Conference FAQs

Wi-Fi at the Hyatt Regency Chicago will be available on a complimentary basis in the following areas: guest sleeping rooms (for overnight guests), the hotel’s public spaces, which consists of the first floor lobby, Market Chicago, and American Craft Restaurant, and the second floor hotel registration area, including the walkway connecting the East and West Towers, Big Bar, and The Living Room and Gallery Collection lounges.

Wi-Fi will also be available in the meeting rooms located on the Gold, Bronze, and Green levels of both towers of the hotel. 

The Hyatt Regency Chicago offers valet parking for guests, 24 hours a day. Attendees staying overnight will receive a discounted parking rate of 50% off the existing published parking rate, currently $73 for overnight valet (no self-park on-site). Attendees staying overnight at the Swissôtel will receive a 50% discount off the existing daily parking rate, currently $78 for valet (not applicable to self-park).

Space tends to fill up quickly on the morning of conference opening, so attendees should plan their arrival accordingly. Additional parking options are available at neighboring lots. Rates vary. For more information, please visit the parking page on the conference website.

Note: Rates above are subject to change. Parking information is accurate as of October 2024.

There is a not a formal dress code, however, below are some suggestions on dress attire for the various events and functions at the conference.

• All-Conference Awards Luncheon: Business attire
• Closing Social: Casual attire or come dressed in your favorite decade!
• Exhibit Hall Grand Opening: Casual business attire
• Welcome Social: Casual business attire

Attendees are also advised to bring a light sweater or jacket as temperatures in the hotel meeting rooms can run a little cool.

Any lost and found items given to IAPD/IPRA staff during the conference will be turned over to hotel security. Guests may dial 6641 from any house phone to reach security. An agent will verify if the hotel has the item in receipt and will bring it to the guest’s location.  

Hosting any kind of food or beverage function adds a significant cost to the conference budget. Rather than increase conference fees to cover the cost of highly marked up hotel prices, IAPD/IPRA decided to forego hosted beverage functions and make its primary food function (the Awards Luncheon), an optional ticketed event in order to keep conference registration fees at its current levels.

The break in programming during this time was created to provide dedicated Exhibit Hall hours for attendees. This change is a result of feedback by attendees and exhibitors from previous conferences that it is difficult to get to the hall when sessions are being offered.

Dedicated exhibit hall hours are useful for both attendees and exhibitors. For attendees, dedicated exhibit hall hours means not having to make a choice between attending a session or visiting the exhibit hall. For exhibitors, it ensures increased traffic to an exhibitor’s booth during scheduled exhibit hall time.

The raffle drum changes locations in the exhibit hall to encourage attendee traffic throughout all areas of the hall.

There is a point system in place for exhibitors to choose their booth location. The more points a vendor has, the better location they will choose. Many prefer not be located near a competitor and will choose a location that best suits their needs.

Preferred agency seating is a registration option that allows up to twelve delegates from the same agency/organization to be seated together at a table during the All-Conference Awards Luncheon. To receive preferred agency seating, an agency must register and pay a small $60 registration fee (per table). 

As a co-hosted event, the awards luncheon program is designed to provide adequate time for meal service, attendee networking and the presentation of ten awards (five each to IAPD and IPRA) that recognize the outstanding achievements of individuals/agencies within each organization’s respective membership base.

57% of the conference attendees attend the awards luncheon. The track of sessions scheduled during the awards luncheon is made available to the remaining 43% of attendees who do not participate in the luncheon. These sessions are typically targeted to the supervisory level position within an agency.

The conference is a joint event co-hosted by IAPD and IPRA. The Thursday – Saturday pattern is the best schedule to accommodate attendance for the IAPD members who are the elected and/or appointed commissioners/board members who work their daytime jobs during the week, as well as the IPRA members who are the professionals who work at parks and recreation, forest preserve and conservation agencies.

Several years ago, Soaring to New Heights became the name of the conference rather than the theme. The name remains the same each year in order to keep a consistent brand identity. The logo was “refreshed” a few years ago. The logo remains intact as well to maintain brand identity.

The popularity of a topic is just one of many factors that must be taken into consideration when completing room assignments. We do everything we can to identify registration trends in order to best match rooms, topics and speakers accordingly.

Those who are interested in presenting and wish to be considered for the conference program can submit a proposal to the Program Committee through the online Submission Site available January – May of the preceding conference year.

Attendees who wish to suggest topics or speakers for the conference should use the Session Suggestion form available on the conference website. The Session Suggestion form is available January – March of the preceding conference year.