2009 National FFA Convention Housing
The 82nd National FFA Convention in Indianapolis has the potential to be the biggest and best to date! The growth of this event during the past 19 years has created some significant capacity concerns. Indianapolis provides solutions with more seating space and hotel rooms in close proximity to the convention facilities. The national FFA convention staff has taken time to develop a housing process that will provide:
- Increased room availability for individual chapter requests and state blocks
- Guaranteed room rates and caps on annual rate increases
- Ease and efficiency of the housing process with the assistance of experienced travel counselors at the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association.
FFA has contracted nearly 13,000 hotel rooms in Indianapolis. This system provides fair distribution of these rooms and provides individual chapters an equal opportunity to access rooms close to the convention facilities, while still allowing states the liberty to organize travel. Neither the states nor individual chapters have an advantage over the other.
If you don’t have hotel reservations for your chapter, there’s still a little time, but your choices may be limited. Refer to the convention website on ffa.org for up-to-date housing information. Follow the steps below to secure your accommodations. The deadline for housing forms to be received by National FFA Convention Housing is Sept. 8.
The Convention Housing Process
National FFA Convention housing is closed – if you need hotel rooms or have questions please contact the FFA Housing Bureau – 317-684-2573.
Important Dates and Information
Sept. 8, 2009
Housing forms, deposits and rooming lists must be received by this date.
Oct. 9, 2009
Rooms cancelled on or after this date may result in forfeiture of the $50 deposit per room and a charge of one night’s room and tax per cancelled room.
Additional Housing Information
Purchase Order
Arrangements to pay the final hotel bill by purchase order must be made in advance directly with the hotel. A purchase order may not be an acceptable form of payment at some hotels.
Late Arrivals
If you will be arriving after the reservation check-in day, please contact the hotel in advance to inform them of the change in arrival date. Not providing advanced notice to the hotel may result in forfeiture of deposit, a charge of one night’s room and tax and loss of rooms.
Early Departures
An early departure fee of one night’s room and tax may be charged to a guest who departs prior to the reserved check-out date. Guests wishing to avoid this fee must advise the hotel at or before check-in of any change in the scheduled length of stay. The hotel will inform the guest of this fee upon check-in giving the guest the option to change the check-out date upon arrival without penalty.
Reserving Rooms for Other Chapters?
If you are reserving rooms for other chapters and each chapter will pre-register for convention independently, please make sure you indicate on the chapter housing form the chapters and the number of rooms allotted to each chapter. We want to make sure each chapter gets the preconvention registration discount for utilizing the National FFA Housing block. If you have already submitted your chapter form and need to update this information, please contact housing@ffa.org.
Changing Your Reservations
If you have already been assigned rooms through the housing bureau and need to make changes to your assignment, please submit them in writing to
2009 National FFA Convention Housing
P.O. Box 7248
Indianapolis, IN 46207-7248
Fax: 317-684-2492
Changes cannot be made over the phone and will be accepted in writing by the National FFA Convention Housing Bureau through Sept. 18. After Sept. 23, contact your hotel directly. Cancellations made on or after Oct. 9 may result in forfeiture of deposit and additional charges of the first night room rate and tax by the hotel.
Stay Safe in Your Hotel
Share these important tips with your students as you prepare them for their trip to Indianapolis.
- Read the emergency instructions on the back of your hotel room door. Familiarize yourself with the fire escape route.
- Do not leave your door open and always use the dead bolt.
- Do not open your hotel door to anyone you don’t personally know. Call the front desk to verify hotel staff, security guards and others requesting entrance to your room.
- If you encounter questionable individuals, report them to the front desk.
- Do not leave valuables out in the open. Many hotels provide lock boxes for your security.
2009 National FFA Convention Housing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The following questions and answers are provided to further explain the Indianapolis housing process.
When did the individual chapter housing process start for the 2009 Convention?
January 2009
Will a deposit be required?
Yes.
For the national FFA convention, you will be required to pay a $50 (non-refundable) deposit for each room requested. The room deposit must be included when you submit the Chapter Housing Request Form.
Can I use my debit card for my reservation?
Yes.
To use a debit card for incidentals and final room bill, most hotels will require the guest to sign a Debit Card Disclaimer. This documentation states that your bank will withhold the amount of the room per night from your account, even if you do not use the debit card as payment at check-out. It is advised that you contact your assigned hotel to request their debit card policy prior to using this form of payment.
Are individual chapters and states competing for the same hotels?
No, rooms for individual chapters and rooms for state blocks have been divided into two separate groups. The two groups of rooms were assigned through a separate but random and fair process. The rooms have been divided into the two groups using the following guidelines:
- Both individual chapter and state blocks have been allocated rooms within five miles of the national FFA convention facilities that are not being used for convention staff and special guests.
- Rooms within a five to 35-mile radius of the convention facilities have been divided with 70 percent for individual chapters and 30 percent for state blocks.
Login to MyFFA to access 2009 Indianapolis Chapter Housing Hotel Information and Map and the Indianapolis Chapter Housing Request Form.
The Convention website is sponsored in part by STIHL as a special project of the National FFA Foundation.
