ACM HotOS 2025 will be held at the fabulous Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. The hotel is located in the resort town of Banff, in the heart of Banff National Park. This elegant historic hotel is nestled spectacularly in the mountains, overlooking Bow Falls and the Bow River Valley. Spectacular views of Cascade Mountain, Mount Rundle, Sulphur Mountain, or the Bow River Valley are available from many of the rooms. The hotel offers many amenities that will make your stay special, including unique shops, delightful restaurants, a fitness room, a warm outdoor swimming pool, and the Willow Stream Spa. The hotel is a 20-25 minute walk from Banff Avenue and the rest of downtown Banff, with its many other hotels, unique shops, and diverse dining experiences. All HotOS sessions will be held at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel so there are lots of reasons to stay there!
Hotel rooms are at a premium in Banff in the summer, both in price and availability. The workshop organizers have negotiated a special guest room rate of $459 CDN per night (single or double occupancy), plus taxes and fees. This room rate is approximately 40% off the regular summer rates for 2025. In addition, there is a mandatory Group Surcharge of $16 CDN per person per day, which covers porterage, in-room WiFi, fitness centre, business centre, PressReader, and select resort activities. There are a few guest rooms available with two beds, for which there is a $60 CDN surcharge. Pets are also permitted at $50 CDN per day. Check-in time is 4:00pm MST. Check-out time is 12 noon. The entire hotel is non-smoking. There is no provincial sales tax in the Province of Alberta, but there are three other taxes that apply: a Banff Tourism Improvement Fee (TIF) of 2%, an Alberta Tourism Levy (ATL) of 4%, and a federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) of 5%. These taxes and fees will all appear on your hotel bill. Visitors to Canada can apply for a GST rebate when they leave Canada.
Please make your reservation before the hotel deadline: April 7, 2025. After this date, all extra rooms in the HotOS 2025 room block will be released back to the hotel for the general use of Banff tourists, of which there are many. It will be very difficult to get a room after April 7. We are not kidding!
Booking information for the HotOS 2025 room block will be provided to workshop attendees via email.
All people entering Canada as a business visitor require a valid passport. Make sure that the expiration date is at least 6 months beyond your intended travel dates. For most US citizens, a passport should be all that is needed to enter Canada.
Depending on your nationality and/or the country of origin for your trip, you may also require either an electronic travel authorization (eTA) or a travel visa. Travelers from about 50 countries are eligible for the eTA, while those from other countries need a visa. The fee for an eTA is $7 CAD, with processing times that range from 5 minutes to 72 hours. The fee for a travel visa is $100 CAD, with processing times that typically range from 30-90 days. In some cases, biometrics (photo and fingerprints, about $85 CAD) must also be submitted as part of the application process, adding further delays. Please plan accordingly, and apply early, particularly if this is your first-ever trip to Canada.
Since the requirements differ by country, please check Canada's IRCC (Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada) Web site for the latest requirements. Further information about travel document requirements and visa processing times can be obtained from the Canadian Embassy in your country or from the nearest Canadian Consulate. Note that we have pre-registered ACM HotOS 2025 with the special events unit of IRCC to help facilitate visa processing for the conference.
If you require a visa support letter for your application, you can request one from ACM. Please do so by March 1, 2025 if at all possible. These support letter requests are usually handled within two weeks. Please make sure that you have registered in advance for HotOS, so that the ACM letter can provide confirmation of your registration.
If in addition you require a letter of invitation for your travel visa application, you can request one from the Local Arrangements Chair(s) at the University of Calgary. Again, make sure that you have already registered for HotOS 2025, and send your request as soon as possible, and no later than March 1, 2025. Your request will be handled promptly, usually within a few business days. We will follow up with you to get your personal/travel details so that we can customize your letter, and include the special conference code assigned to our event by the IRCC.
If you have other family members traveling with you, please make sure that they have proper travel documents as well. This is especially important if any of them are minors (children under the age of 18 years old).
Note that the Canadian government does not pay for hospital or medical services for international visitors. Please ensure you have the appropriate travel/medical insurance for yourself in case of an emergency while in Canada.