Hello! It’s Maureen, Director of Meetings and Events, at NFCYM. Housing your NCYC group can seem a little complicated, but it does not have to be that way. Here are a couple of my tips and tricks when choosing the right housing solution for your group.
The NCYC Housing Block
The easiest way to book housing is to do so through the NCYC housing block. Our housing block features most hotels located in downtown Long Beach and are close to the convention center. Booking within our housing block will not only be convenient but also will save you money. The housing block also supports NCYC. So do yourself a favor and book within the housing block to support the conference you love and keep your housing simple.
Which Hotel is Best for Me?
There are many options to choose from within the housing block list. Every hotel has different features and some may fit your group’s needs more than others. To help, here are some things to consider when choosing your hotel:
- How many people will be in your group and who will be part of your group? Each group will have different demographics. Groups can consist of teens, chaperones, clergy, and religious.
- How many different room types do you need and how many rooms will you need? To calculate how many rooms you will need, we recommend starting with 3 teens per room. Then, chaperones, religious, and clergy each will need their own room. This will influence what room types you book depending on who will be sharing a room and who will be on their own.
- How will you be traveling to NCYC? Will you have to house your bus drivers? If you will be traveling by bus or van, consider a hotel with parking that can accommodate your travel method. Sometimes you may need to house the bus driver as well depending on the company.
- Will you need breakfast? Some hotels will have continental breakfast every day. Others will not. Depending, you may find it advantageous to find a hotel that will have this to keep your costs for food down and add another convenience to your experience.
- Will you need a meeting space? Some groups like to hold pre- and post-day programming with their group. If you plan on doing this, consider a hotel that has a rentable meeting space.
How to Book Your Hotel?
To book your room, purchase tickets first and then create an account in the portal. Having signed into the portal, you will see an option to choose either “Request 10 or Less Rooms” or “Request 11+ Rooms”. Requesting 10 or less rooms is as easy as entering your credit card but requesting more than 10 rooms will require a bit more of a process. Enter information about your group and then choose your preferences. We will then choose the best and most available hotel for your group’s needs.
