Optica Biophotonics Congress: Biomedical Optics

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Top-quality rooms at discounted rates.

Optica works with our hotel and travel partners to bring you affordable rates at top-quality venues. We negotiate exclusive room discounts to help you save money on your trip. And, by staying at the meeting venue, you can extend your networking opportunities beyond the session rooms — taking advantage of informal interactions in venue spaces. 

In addition, when you reserve a room through our partners, you help Optica keep meeting costs as low as possible.

An important notice about housing scams.

Phone, fax or email communications from any other company or organization offering cut-rate housing for an Optica event or stating that they are a viable alternative to going through the official housing bureau, are not affiliated with the meeting in any manner.

While it is not illegal for a travel firm or booking agent to solicit potential customers, it can be difficult to determine the legitimacy of offers from these organizations. Those who opt for alternatives to the official negotiated rates may find themselves at risk. Other groups report that after paying these types of companies, no room was reserved and their credit card was fraudulently charged.

For these reasons, and to support our efforts to give you a quality event, we highly recommend that you do not make any reservations through any unknown housing or travel company. Again, Optica has no affiliation with these room brokers.

Please report any unauthorized housing solicitations to Customer Service at cstech@optica.org.

Bed bug prevention tips.

• Your bed-bug check should start at the planning stage. These critters don’t discriminate and may be found at any hotel, no matter how many stars it promises. So it’s best to do some research on your hotel of choice on badbedbugs.com before you book.
• When you first enter, stow your luggage temporarily in the bathroom while you perform a room inspection. Pull up the sheets and inspect the mattress, especially along the seams at the corners. Bed bugs themselves are usually visible, but you’re more likely to see the droppings they leave behind, in the form of tiny brownish-red or black dots. Look behind the headboard and behind any bedside tables. Lastly, check any other nooks and crannies in chairs, pillows and drapery, windowsills and even behind picture frames or peeled-back wallpaper. If you see any bed bugs, specks, eggs or casings, grab your bags and report your findings to the front desk. Request a different room or move to a new hotel.
• If you do need to change rooms, be sure that you do not move to a room adjacent and/or directly above/below the suspected infestation.  Bed bugs can easily hitchhike via housekeeping carts, luggage and even through wall sockets. If an infestation is spreading, it typically does so in the rooms closest to the origin.
• Even if you don’t find any sign of bed bugs, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re not there, so it’s best to take precautions. Keep your stuff off the floor and the bed. Store suitcases on a luggage rack or other hard surface (away from the walls), and to be extra safe, carry along large trash bags to keep them in. Also pack your clothing and shoes in resealable plastic bags inside your suitcase, and keep them sealed when not in use. Dirty laundry should also be stored in sealed plastic bags before they go back in your suitcase, just in case of contamination.
• Remember: bed bugs travel by hitching rides. After your trip, inspect your suitcases before bringing them into the house. Vacuum your suitcase thoroughly before storing away. Consider using a garment hand steamer to steam your luggage, which will kill any bed bugs or eggs that may have hitched a ride home.
• Back at home, launder everything (even if you didn’t wear it) in hot water and transfer to a dryer for at least 30 minutes. (Dry cleaning should also do the trick.)