[Disclaimer: This announcement is being posted to multiple 
mailing lists with overlapping membership. We apologize for any 
inconvenience this may cause.]

INTERACTION, THE 63rd WORLD SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTION
http://www.interaction.worldcon.org.uk/

PRESS RELEASE #22 - Interaction Accommodation Bookings Break Records

GLASGOW, Tuesday 14 September 2004

Interaction launches accommodation service live in Boston - 
record breaking response as members plan their trips to Glasgow -
£300,000 of accommodation booked in first two weeks. 

In the space of less than two weeks, over 1000 people have booked 
their accommodation for Interaction, the 63rd World Science Fiction 
Convention ("Worldcon"), which takes place in Glasgow next August. 
Despite the event being almost a year away, a quarter of those expected 
to attend, representing over £300,000 worth of room bookings, have 
begun enthusiastically planning their trip to Scotland.

The online booking service was officially launched on September 2nd 2004  
during Noreascon 4, the 62nd World Science Fiction Convention, which took  
place in Boston.  Representatives of Interaction, the Glasgow Tourist  
Board, and Infotel, the convention's accommodation partner, were all on  
hand to support the launch and to answer questions. Interaction and  
Infotel benefited from a significant investment in pre-launch testing  
as the service opened without a hitch. Indeed, Worldcon records were  
rapidly broken as Infotel accepted 400 bookings before the end of the  
Boston event and well over 650 in the first two weeks.

As expected, member demand has been particularly high for those
properties located close to the Scottish Exhibition and Conference
Centre (SECC), Moat House Hotel, and Hilton Hotel, which will host 
the main convention events. Interaction and Infotel are already 
working to secure additional space from the providers in these areas. 
In the meantime, the convention continues to retain a limited number 
of rooms at these hotels for the use of members with impaired mobility 
or other special requirements.

                                                                ENDS

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Contacts
General: info@interaction.worldcon.org.uk
Press/Media: Paul Treadaway - press@interaction.worldcon.org.uk

The 2005 World Science Fiction Convention, known as Interaction, will
take place in Glasgow, UK from 4-8 August 2005. More information about
Interaction, including current membership rates, is available from its
web site (http://www.interaction.worldcon.org.uk/) or by writing to
info@interaction.worldcon.org.uk.

Infotel is a leading provider of accommodation services to individuals
and companies. Based in Lincolnshire, Infotel specialises in a one-stop
shop service providing access to thousands of hotels in the UK and
internationally. Interaction selected Infotel as its partner due
to the high quality of service and outstanding level of flexibility
that Infotel could offer to both the convention and its members.

Specific press contacts, or requests to be removed from the
Interaction press release mailing list should be directed to
press@interaction.worldcon.org.uk.

"WSFS", "Worldcon", "World Science Fiction
Convention" and "Hugo Award" are registered service marks of the
World Science Fiction Society, an unincorporated literary society.