What do I need to know about booking a hotel room?
In order to receive the discounted AVID group rate and special concessions, you must reserve an AVID-contracted hotel room through Maritz, the official housing provider for 2025 AVID Summer Institute.
Learn more about hotel accommodations on the city page of your desired Summer Institute.
A credit card is required to guarantee and hold your room reservation. This is strictly for guaranteeing. If you cancel your reservation after the specified Summer Institute deadline or do not arrive at the hotel on the check-in date selected, the hotel will charge a 1-night room and tax fee in addition to the 1-night room and tax AVID Housing cancellation fee, and your reservation will be cancelled. If you plan to use another form of payment, such as check or purchase order, or if you will be paying by credit card and the credit card holder will not be present at check-in, please contact the hotel directly. The hotel booking page will list exact dates for when to begin contacting the hotel to arrange payment.
The cancellation date for any reservation is approximately 8 weeks before the Institute begins so that unused rooms can be released back into inventory for other partners. The hotel booking page will have the exact date for cancellation. Name changes can be made up until arrival.
AVID does not handle any financial transactions for hotel rooms. The transaction is between you (as an individual, the school, or the school district) and the hotel.
Who can answer hotel-related questions?
Guests should contact Maritz, our official housing provider. Maritz’s contact information for each Summer Institute is listed on the city page of your desired Summer Institute.
Will AVID Care still answer Institute questions?
Yes, AVID Care is the primary customer service line for Summer Institute questions. If guests have questions about hotels or room blocks, AVID Care will provide the caller with the phone number and email address of Maritz’s customer service.
What happens if the guest calls the hotel directly to book a room or block of rooms?
The hotel will refer them to the event housing partner to reserve a room in the AVID block.
What happens if the guest wants to book a room directly with the hotel outside the block?
We encourage guests to book within the AVID room block, so they receive the group rate and special concessions, like complimentary Wi-Fi in their guest room, unless otherwise noted.
What should a guest do if they have already booked a block of rooms with the hotel directly?
Guests should cancel the block with the hotel and register the block with Maritz. This should be done before any cancellation fees apply to the original reservation.
What is the process of using a purchase order in lieu of a credit card to guarantee a room block?
All guests must use a credit card to create and guarantee their reservation.
If you plan to use another form of payment, such as check or purchase order, or if you will be paying by credit card and the credit card holder will not be present at check-in, please contact the hotel directly. The hotel booking page will list exact dates for when to begin contacting the hotel to arrange payment.
I guaranteed the rooms with a credit card, so are the rooms paid for?
No, payment for all rooms will be due at the time of check-in, directly to the hotel. If advance payment arrangements are required, please reach out to the hotel directly, approximately 2 weeks prior to the event. The hotel booking page will list the specific date. If the credit card holder will not be present at check-in, please be sure to contact the hotel for a credit card authorization form no later than 7 days prior to your arrival.
Does the requester have to provide names for each room when booking a block of rooms?
At the time the block is guaranteed, names are not required. The deadline in which unique names must be provided is approximately 8 weeks prior to the event. Maritz will accept name changes until 4 weeks prior to the event, and then the hotel will accept name changes until arrival. The booking page has all the dates of specific deadlines for your reference. You will also receive confirmations during the block request process with exact deadline dates for that specific Summer Institute.
When reserving a block of rooms, what is the difference between a “group name” and a “username”?
The “group name” is the school or school district name, while the “username” is the name that the user will use to log in to their account.
What happens if the requester doesn’t provide names for room blocks by the cancellation date?
Any rooms without names assigned at the deadline will be released. If you still have TBD names listed at the name deadline, a name will still need to be included. You may contact Maritz to change the names from TBD up until the cutoff date. After that, all changes for TBD names should be made directly with the hotel.
I made a reservation for the Waitlist Hotel. What should I expect?
Once all rooms in our block are reserved, Maritz will work with hotels to add additional rooms to our event blocks. As soon as those rooms are contracted, your reservation will be moved from the waitlist into a confirmed hotel, and you will receive a confirmation with those hotel details.
Please do not make a reservation directly with another hotel at this time, as Maritz is working to confirm your room. This process may take up to a couple of weeks, so if you do make other arrangements, please cancel your Waitlist Hotel reservation; otherwise, you will still be subject to cancellation penalties if you have duplicate reservations.
Can the requester book half of the rooms at one hotel and the other half at another hotel?
Yes, this type of request can be made through the Special Requests field on the event hotel booking page.
Can a guest reserve a room outside of the official conference dates?
Guests can request a room outside of the official conference dates based on availability. However, if the night you’re requesting isn’t available, you will be waitlisted. Please note that you may experience a waitlist status for up to a couple of weeks while Maritz works with the hotel to confirm your waitlisted nights. Once those nights have been confirmed, you will receive an updated confirmation via email. If the room nights are not available, you will be notified by email.
How does the guest know when the reservation has been accepted and completed?
Maritz will send the guest a confirmation email when a room is reserved through the housing platform. The hotel will send an additional confirmation email, with a hotel confirmation number, to the guest no later than 7 days before the event starts.
Is there a place to put a hotel reward number to get credit for the stay?
Yes, there is a space on the hotel booking page to add the hotel reward number.
How can a guest request special accommodations?
There is a place on the hotel booking page where the guest can indicate special accommodations.