A Very Welcoming Hotel ABA Planned for BEA

The approximately 1,000 ABA member booksellers staying at the Park Central Times Square Hotel, the "Hotel ABA -- New York City," will enjoy a host of complimentary benefits that have been designed to make their BookExpo America experience easier and more enjoyable.

Arriving booksellers will be greeted by ABA staff at a special "Hotel ABA" Concierge Desk in the lobby, where they will be able to pick up a Welcome Bag containing items and information that will cut down on the need to wait in lines at the convention center. In the Welcome Bag, booksellers will find a badge holder, convention guide, shuttle bus schedule, hotel information, and more. The desk will be staffed on Wednesday, June 1, from 11:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.; on Thursday, June 2, from 7:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.; and on Friday morning, June 3, from 8:00 a.m. - noon.

ABA's Hospitality Suite will be located on the hotel's mezzanine level in the Park, Hudson, Times Square, and Broadway rooms. The suite, which will be open 24 hours a day, will be available to ABA members from Wednesday, June 1, through Sunday, June 5. A simple continental-style breakfast will be available in the pre-function area outside of the ABA Hospitality Suite on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, from 6:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

Hotel ABA is on Shuttle Bus Route One. In the morning, buses will leave from the front entrance of the hotel every 20 minutes from 7:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. In the evening, buses will leave the Javits Convention Center for the return trip to the hotel every 30 minutes from 3:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. (6:00 p.m. on Sunday). There will be a special bus on Friday evening, at 7:30 p.m., to accommodate booksellers returning to the hotel after ABA's Celebration of Bookselling at the Javits Center. A bus schedule with changes and updates will be in the hotel lobby.

From 9:00 p.m. to midnight on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings, booksellers are invited to receptions hosted by Rodale Press Reception (Grand Ballroom), Random House Reception (Manhattan Room), and Warner Books and Little, Brown (Grand Ballroom), respectively.

In their rooms, on Wednesday through Saturday, booksellers can look forward to "Pillow Drops," featuring advance readers' copies and more from Rodale Press, Random House, Warner Books and Little, Brown, and HarperCollins.

Booksellers with questions about the hotel and the complimentary benefits should contact ABA's Kristen Gilligan at [email protected] or (800) 637-0037, ext. 1286.