Press Release #34
SAN JOSÉ FAIRMONT TO REFUND EXTRA CLEANING CHARGES

CONJOSÉ, THE 60TH WORLD SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTION
PO Box 61363, Sunnyvale CA 94088-1363 USA
press@conjose.org; http://www.conjose.org/

For immediate release: Tuesday, October 29, 2002, 6:00 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time

SAN JOSÉ FAIRMONT TO REFUND EXTRA CLEANING CHARGES

The San José Fairmont Hotel, which served as headquarters hotel for ConJosé, the 2002 Worldcon, has agreed to reverse "cleaning charges" imposed on some members' bills after the convention.

In mid-September, the Fairmont, citing excessive cleaning required in certain sleeping rooms and suites located in the "party wing" of the hotel, began charging extra "cleaning charges" to the credit cards of the people in whose name those rooms were registered. ConJosé Facilities/Hotel Liaisons objected to this practice, and the convention advised members who received such charges to protest them both with the hotel and with their credit card issuer.

After a period of negotiation with the Fairmont, ConJosé agreed to pay additional cleaning charges to the Fairmont, while the Fairmont agreed to refund all of the individual
room cleaning charges. ConJosé agreed to make this payment without admitting any fault or responsibility, in order to avoid a long dispute between the hotel, the convention, and
the conventions' members.

ConJosé expects that the additional payment to the Fairmont will not affect the convention's ability to pay its bills and traditional obligations, including membership
reimbursements to program participants, staff, committee, and qualified volunteers. Such traditional reimbursements are generally paid after all of the convention's contractual obligations and bills are paid.

The original extra charges were separate from attendees' hotel bills, and began appearing on individuals' accounts around September 11. Charge reversals began appearing on
individuals' accounts around October 18. Not all persons staying in the Fairmont had such charges applied to their rooms.

ConJosé's facilities/hotel liaisons have stayed in contact with their opposite numbers from Torcon III during the negotiations with the Fairmont San José to keep them advised about the situation. Torcon III, the 2003 Worldcon, is using the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto as their headquarters hotel.

ConJosé regrets and apologizes for any inconvenience this situation may have caused any of its members who stayed in the Fairmont. ConJosé recommends that any attendee who
received an extra cleaning charge and who has not yet received a credit for the same amount contact their credit card issuer, the Fairmont San José, and ConJosé.

Contacts

General: Kevin Standlee info@conjose.org
Facilities/Hotel Liaison: David Gallaher facilities@conjose.org

The 2002 Worldcon, known as ConJosé, took place at the McEnery Convention Center, San José, California from 29 August through 2 September 2002. More information about ConJosé is available from its web site (http://www.conjose.org/) or by writing to info@conjose.org.

To be removed from the ConJosé press release mailing list please write to publicity@conjose.org.

"ConJosé" is a service mark of San Francisco Science Fiction Conventions, Inc., a California non-profit corporation recognized as tax exempt under IRC 501(c)(3).

"WSFS", "Worldcon", "World Science Fiction Convention" and "Hugo Award" are registered service marks of the World Science Fiction Society, an unincorporated literary society.

"ConJosé" is a service mark of San Francisco Science Fiction Conventions, Inc. (SFSFC), a California non-profit corporation recognized as tax-exempt under IRC 501(c)(3). The ConJosé logo was created by and is © 2001 David Cherry, and is a service mark of SFSFC. This web site is © 2002 SFSFC except where otherwise noted. "Worldcon," "World Science Fiction Convention," "WSFS," "World Science Fiction Society," "NASFiC," and "Hugo Award" are registered service marks of the World Science Fiction Society, an unincorporated literary society.    ConJosé Privacy Policy