Q1. I’ve been waiting to see if the dollar strengthens a bit before I register for the convention. Is the situation such that we might get a refund or be charged more, depending on the rate of exchange at convention time?

Q2. Will the hotel/convention accept having one person in a room?

Q3. Will two people sharing a room get a break on the hotel rate—and hence, the convention registration price?

Q4. I’m planning on rooming with a person I know. But what happens if that person can’t go at the last minute due to an emergency?

Q5. Suppose I am rooming with another person and I am arriving earlier than my room mate to attend the pre-convention trips—my room mate is arriving to just attend the convention. Would I pay more for the room for those days before my roommate arrives—more than the convention rate?

Q6. What is the policy on getting money refunded if I cancel my registration?

Q7. Will the hotel rooms be equipped with electrical converters to handle plugs used by American-style (or British or any other nation with a different style) electrical devices? Will the hotel provide them?

Q8. Can I pay a fee to just attend the convention activities and find lodging on my own?

Q9. I am on a (strict) diet. Can I still come to the convention?

>Q10. What about money?

Q11. When and how much do I tip?

Q12; What type of clothing should I bring?

Q13: How is the weather like?

Q14: When I explained to my wife I was going to the Netherlands for health reasons she said I should go to Holland where all the nice beaches are. What should I tell her?

A1. If you pay via your bank —so easy if you use electronic banking or a walk to your bank doesn’t do you any harm— you just fill in the amount due in euro’s (rates and calculations to be found on the registration form or elsewhere on the convention website) and you automatically know how many dollars will be deducted form your bank account.
If you pay us via Paypal the system is more or less the same.
If the dollar strengthens you pay less dollars for the euro. If the dollar weakens you pay more dollars for the euro. In both cases we get the same amount of euro’s.

So the answer is no.

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A2. Yes, they offer a single rate. This means single occupancy in the room. They book singles at EUR 620 up to a certain point (untill 1st of july,2007). They cannot afford to have too many single occupancies. They will let the person registering know if that point has been reached and will offer the alternative/possibility to have a single room in another nearby hotel.

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A3. For double occupancy, the rate is EUR 495 per person( till 1st of july 2007). If someone books for “double occupancy” as a SINGLE (at EUR 495), the convention hosts will try to find another single person (at EUR 495 also) to share that room. You do not know who your roommate will be. Once a roommate has been “assigned” to you we cannot change it anymore. If everything fails the convention hosts may ask you to pay the rate for single occupancy.

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A4. The convention hosts would try to find another single person to share that room. They also might consider asking the delegate to simply pay for single occupancy at EUR 620.

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A5. The pre-convention room rate is EUR 80 for single rooms and EUR 90 for double occupancy rooms. How and if costs will be split is something that must be worked out by the delegates sharing the room.

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A6. The cancellation policy is as follows, based on the start date defined as Monday, July 7, 2008:
a. cancellations less than 90 days will have EUR 50 (about $73 as of April 10, 2007) deducted from each registration.
b. cancellations less than 60 days will have EUR 100 (about $146 as of April 10, 2007) deducted from each registration.
c. cancellations less than 30 days will result in one-half of each registration deducted

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A7. Converters will not be available. Delegates must bring their own converters. The convention hosts advise you go to your local electrical emporium. Airports do have a tendency to overcharge.

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A8. The short answer is no. Delegates must register with the convention committee to attend the convention and book rooms. Convention prices and activities have been “bundled” and negotiated to be as low as possible based on this. The only exception is that any person/Son can buy tickets at the film show at the Tuschinski Theatre which is part of the convention activities.

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A9. You certainly can. The hotels can comply with your diet requests. Of course when “medical treatment” of food is involved they may have a problem. When you register please mention in the appropriate space your requirememts. We will treat each and every request individually, with respect and confidential. Please note that we may experience difficulties with diet requirements when we are around and about. The places where we stop for a bite and/or a drink have not been determined yet. Please bear in mind that there may be a surcharge. Rest assured the convention hosts will do their utmost.

If you are planning to go on a diet during the convention to lose some weight than our advice would be: eat less, drink water and lots of it and walk around the birdpark at least 30 minutes every day.

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A10. ll major credit cards are accepted widely, but not everywhere. So yes, you need some cash.
Traveller cheques can be cashed at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. While you wait for your luggage
go to the ABN AMRO bank. If you are at "land side" go to the GWK office. It is hard to cash your
traveller cheques elsewhere. Please note that the two convention hotels have only limited possibilities
to change your currencies. And by the way we áre a Euro country.
Banks:
Business hours differ between banks. Most banks are open from Tuesday to Friday between 9 am and 4 pm.
On Mondays businesss hours start mainly at 1 pm. On Saturdays and Sundays banks are closed.

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A11. In The Netherlands, Value Added Tax and service charges are included in your check in hotels, shops and taxis.
Unlike in the US, this is even the case for your restaurant check. Tips for extra service are always appreciated but not necessary.
It is customary to give taxi drivers and waiters a tip of about 5-10 percent.
Many public restrooms have an attendant who are usually tipped EUR 0.50.

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A12. The weather varies from day to day, so be prepared for anything.
Rainfall is common, so the most important items to bring are a raincoat and water-resistant shoes.
A jumper is appropriate for the cooler summer days and evenings. Overall, the Dutch dress casually, so formal clothing is rarely required.
When the Dutch converse with each other, 9 times out of 10, the conversation revolves around the weather! It doesn’t matter whether it’s cold outside, rainy, windy or sunny. The weather is totally unpredictable in the Netherlands!

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A13. The sea has a great effect on the climate of Holland. The average winter is mild, although a sudden cold snap in January or February will have the skaters out with a vengeance on our lakes and waterways.
Summers are quite warm with temperatures averaging 16 to 17 degrees centigrade in July and August.(this includes temperatures at night!!!) In the east and south-east winters are a few degrees colder and summers a few degrees warmer. Spring is the driest season.
Every season in the Netherlands has its charm. Your purpose for a visit here can be influenced by that 'charm'.

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A14. Tell her Holland and the Netherlands are the same thing. Holland (provinces North and South Holland) is part of the Netherlands, like England is part of the UK.

Holland is where the four big cities are: Amsterdam (capital), Rotterdam (largest port of the world, with Sigapore second), Den Haag (in English: The Hague, residence of Queen Beatrix) and Utrecht. Holland is where most of the money is earned.

Now that we're at it:The Netherlanders are officially called 'the Dutch' and their language is Dutch. This sounds much like Deutsch, but 'deutsch' means 'german'. It's a different people with a different language. This often leads to misunderstandings. For example: a Dutch comic in old time vaudeville was actually a German comic.

Another popular but quite unofficial term is 'The Low Countries'. This generally means Holland and neighboring Belgium together. And yes, during the convention you will be below sea level every day, but it's quite safe for the time being.

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