Why is Northern Lights continuing to use Stay to Play?

 

In 2009, Northern Lights decided to institute the Stay to Play Policy.  This policy was implemented in order to increase the amount of room nights available to teams and clubs while helping to police the rates the hotels are offering. By increasing the amount of room nights actually used for the purpose of attending our event, Northern Lights is able to prove to the city the positive impact on their local economy, thus building stronger relationships as well as helping to offset convention center pricing.

HOTEL		2008 RATES	2010 RATE		DROP IN RATE
HILTON CC		$136.00	$135.00		$1.00
HYATT		$149.00	$132.00		$17.00
MILLENNIUM		$135.00	$129.00		$6.00
DOUBLETREE GUEST SUITES		$149.00	$119.00		$30.00
CROWNE PLAZA NORTHSTAR		$126.00	$119.00		$7.00
RADISSON PLAZA		$149.00	$119.00		$30.00
MARRIOTT CITY CENTER		$131.00	$119.00		$12.00
MARRIOTT RENAISSANCE DEPOT		$149.00	$124.00		$25.00
MARRIOTT RESIDENCE INN DEPOT		$149.00	$138.25		$10.75
BEST WESTERN NORMANDY		$124.00	$112.00		$12.00

Stay to Play has many benefits, including:

• Increased negotiating power with the city since Northern Lights can provide accurate tracking information of all room nights generated by the tournament.
• It gives THS more power to negotiate the best rates with the hotels.

What is Stay to Play? 

Stay to Play is a policy that requires all teams and attendees to book their hotel rooms through THS, the Official Housing Company for Northern Lights Qualifier, at a Northern Lights approved hotel.

How do I know that I am getting the best deal by booking at an approved hotel?

THS will continually run rate integrity checks on each hotel for the dates of the tournament to ensure that they are meeting their contractual obligation to provide the lowest group rate guarantee (excluding single/king rooms, employee rates, government rates, AAA and AARP rates). THS has a wide variety of rate options available to teams and attendees. If you think you have found a better rate, please contact THS toll free at 888-536-TEAM (8326).

 

Why are some hotels not in the block?

Northern Lights and THS are willing to work with most hotels in the city. The primary reasons that a hotel would not be contracted are:

• The hotel did not submit a bid to the CVB.
• The bid that was submitted had a rate that was too high for the hotel's product or location.
• The hotel was an exterior corridor hotel, meaning that access to rooms was from the outside and not through an interior lobby and hall. For the safety of all participants, Northern Lights and THS are unable to contract with these hotels.
• The hotel was unable to offer the room types that teams need (double bedded rooms or king with sofa sleeper rooms.)
• The hotel would not agree to the terms in the contract required by Northern Lights.
• All teams were given the opportunity to have additional hotels included in the list, prior to August 15. That time has passed and we are unable to add any new hotels to the list.

How many rooms do I have to book to be accepted into the tournament?

In order to be accepted into the Northern Lights Qualifier, every player, coach, and chaperone needs to be accounted for.  As long as the club and team name are given when booking the room, the room will count toward the team total. Team room totals are based on each individual team and not on a club basis, so the specific team that you are booking for must be selected when making the reservation.

 

How do I book rooms for my team?

Reservations will open on Monday October 12, 2009.

A full hotel list will be available online at www.thsweb.com  If you prefer to make your reservations over the phone, you may call THS toll free at 888-536-TEAM (8326)

Special Situations: What if my team has...? 

• Do you want to use your own travel agent? Travel agents may book with THS however; the rates posted on the web site are NET rates.
• If you are a local team not in need of hotel rooms, you don’t need to do anything.  We already know if you are a local team.