significantly
higher rates.
The room rates that we pay also pay for the conference meeting room space
utilized by the various academic paper sessions.
Why can't you refer me to a cheaper hotel?
Our contracts with the hotels include a sliding scale on the cost of
the meeting rooms we reserve for the conference sessions. The scale is
based on how many
room nights are booked by participants in our conference. The more participants
who stay at the hotel the less the meeting space costs the Association.
It would therefore be against the Association's interest to refer participants
to stay elsewhere. We do try to negotiate the best rates we can for a conference
our size, at the time of year, and in the locations that members seem to
prefer.
Why do you insist that participants wear name badges? I was stopped
by your security personnel who asked to see mine.
Security and costs have become very serious matters since 2001. Hotels
have stepped up their security, and all professional associations are
trying to more
accurately control their costs. As an economist, one can also see it as
a response to the free rider problem. As long as conference revenues
are
what make the
Journal and the annual conference possible, we must try to minimize that
problem.
I want to bring my spouse / friend / child / significant other
to the conference only to sit in on my paper session. They will not be
presenting or actually participating in the conference. Do I have to
register that individual?
In order to control costs, deal with the free rider problem, and provide
the required security for the conference, SEA policy requires any individual
attending
any session of the conference in any capacity to register and pay the appropriate
conference registration fee.
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