Registration Instructions

Here are the key details to remember when registering and making hotel reservations for the Spring Conference. This registration process includes both your conference registration through the ISAC website and your hotel accommodations through the online housing system. Thanks in advance for your understanding in these registration requirements.

1. Before you are able to reserve a hotel room, you must register for the 2020 ISAC Spring Conference. Registration will open on Wednesday, January 8 for conference registrations and at 8:30 am on January 14 for hotels. Tutorial on how to get registered in the system and register for a meeting.
2. After registering for the Spring Conference on the ISAC website, you will receive an email confirmation from ISAC. This email will include: confirmation of conference registration; instructions and a link to reserve your hotel room through the Meetingmax Online Housing System. The link will become active at 8:30 am on January 14; and a 10-digit ISAC ID which is mandatory for each individual hotel room. In addition to your 10-digit ISAC ID number, you will need a credit card to make your reservation. This credit card is to hold your room and will not be charged unless there is a cancellation fee.
3. You may only reserve ONE hotel room per conference registration. This is a first come, first served registration system and the name on the reservation must match the name of the meeting registration. You are more than welcome to share a double room with another conference attendee. Please have only one of the two individuals who wants to share a room request a double room through online housing. If you are sharing a room please list all roommates in the online housing system. If you are registering more than one individual in your county, you will need to register and make each hotel reservation individually, but you may use the same credit card.
4. In addition to the conference room block at the Hilton Des Moines Downtown ($145/night plus taxes), the Downtown Des Moines Marriot will serve as our overflow conference hotel and will provide complimentary shuttle service to/from the convention center. To receive the special ISAC conference rates and services, all conference hotel accommodations must be reserved through the online housing system after registering for the conference and before Thursday, February 13. Click here for conference hotel accommodations and more information.
5. Please DO NOT call any of the ISAC conference hotels to book your hotel accommodations. Hotel room reservations made at ISAC conference hotels will NOT be valid if you call and reserve a room or reserve a room on a hotel website. You must go through the online housing system after registering for the conference to reserve a hotel room.
6. After following the step-by-step hotel registration process through the Meetingmax Online Housing System, you will receive an acknowledgement email immediately from the Des Moines Housing Bureau. The acknowledgement email will contain your hotel location, room type/rate, arrival/departure date, credit card information, and change request link. This hotel reservation acknowledgement confirms your sleeping room for the conference, so please save this email. Within a week of registering for a hotel room, the hotel (you selected and that is listed on your acknowledgement email) will send you a hotel confirmation number. Both the acknowledgement and confirmation emails will contain a change request link in case you should need to make any changes or cancellations to your reservation. Please make sure to read both emails to confirm your stay and to avoid any errors.

**If you did not receive an acknowledgement email from the Des Moines Housing Bureau within a business day of making your hotel reservation online, please check your spam folder. If it’s not in your spam folder, please contact Jayne at 800.451.2625 or 515.699.3446.

The ISAC conference room blocks will only be available until 4:00 pm on Thursday, February 13. After this date, the ISAC conference room blocks will be closed and the special conference rates will be unavailable. Please make all changes or cancellations to your hotel accommodations prior to Thursday, March 5 through the change link request link in your email confirmation.

After Thursday, March 5 it is your responsibility to call the hotel directly if you decide to cancel or change your room reservation. The change request link will no longer be active through your acknowledgement email.  However, please remember that there is an ISAC Hotel Cancellation Policy. It will be in effect for the 2020 ISAC Spring Conference. No cancellations will be accepted and no refunds will be given after Monday, February 3. If you choose to cancel your hotel reservation completely, you will be charged a cancellation fee, which is one night’s lodging plus taxes, to the credit card on file. Name changes on guest room reservations will be accepted. This policy was instituted by the ISAC Board of Directors on July 25, 2008.

Please book your conference hotel needs within the official conference room block. Staying at our contracted conference hotels is important to ISAC, to the destination where we are holding this meeting, and ultimately…even to YOU!

When you book a hotel room outside of the block a contracted hotel room goes unsold, and unfortunately, ISAC could be penalized with unnecessary hotel fees. In addition, the inability to prove the actual number of hotel rooms occupied weakens our negotiation power for future hotel rates. The Greater Des Moines CVB is funded based on its ability to fill the contracted room goals. This means that it doesn’t have as much funding to provide the services that assist the success of the meeting. Please support ISAC by reserving your sleeping room at one of our official conference hotels. Think of it as securing our combined long term interests versus saving a few dollars today!

ISAC will assist in securing the hotel reservations for the following people: ISAC board of directors; ISAC past presidents; affiliate presidents; and individuals with disabilities.  For those individuals with disabilities, ISAC will require you to provide a medical note stating that you have a disability which requires you to stay at the conference hotel by 4:30 pm on Thursday, February 13. Unfortunately, we will be unable to accommodate requests after that deadline. According to the ISAC Board of Directors policy, all other county officials are responsible for making their own room reservations.

For further questions contact Kelsey Sebern at ksebern@iowacounties.org or 515.244.7181.