FIRST Robotics Competition Blog

Window Shopping for FIRST Championship Housing

Nov 20, 2017 Written by Frank Merrick.

 

”Championship Housing FIRST Robotics Competition Crammed in a Phone Booth

Championship housing will not be like this. Also, even if you can find a phone booth these days, don’t try this, very dangerous.

 

EDIT: As of 11/21/17, all hotel information has been fixed. We apologize for the confusion.

 

Thinking about attending FIRST Championship and wonder what housing will be available? We have some answers!

As you are likely aware, teams are assigned to a Championship location based on this map. Be sure to look on the second page for the 2018 map. Remember it’s the location of your team, not the event at which you may have earned your way to Championship, that matters. You will only be able to sign up for housing at the Championship to which you have been assigned based on your team location.

 

You can preview what housing will be available through the links below.

Houston

Detroit

A few quick notes on these lists:

  • PNW FRC teams have their own drop-down menu item as they are participating in a pilot housing program explained here.
  • Non-US teams also have their own drop-down menus. Non-US teams face many more challenges when it comes to traveling to our championship locations than US teams. In order to help with these challenges in a small way, a relatively small number of rooms are reserved close by the event venues to help alleviate this. The hotels available to both US and non-US teams are the same, though Non-US teams get first dibs on a relatively small number of rooms in a few of those hotels. This practice has been in place for a few years and has helped address the issue.

Housing registration will open on December 4th for pre-qualified teams and December 7th for non-prequalified teams. You are a pre-qualified team if you are on this list in the ‘Pre-Qualifying Teams’ section at the top of the page. More details on housing opening will be provided later!

Frank

Back to Blog

Comments

I searched Houston for FRC and got this note "Availability shown is based on an arrival of 4/18 and a departure of 4/20."  Do you anticipate teams not staying Friday or Saturday night?

Hi Alex! Thanks for bringing this to our attention. We are working on fixing the problem. I apologize for the confusion. Thanks! Jamee

Hi Alex! We have fixed the dates to reflect the correct time frame: 4/18 through 4/21. Please let us know if you have any other questions or concerns! Thanks! Jamee

The dates for Houston are not fixed.  It is still showing departure for April 20th.

Hello! We have noticed that the date is incorrect in some places. We are working on fixing them now. Thank you for letting us know! Jamee

Hopefully, we will not have to suffer though that mess, trying to get into the park.  They should have open all the gates, and let the teams in.  We walked away in line, and watched the matches from our hotel. 

If teams can start registering for housing now, will there be specific housing that will be reserved only for volunteers as most of us won't find out our assignments until much closer to Championship. 

Hello MK! There will be rooms set aside specifically for volunteers. Please note that volunteers won't be able to access the Housing Registration System until 1/8/18. Volunteers also must be assigned to Championship before rooms can be reserved. Thanks! Jamee

What time will housing registration open up?

Hi Nicole! Championship Housing Registration will open on Thursday, 12/7, at Noon ET. Thanks! Jamee

Hi.  I am confused about who can register for housing on 12/7.  Above it seems to be saying the pre-qualified teams can register for housing on 12/4, and all other teams can register for housing on 12/7.  I spoke to an Experient representative a few days ago and he told me that teams cannot access the housing reservations until they qualify.  May a "hopeful" team that isn't prequalified for Houston reserve housing on 12/7?  Thank you!

 

Hello Dori. It depends on where you are qualifying from. PNW teams are running through a pilot this year. Part of that program is that PNW teams are asked to wait until they qualify to register for Housing. You can read details on that pilot here: https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc/blog/2018-stay-with-first On 12/7, all other teams can register for Housing at Noon ET. Thanks! Jamee

A certain list of hotels appears for FRC, and a different list appears for FLL, with only a few overlaps in hotels. If we are an FRC team, does that mean we cannot make a reservation at a hotel listed for FLL?

Hello Manda. You are correct. Only certain properties are open to FIRST Robotics Competition teams. As an FRC team, you will only be able to register at hotels available for FRC. Thanks! Jamee

Hello, I am seeking clarification regarding if unqualified teams are able to reserve housing for Houston Worlds on 12/7.  It seems like the answer is yes from the blog above, but I have been told no by Experient.  Thank you!

 

Hello Dori. It depends on where you are qualifying from. PNW teams are running through a pilot this year. Part of that program is that PNW teams are asked to wait until they qualify to register for Housing. You can read details on that pilot here: https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc/blog/2018-stay-with-first On 12/7, all other teams can register for Housing at Noon ET. Thanks! Jamee

If we happened to get a hotel within walking distance of the venue, what is the best way to travel from airport to hotel with a team of about 40?

Hi Gail! We are not working directly with any shuttle services to provide transportation to teams. However, here are some recommendations. You can find the airport recommended options here: https://www.detroit-metro-airport.com/transportation. And if you are looking for a shuttle service, you can contact SKOOT: https://www.rideskoot.com/ Thanks! Jamee

My team is on the list of prequalified teams and have been trying to register for housing however the registration portal says that it is still "coming soon". I was wondering if I could get a link to where I am supposed to register my team. 

Hi Kail! Please send an email to frcteamadvocate@firstinspires.org. Thanks! Jamee

Where is the site to register?  I am expecting that we could go into some Experient site and preregister to establish a username/password, etc.  Then today at 12:00 ET we could go and login to the site using our previously created userid/password and select our hotels.  

- Tom

I don't see anywhere to log-in on the preview page for housing. Do we log in as mentor then go to events?  Your instructions never mention.

The fields to make housing reservations don't appear to be working.  

When will the housing registration be enabled? It is after 12 Noon on 12/07/17.

Add new comment