Parties: Information and Resources

Party Space

All parties must be held on the party floors in the Sheraton (North Tower) or in function space designated for parties.

You must have specified "party block" on your reservation to get a room on a party floor. If you want to hold a party and did not specify "party block" on your reservation, please let us know as soon as possible at parties@noreascon.org. As of mid-May the party block (along with the rest of the hotel) is sold out, but we'll try to see if we can switch rooms around to get you one of the ones on a party floor.

If you have questions about a suite assignment, you must e-mail suites@noreascon.org.

All of the large party suites in the Sheraton have been booked. We allocated suites to as many of the individuals and groups requesting them as possible, although we were not always able to give people the exact suite configurations they wanted nor all of the nights that they requested.

There are still some non-party suites available at the Marriott.

We expect that there will be a bumper crop of parties at Noreascon 4, beginning on Thursday, September 2 and running through the end of the Dead Dog Party.

Party Guidelines

Party hosts are responsible for the behavior of any party attendees who are not members of the convention.

Publicizing Your Party

Party fliers may not be taped to any surface of the hotel. You may use static sheets to post information and flyers. Noreascon will have a central party board for posting party information and may in addition designate other areas for posting party fliers. We'll let you know where the party board will be closer to the convention.

At the con, you can submit your party information to the convention newsletter, which will be distributed throughout the convention.

Food and Drink

You can bring in your own supplies and food for parties held in sleeping rooms. Corkage rules have been waived for all parties being held in sleeping space. We will discuss function space corkage rules individually with the parties that are being held in function space.

If you are planning to serve alcohol at your party, please be discreet. Do not:

• Ask a store or supermarket to deliver alcohol to the hotel.
• Have any liquor bottles visible when checking in to the hotel or passing through the lobby. (In other words, use closed non-liquor cardboard cartons for any alcohol when taking it through the lobby.)

Remember that the legal drinking age in Massachusetts is 21. You will be responsible for checking the IDs of anyone at your party.

No cooking or heating of food is permitted in hotel rooms. The hotel's fire alarm systems are sensitive; cooking fumes/steam can set them off. If you want to serve hot food at your party, please order it from the hotel.

A limited supply of mini-refrigerators will be available from the hotel. Please notify them early if you need one. The likely cost to rent a refrigerator is $10/day, which will be confirmed closer to the con. The hotel prohibits the use of larger refrigerators.

Please remember to bring supplies for clean-up (trash bags, etc.) along with your food, drinks, and other supplies.

There are ice machines available on the guest floors of the hotel. Ice may be kept in your guest room bathtub, but please take care not to scratch the tub. Cushioning it with towels and plastic trash bags has often worked in the past.

Working with the Hotel — Rooms and Housekeeping

Furniture may not be removed from hotel guest rooms.

Do NOT move beds in sleeping rooms at the Sheraton. The beds cannot be shifted without damaging them. Please factor this into your plans when setting up for your party.

Maid service will start later in the morning than usual, to accommodate convention schedules. Afternoon maid service will be limited. If you will need your room cleaned in the afternoon, please contact the hotel housekeeping staff and let them know.

Please remember to tip the hotel staff to show your appreciation for all their hard work. Standard tips are $1 per bag for a bellman, and $2 per day for a maid.

If you have a party, plan to tip $5–$10 per party night. Tip $20 per party night if you have a suite.

Sheraton check-out is at noon. Some late checkouts may be available; please contact the hotel if you expect to need this service. Late checkout is on an availability basis.

Do your best to leave your hotel room in the same condition in which you found it (if not better). Remember that you are responsible for any damage to the room, including the carpet and bathtub. The hotel will bill you (and charge your credit card) for any damage.

Parties in Function Space

Hosts having parties in function space should leave the room(s) in the same condition in which they found it (if not better) at the end of the party.

Party Host Advice

Good party-host advice can be found at Grant Kruger's How to Host a Convention Party page.

Before you go shopping, check out our Local Resources page.

If you have a question which is not covered here, please e-mail parties@noreascon.org.