Wi10 Carpool Forum: Alternative Airports and Ride Sharing

Travel to Asheville, North Carolina, Winter Institute 10’s host city, can be more challenging than flying into a hub city. But this memorable destination is well worth the extra effort and there are a number of options that can lessen the cost and complications.

The Asheville Regional Airport (AVL) has about 10 daily flights from Atlanta, Charlotte, or Chicago. However, Charlotte’s Douglas International Airport (CLT), one of the nation’s largest hub airports, has hundreds of flights from virtually every city in the U.S. While it is an approximately two-hour drive from CLT to the Wi10’s host hotel, the Grove Park Inn, flying into CLT will cost much less than AVL, and, ultimately, door-to-door travel will not be significantly longer than flying into Asheville, given layover times.

The Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP) is another good alternative. There are non-stops into GSP from Philadelphia, Newark, New York’s LaGuardia, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Detroit, Dulles (Washington, D.C.), and Chicago’s Midway and O'Hare. The drive from GSP to the Grove Park Inn takes about an hour and 15 minutes.

To help members make viable ground arrangements to and from these alternate cities, the American Booksellers Association has created a Wi10 Carpool Forum on BookWeb. To participate, booksellers will sign into BookWeb.org and post or reply to let their fellow booksellers know their arrival and departure times. One shared car rental for the duration of the booksellers’ stay may be the most cost-effective option; in other cases, two rentals (one for each leg of the trip) might increase savings.

Complimentary non-valet parking is available at the Grove Park Inn.

Booksellers with questions about their travel plans can reach out to ABA Member Relationship Managers Catherine Cusick and Nathan Halter.