2008 GCER Housing Options
Important Housing Information for the Global Conference
We have recently learned that there are some large events happening in our area that overlap the Global Conference on Educational Robotics. Because of these large events, hotel accommodations in the Norman area have been virtually depleted. Our block at the Marriott Residence Inn has been completely booked and there are no additional rooms available at that hotel and very few (if any) available anywhere else in Norman.
Botball Headquarters has been working hard on some solutions to make sure that everyone who wants to come to the conference has a place to stay. We have several options for teams who have not yet reserved rooms for the conference. HOWEVER, WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO MAKE YOUR CONFERENCE HOTEL ARRANGEMENTS IMMEDIATELY! After the end of May there may be no options left!
Information regarding the previous accommodations at the Marriott Residence Inn can be found at the bottom of this page.
OPTION ONE:
This option MUST be selected on or before Wednesday, June 18 at 5 pm CDT.
For questions about accommodations at Purcell motels please contact Marci Corey at 405-579-4609 or mcorey@kipr.org.
We have a block of rooms at two motels in the city of Purcell, which is a small town on the outskirts of Norman. Both motels are located right on the Interstate into Norman and the drive time between Purcell and the Norman venue should be about 20 minutes. There is a third motel in Purcell, but they don’t reserve blocks of rooms. It is my understanding that they do have rooms available for the dates of the conference so that is another option.
All three of the motels are within a short walking distance of each other, a Super Walmart and a variety of food options. The Purcell Public Pool and a small, scenic lake area are also close by.
To reserve a room in our Purcell block please see the instructions below:
Ruby’s Inn and Restaurant
405-527-5577
2105 S Green Ave
Purcell, OK 73080
Make a Reservation: Botball will assist you with your reservation at this hotel. Visit this link to access the online reservation form. You will pay for the room by credit card upon arrival at the hotel. Each room will have two double beds and the rate at this motel for double occupancy is $56.68. It will cost an additional $3.27 per person with a maximum capacity of 4.
OR
Executive Inn of Purcell
405-527-5582
2118 S Green Ave
Purcell, OK 73080
Make a Reservation: For the Executive Inn, please call them directly and request one of the rooms in the block for the “Global Conference”. Each room will have two double beds and the rate at this motel for double occupancy is $56.68. It will cost an additional $1.00 per person with a maximum capacity of 4.
The third motel in Purcell (note: we do not have a block at this motel) can be reached at:
EconoLodge
405-527-5603
2500 S Green Ave
Purcell, OK 73080
OPTION TWO:
This option MUST be selected on or before Wednesday, June 18 at 5 pm CDT.
For questions about accommodations at the OU dorms please contact Andrew Swanson at 405-579-4609 or aswanson@kipr.org.
We are also pleased to be able to offer additional dorm rooms at the University of Oklahoma. Because of the lack of accommodations in Norman we have added this option for the 2008 GCER.
The OU dorms offer single or double occupancy and each pair of rooms shares a suite-style bathroom. The OU dorms are air-conditioned and come with linens, a towel and a washcloth. They are within walking distance of the student union, where the conference is being held. These rooms do not include food. The rate is a flat $100 per person in a double occupancy room or $200 for a single occupancy room for your entire conference stay. You may check in on July 7th (special arrangements must be made with KISS Institute for people wanting to check in on July 6th for pre-conference. Contact Andrew Swanson at aswanson@kipr.org ) and everyone must check out by July 12th. The rate remains the same no matter your check in or check out date, but you may not check in earlier then July 7th (unless special arrangements are made) or check out later then July 12th.
Make a Reservation: Botball will assist you with your dorm reservation. To reserve a dorm room please visit this link and complete our online reservation form. Botball will send an invoice for the total amount due on your OU dorm housing.
OPTION THREE:
This option should be taken advantage of ASAP before all the rooms in their blocks have been reserved.
Our good friends at the Norman Convention and Visitors Bureau (NCVB) have also offered to help get our conference attendees into local area hotels. The Norman CVB is arranging the hotel stays for one of the large events that will be in town around the same time as our Global Conference. They have offered to place our smaller groups (groups who need 1-5 hotel rooms) in some of the blocks they have reserved for their larger event. The have hotel blocks in Norman, Moore and Oklahoma City and, unfortunately, you will not have much choice in which hotel you stay at. They will simply put you where they have space. The prices of their block hotels range from the upper 50’s to lower 100’s per night. To work with the Norman CVB you can call 405-366-8095 and speak with Jane, Jennifer or Sherry.
OPTION FOUR:
You may have luck with smaller groups (1-3 rooms) by calling hotels in the Oklahoma City area on your own. It’s doubtful that any Norman hotels will have accommodations no matter how small your group is. The Norman CVB tells us that Value Place in south OKC does not do block arrangements and may have availability for our conference dates. They are located on Sunnylane and I-240, which is in close proximity to the Norman conference venue (20 minute drive).
Contact information for Value Place is:
Value Place
4112 E I 240 Service Rd
Oklahoma City, OK 73135
405-619-9495
Marriott Residence Inn
All rooms in this block have been reserved and the hotel does not have any additional room availability
Located on Highway 9, west of the University of Oklahoma, the Marriott Residence Inn has easy access from I-35 and Highway 9.
- Location: 2681 Jefferson Street, Norman, OK 73072
- Check in/Check out: Guests can check in starting at 3:00 pm on the day of arrival. Guests must check out by 12 noon on the day of departure.