Dear Ameya,

We'd like to get started working out the details for your upcoming 'Open Gate Sangha 2/17' program from Sunday, 02/12/17 to Friday, 02/17/17 at Mount Madonna Center. This initial email contains information to help you plan your program and requests some information from you as well, to help us with planning.

When responding to this message, please use the 'Reply All' feature of your email program so that all staff involved in preparing for your event can keep up with our correspondence.

HOUSING PROCEDURES

(Please refer to your contract for housing rates and payment and cancellation policies.)

As soon as you start getting requests for housing, let us know so that your guests have a better chance of getting their first preferences for housing. Make sure you get a second choice in case first choices aren't available. While we have agreed to provide lodging for your maximum number of participants, we don't guarantee providing lodging preferences.

Once you have reserved a room for that guest, you become financially obligated to pay for that space no matter if the guest attends. You may wish to pass on that cost to any guest who cancels. Reserve rooms only when you are committing to pay for them.

14 days prior to the start date of your rental is the last date we can guarantee housing for your group. If we receive requests for housing after that point, we do not guarantee accommodation, even if you haven't met your contractual maximum yet. Of course, we will continue to accommodate requests as we can. You can assign up to as many people to a room as there are beds

Any indoor housing reservations made less than one week before the start date of your program incur a $10 late charge that you may wish to pass on to your participants. Outdoor housing reservations incur a similar late charge of $5.

In order to assist you in the housing process, we have provided you with the following weblink where you can fill in the names of your workshop guests. This is a preliminary housing grid to get you started, but you'll need to let us know how many and what types of additional rooms you would like to reserve as soon as possible, and we will then add them to the grid as reservations for your group.

http://www.mountmadonna.org/cgi-bin/grid?code=TBXEOI

Simply enter your guests' names and then click on the "Submit" link. Whichever way you arrange housing for your participants, we need to know 14 days before your arrival the occupancy of each room you've reserved.

Please note that for any housing space reserved on your final web housing grid, you are agreeing to pay for at least one bed in that space for the duration of your retreat.

A note about our rooms: You can assign up to as many people to a room as there are beds (e.g. a 4-bed room can be used as a dorm, triple, double, or single). We determine cost based on how many people, not beds, are in the room (i.e., one person in a dorm room gets the single rate, not the dorm rate.

Also, please inform any of your camping guests that the campgrounds are a 5-10 minute walk from the central area. If they do not have a vehicle, and cannot hand-carry their equipment, it may be best if they request indoor housing.

GUEST CONFIRMATION INFORMATION

We've attached a template document modeled after the confirmation note that we automatically send to Mount Madonna guests when they register for our programs and retreats. You can modify this document to fill in the gate codes, particular times and dates of your program, and include it with information that you provide to your guests when they register with you.

GATE CODE

We have a gate that closes each night at 7:00 pm (closed all day on Sundays). The code to enter the property after hours: #8305. The pound sign is part of the code and each key must be entered without pause. If guests are staying in the Oaks cabins/campgrounds behind the school, the code for the upper gate is 18305. No pound sign is required for entrance into the Oaks area.

In the confirmation letter template described above, there is a field for you to enter this gate code so that it will be distributed to all your guests.

SCHEDULE

Please refer to your contract for meal times so that you can schedule your meeting times accordingly. Saturday's snack is typically served in your meeting space at 1:00 pm. If your group is having lunch on Sunday, it will be served at 12:30 pm in the Community Building, otherwise, a Sunday snack will be served in your meeting space at 12:30 pm.

As part of your schedule, we need to arrange a time for one of our staff to give a 25 minute orientation on your start date and a 10 minute wind-up on your end date. The orientation provides valuable information about our center's services, amenities, and policies. The wind-up gives additional information as well as an opportunity to share feedback with us about your experience. How do 7:00 pm and 12:00 pm work for orientation and wind-up, respectively?

Please send us a schedule of your meeting times, taking into consideration the items listed above, so that our events staff can attend to your meeting space at times least disruptive to your group.

MEETING SPACE SET-UP

Your meeting space is in the CC Main, Maple Room, Orchard House Main, Seminar House Main, Willow Room, and Jasmine Room. Please let us know what equipment you want and any preferences for arrangements. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:

Backjacks
Chairs
Pillows
Audio/Visual equipment
Flipcharts, whiteboards, easels, markers
Tables (standard folding tables & low alter tables)
Risers, Lecterns
Yoga props

Please be as specific as possible about any preferences for set-up and seating so that we may most closely meet your needs. Please also have all requests in no later than 10 days before your start date. We cannot guarantee fulfilling any requests made less than 10 days in advance of your start date, but we will always attempt to.

SOUND EQUIPMENT

Would you like a sound system in your meeting space? If so, what kind of sound equipment would you like us to provide?

SATURDAY YOGA

If your group has both the time and inclination to attend our Saturday morning yoga class from 7:30 am to 9:45 am, please let me know so that we may secure a space that will accommodate you.

MAP

Also attached is a map of our "downtown" area where you can locate your meeting space. When you and/or your rental coordinator arrive please come to the Programs Office in the Community Building. We will provide each of your guests an information packet, which will include this map as well as an information sheet (also attached for your reference) that lists meal and yoga times and our center's services and policies.

FOOD SERVICE

Please let me know of any guests with special dietary restrictions no later than one week before the start date of your event. We cannot guarantee that we can accommodate specific dietary needs, but we will do what we can. If we cannot accommodate a dietary need, we will let you know so that the person with that need can decide whether or not to attend. The attached "MMC Food" document describes some options for folks with a restricted diet.

TRANSPORTATION

Please refer to the following site on our website for directions and transportation:

https://www.mountmadonna.org/transportation-directions

BOOKS

If you have a moment, the bookstore would like to support your workshop by offering a selection of books featuring topics aligned with your retreat focus. Are there any titles you would like to recommend? If yes, please email any book recommendations to our Oceanview Books and Gifts store. Their email address is:

oceanview@mountmadonna.org