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From our sponsors:
Wiley

Welcome to the BlogHer Conference Newsletter.

Last week, we brought you a Very Important BlogHer '08 Update about The Hotel Situation at the Westin St. Francis. So for this week's BlogHer '08 report I thought, Hey! For something completely different, let's provide a Very Important Update about The Hotel Situation at the Westin St. Francis. Because we're nothing if not clever around here.

In all seriousness, we DO have additional information for you about the hotel goings-on. And not just reservations-related, either. We've also got a fantastic report from BlogHer's own Liz Henry about the accessibility of the conference to and for those with disabilities. Her review is comprehensive, and something all attendees will benefit from reviewing.

In other conference news, we move back East...and announce that the first stop on BlogHer's Reach Out Tour is open for registration. BlogHer BOSTON '08 is on!

BlogHer '08: Hotel Rooms Still Available...But Not For Long. What You Need To Know To Get A Room!
The Westin St. Francis is a lovely hotel in downtown San Francisco and we are doing all we can to ensure that while BlogHer '08 is going on, no one else in the whole world can stay there.

I'm only partly kidding.

We have upped our room block again, and have secured as many rooms (and as many rooms with two beds) as the hotel will allow. Yay! But also, we're at about 80% capacity. So we really urge you to make your reservation as soon as possible.

:::Important: If you get an error message:::
As we have learned with just about every online hotel reservations system, it's convenient, but not very flexible or intuitive.

If, for example, you go to make reservations for Wednesday through Saturday, and ONLY Wednesday night is sold out, the system will tell you that NO rooms are available for ANY of your nights. (Crazy, right?) This can sometimes happen if you select a certain type of room as well.

Therefore, if you run into any error message using the online system, PLEASE call the hotel reservations number. The reservationist can help get to the bottom of your issue, and in many cases resolve it. Please see this post for more information.

You can make your hotel reservations by clicking here, or call the reservations line: (866) 379-0399.

BlogHer '08 Conference & Hotel Accessibility
Liz posted this week about the accessibility of the Westin St. Francis, and I highly recommend you read her entire post.

She gives the venue good overall marks:
My rollthrough of the Westin St. Francis Hotel filled me with confidence that this was a good hotel choice. Westin on wheels, baby! There are signs everywhere, good elevators, decent bathrooms, and while the hotel layout was a little bit spread out, it was doable. (Unlike scarily huge places like Navy Pier or, say, Moscone Convention Center.) What a fancy hotel, by the way, and I love the fancy scrolly things and the giant chandeliers and all that stuff. Wow. It's pretty. It's SWANKY.

She also points out some important things for those attendees who are able-bodied (aka "walkies") to keep in mind, such as:
The numerous staircases in every corner of the building are great for me because the elevators will be less crowded. Take the stairs if you feel up to it, you walkies!

Liz concludes her post, in part, with the following:
I hope to see some of my fellow bloggers with disabilities at BlogHer 2008. If you have any questions or particular needs please feel free to contact me. And, come say hi, and admire my SPARKLY LIGHT UP WHEELS.

Please note: the sparkly lights are way cool.

BlogHer '08 Reach Out Tour: BlogHer BOSTON Is Open For Registration!
Woo Hoo!

By now you've (hopefully) heard that BlogHer is taking our show on the road. We're bringing the highlights of our comprehensive annual event to six cities down the Eastern Seaboard. Each of these one-day events will feature general sessions and targeted sessions, and conclude with a cocktail reception. The fee to attend a full-day conference and reception is only $100.

We're kicking our tour off in Boston on Saturday, October 11. Details about the agenda and speakers are coming soon, but we can tell you now that the event will be taking place at the Boston Marriott Burlington. Located only a few minutes outside of Boston, the hotel is easy to get to from the airport (under 20 miles) and offers free on-site parking. To learn more about the hotel and its amenities, please click here.

We have reserved a block of rooms for BlogHer attendees at the discounted rate of only $139/night (a great deal, given that it's prime foliage season in New England). Hotel reservations can be made by clicking here or calling 800.228.9290.

Click here to register for BlogHer BOSTON '08!

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From our sponsors:
Intuit
Intuit is committed to helping bloggers and small business owners succeed. Here are electronic versions of the handy resources we made available at BlogHer Business ’08:
Intuit's "Get Back to Business" Survey found that small business owners are optimistic about their businesses despite uncertain economic conditions. Intuit's Word of Mouth Marketing Kit is designed to help make it super simple to spread the word about all the great things you blog about. And it's easy to get your questions answered by other small businesses at JumpUp.com, a free website from Intuit.

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You can always keep track of where BlogHer is presenting content in our Press Center. And, you can still keep up with the latest conference news via the BlogHer Conferences website.

Best,
Kristy
For Elisa, Jory and Lisa

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