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2012 11 27 NCEAS-BIEN WG Meeting

2012 11 27 NCEAS-BIEN WG Meeting

Oct 19, 2012

Schedule

Begin: Tuesday, November 27 at 8:30 AM

End: Friday, November 30 at 4:30 PM

(Domestic travelers and Canadians, please arrange your travel to arrive the evening before your meeting starts and depart the morning after your meeting ends. Travelers coming from outside the U.S. or Canada can arrange to come two days prior to the meeting for recovery time.)

Hotel Information

The Franciscan Inn Tel.: 805-963-8845

109 Bath Street Fax: 805-564-3295

Santa Barbara, CA 93101 www.franciscaninn.com/

Reservation Deadline: November 1, 2012

NCEAS has reserved a block of rooms at the hotel listed above. Please call to make reservations directly with the hotel by phone to ensure a booking in your name. The hotel will ask for a credit card to reserve the room; this is standard protocol for the hotel. Unless prior arrangements have been made to the contrary, NCEAS will be directly billed for your room. You will be responsible for any charges incurred above the negotiated NCEAS room rate, such as, room service, internet access etc. The hotel will provide a modest continental breakfast. Coffee and snacks will be provided at NCEAS during your meeting.

    • If you need to cancel your trip for any reason, you must call the hotel and cancel your reservation at least 48 hours in advance of your check-in date or you will be responsible for all charges assessed by the hotel.

Making Flight Arrangements
NCEAS provides pre-paid airfare to and from Santa Barbara. To book your flight, please go to NCEAS custom web-page with Santa Barbara Travel Bureau and fill out the travelers request form.www.sbtravel.com/nceas/.

**Please make your airfare arrangements as soon as possible. Airfare must be booked 21 days in advance of the date of travel or you will be responsible for any additional airfare costs. All flights must comply with the Fly America Act.

Your name will be on a list of approved pre-paid flights for the dates of your working group. If you need to further assistance by phone, please call Santa Barbara Travel Bureau at (800) 350-9333. Our account representatives, Teresa Weeks and Salina Gonzales, are available to you weekdays between the hours of 5:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. PST. Please request your travel dates to arrive the evening before your meeting starts and depart the morning after your meeting ends. For international travelers, we allow you to arrive up to two days prior to the start of the meeting to provide you time to recover from your journey. It is important that you contact Santa Barbara Travel Bureau with any problems or changes regarding your flight(s) before or during your travel. Do not contact the airline directly. If you need to contact them after hours, please call US: 866-249-8646 or International: 001 818-575-4313.

Should you need to make your own travel arrangements to and from NCEAS, NCEAS will reimburse for an advance purchase, direct, economy-class ticket. We have provided the following rates for you to use as guidelines for reimbursable amounts for air travel. Email nceas@nceas.ucsb.edu to ask for approval if your airfare will exceed these listed amounts.

$450 from Western US and Canada $600 from Midwestern US and Canada

$700 from Eastern US and Canada $1,100 from Western Europe and South America

$1,800 from Australia and Asia $2,000 from Africa

In order for a flight to be in compliance with the Fly America Act, the code of a U.S. flag air carrier must be noted as part of the flight number on the airline ticket, flight coupon (boarding pass), or passenger receipt. Each airline has a two letter alpha code. This two digit code is designated just to the left of the flight number. There are a few exceptions to the Fly America Act, please see the websites below for more information:

Open Skies Agreement: http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/103191

Fly America Act FAQs: http://procurement.caltech.edu/documents/72-useofunitedstatesflagaircarriers.pdf

Travel from the Airport to the Hotel

All air travel should be booked directly to Santa Barbara. Taxi cabs are available outside the Santa Barbara Airport terminal or you can call Lucky Cab (805) 968-5020 or Gold Cab Company (805) 685-9797, which offer a discount on your fare if you mention that you are visiting the Ecology Center. If you must fly to Los Angeles because you are unable to get a convenient direct flight to Santa Barbara, we recommend you arrange transportation on the Santa Barbara Airbus, www.sbairbus.com, which provides shuttle service from LAX to Santa Barbara. NCEAS will not reimburse for car rentals without prior approval.

Reimbursement Information

NCEAS will reimburse participants for the cost of ground transportation and meals. You will receive a packet containing visitor information and the necessary forms for reimbursement before the meeting. If you do not receive a packet, please contact one of the staff in the front office when you arrive at NCEAS. Unless prior arrangements have been requested, the cost of your hotel room will be directly billed to NCEAS. To reimburse you for your travel to and from airports and hotels we will need receipts from cab rides, bus rides, or other forms transportation related to your meeting.

Note regarding reimbursement to travelers from outside the United States: While at the meeting please allow our front office staff to make copies of your passport and visa or I-94 card as these are required to process your reimbursement claims for the meeting. We will also need for you to complete a “Declaration of Immigration Status” form which will be provided to you in your reimbursement packet.

Note to all Non-U.S. Citizens Regarding Reimbursement
(Please note requirements for non-US citizens coming to NCEAS under the Visa Waiver Program)

NCEAS recommends non-U.S. travelers coming from outside the United States carry a hard copy of this invitation as it may be required documentation when entering the United States. If you are entering the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), please note that your stay in the United States cannot exceed 90 days without a visa. Recent changes in the VWP require that visitors entering the United States from a VWP participating country obtain travel authorization via the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). Authorization must be obtained prior to boarding any carrier to the United States. ESTA information and application can be found at:

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/id_visa/esta/

It is very important that you complete your ESTA application prior to boarding your plane to the United States, as you may be refused entry if it has not been submitted and approved.

Please contact us at: nceas@nceas.ucsb.edu if you need information regarding obtaining a visa. As obtaining a visa can be a time-consuming process, we ask that you contact us as soon as possible.

We look forward to your visit to NCEAS.

Kristin Snyder Michelle Morris

NCEAS Business Officer NCEAS Events Coordinator

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