URGENT - Regarding the Charter Buses!!!

[Susan Wolfe]

The charter bus quotes all expire on Friday, May 16, 2008 unless we are able to put a deposit of $200 per charter route. There are 12 routes, and thus, the charter company is requiring $2400 down.

Considering the huge undertaking for the Ronvoy route charter buses, this is very reasonable.

AND, if you consider that 55 people will be on each bus, then multiply that by the number of routes we have - and divide the $2400 deposit by 660 people - that is only $3.64 per person.

IT IS IMPERATIVE that we have the $2400 for the deposits by Friday, or the charters will be released from our contract.

ANYONE who is willing to donate to this cause may do so by going to the Travel & Lodging meetup page and clicking the PayPal button on the welcome page. You may choose whatever amount you can donate, and then use your PayPal account to process your payment.

The charter cost per person is $360. This includes roundtrip transportation, and includes all taxes, tolls, parking and driver gratuity no matter where you are coming from. If you are coming from the West coast, and you are not planning on flying in, then the charter is definitely the way to go. The amount of fuel required to transport 55 people in private vehicles to DC from the West coast would well exceed the amount of the charter.

If you are coming in a group of at least 55 people, we can arrange for a separate charter for your group - but we must know this immediately. Contact me at swolfe.ronpaul2008@yahoo.com to arrange for a separate charter for your large group.

PLEASE consider donating to reduce the per person cost for everyone who is taking a charter to DC. Thank you!

Susan Wolfe
Travel & Lodging Committee Rep
Revolution March 2008
travlodge@revolutionmarch.com

[Susan Wolfe]

To those of you who did pay your deposit for the charter, we thank you. Unfortunately, there was not enough demand to be able to place the deposits for the charters, and we have lost the bid. I will refund the deposits to those who did make their payments, until such a time as we are able to confirm other arrangements.

I sincerely apologize that the charter company placed such a strict demand on the deposit. Unfortunately, they were unwilling to make an adjustment for our event.

In NO way does this mean that we are giving up. We still have every intention of doing the Ronvoy. The Travel & Lodging Committee is working hard to get new transportation lined up, and we think we've succeeded in making arrangements for everyone that will be both more affordable than flying, and will also allow us to camp, along the way, and once we're in DC.

So, bear with us...look for us to announce the new transportation arrangements on Monday night! Thank you for your patience, and we look forward to the announcement.

Susan

[asgardshill]

Now that the deal with this charter company has fallen through due to their apparent intransigence, isn't it time to name them publically? It would be a public service to tell everybody the name of this outfit that foolishly throws away business with their "my way or the highway" attitude (no pun intended). I know if I were organizing something like this in future, I would want to know who was willing to work with me and who wasn't.

[Susan Wolfe]

The company was USA Bus Charter. I found it almost impossible to believe that they refused to work with us on the deposit. I wonder when was the last time they had $250,000 of business in one ten day period offered to them before...

That is not the only reason we are not going with them. After working with one National Sales manager for weeks, securing all routes and obtaining the per person rate - they contacted me on Friday and told me that they did not allow ONE Sales Manager to handle a group our size. (I was not aware of this - but regardless - they should have made an exception for a group our size, if I was satisfied with the service we were receiving.) They told me I HAD to be assigned a different manager for each city. And they told me that they would have to do the entire proposal over and come up with new rates.

However - what we are coming up with now is absolutely confirmed - secured with confirmation numbers in hand. Rates are at $200-250 per person INCLUDING FUEL, round trip - even from the West Coast. AND...the BEST PART!!! We will be able to camp. The charter company required that we provide hotel lodging, at least for the driver. Now, we won't have to do that.

I'm so excited it's driving me CRAZY!!! But I can't let the cat out of the bag regarding our new plan. We will be finalizing all the details on Monday evening, and then that night, stay tuned, because we will be announcing the new plans for transportation for Ronvoy to DC, along with campground rates (and hotels, for those who want them).

Also, we are almost finished securing all hotel group rates in the DC area, and that information should also be available within the week - at that time, hotels and rates will be posted on the meetup (and a link here), and people can just begin going to town with hotels in DC!

PLUS!!! We have almost finalized campground in DC reservations. We think this is such a great idea! We look forward to camping out with 20k of our closest friends!

So stay tuned ... vive la r3VOLution!

Susan