:: ANNUAL MEETING HOTEL SPECIFICATIONS ::

Would you and your school, or a consortium of schools in your area, like to host an ASLH Annual Meeting?  If so, please contact the Chair of the Standing Committee on Conferences and the Annual Meeting, Prof. Craig Joyce of the University of Houston Law Center, at cjoyce@uh.edu.

As a national society, ASLH likes to rotate the location of Annual Meeting sites around the country.  See the list of prior sites to gain a sense of where we have been in recent years as well as future sites for availability. In addition to geographical diversity, the Society attempts to pick interestingly different sites, e.g ., San Diego in 2002 and Washington, D.C., in 2003.  Meetings typically are scheduled for the second week in November, when hotel availability and rates tend to be optimal for the Society.

Whatever the location of the Annual Meeting, the Society has certain hotel requirements that must be met.  In addition to "room share" arrangements and occasionally a secondary, less expensive hotel to hold down members' costs in attending the meeting, all ASLH Annual Meetings require a principal hotel with the following features (and, ideally, room rates under $175 per night):

Sleeping Rooms

Wednesday             5 rooms
(prior to start of meeting)
Thursday                 150 rooms
Friday                     175 rooms
Saturday                  150 rooms

Meeting Rooms

Five rooms (8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday) for program panels. One of these rooms should accommodate an audience of 125 persons (theater style), with a long table and podium for speakers/panelists at the front of the room.  The other four rooms should accommodate audiences of between 50 and 100 persons (theater style),  with a long table and podium for speakers/panelists at the front of the room.

1. A room near the meeting rooms for a book display.  Ideally, this room should be at least 750 square feet.
2. A large lobby area where we can set up two six foot tables for registration, serve a continental breakfast and afternoon refreshments (for 150-200 persons), and provide a place for those attending to mingle and sit in small groups.
3. A room for an opening night reception (6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. on Thursday) that  accommodates 150-175 persons.  This reception may be held off-site, but should we want to have it in the hotel, we like to make sure that we have the space available.
4. A  large room (5:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. on Friday) that will accommodate 250 persons for a plenary lecture.
5. A large room for our Saturday luncheon that will accommodate 250 persons at round tables set for 8 or 10 persons.

In recent years, ASLH Annual Meetings have drawn as many as 400 attendees.  Where possible, local arrangements committees plan for outings to local legal historical sites (e.g., John Marshall's home in Richmond), either for receptions or as optional trips for attendees.  A modest amount of local fundraising generally assists in enhancing Annual Meeting quality.

 Let us hear from you if you are interested!