Looking for a location for the KM Summit

I faxed off the Solicitation for Submissions for Meeting Room & Lodging to the following properties:

• JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort & Spa
• Residence Inn Las Vegas Henderson/Green Valley
• Courtyard Las Vegas Henderson/Green Valley
• Courtyard Las Vegas Summerlin
• Fairfield Inn & Suites Las Vegas South
• Courtyard Las Vegas South
• Residence Inn Las Begas Hughes Center
• Fairfield Inn Las Vegas Airport
• Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel
• Courtyard Las Vegas Convention Center
• Residence Inn Las Vegas Convention Center
• Las Vegas Marriott Suites
• SpringHill Suites Las Vegas Convention Center
• Residence Inn Houston Clear Lake
• Residence Inn Houston Northwest/Willowbrook
• SpringHill Suites Houston Pearland
• Residence Inn Houston Downtown/Convention Center
• Residence Inn Houston Intercontinental Airport at Greenspoint
• SpringHill Suites Houston Hobby Airport
• Residence Inn Houston Westchase on Westheimer
• SpringHill Suites Houston Medical Center/Reliant Park
• Residence Inn Houston-West University

The solicitation/request is the same as I posted earlier with the addition of one sentence: Please submit proposals no later than 30 October 2008. We will be reviewing proposals and making a decision by November 10.

Some observers of my process have questioned why I do this work myself, rather than relying on the good folks who do procurement for a living. The answer is short and simple: I can usually get the meeting room comped based on the lodging rooms, so there's no additional cost to the government. Never have the procurement folks been able to match that. Generally, they will end up paying for the meeting room, to the tune of $250-500 (or more) a day, in addition to the lodging rooms at perdiem. The other reason is just as compelling: When I do it, there aren't any surprises. I primarilly use Marriott properties because the consistency is always there, and I know what I'm getting. We haven't been so lucky at other times.

Why Las Vegas or Houston? Las Vegas because it is the cheapest city when comparing air fare and full perdiem costs to most other cities. Every time I run the numbers, Vegas wins. Why Houston? Houston is the home to APQC, a member organization that focuses on performance excellence with a strong bent toward knowledge management. The Coast Guard is a contributing member to APQC, and I am hoping that, if we have the KM Summit in Houston, Carla O'Dell, the president of APQC, will speak to us (at no cost).

Bottom line: a month from now we'll have the Summit location locked down, and we'll then be able to work on content.