The SPA Executive Committee and Board of Directors are responsible for selecting meeting locations. The 1-day Annual meeting location is always associated with the ASA and determined by the ASA’s selection. The 3-day Winter meeting selection process begins five years in advance due to the number of guests’ rooms and amount of meeting space that are needed. Most SPA members prefer a warm location for the Winter meeting which historically led us to Florida and Arizona, and more recently resulted in the selection of Bahamas in 2020, Tampa in 2022 and Austin this year. Contracts are signed approximately four years prior to the Winter meeting to secure the room block and space. Once a contract is signed there is a significant cancellation penalty that increases as the meeting date approaches.

The 2024 Annual meeting is in Anaheim, California and the 2025 Winter meeting is in Orlando, Florida. Many SPA members have expressed concerns that our meetings have been held in Texas and Florida and we acknowledge the challenges this presents for them. Recognizing these concerns, the SPA leadership investigated whether the Orlando hotel would waive or substantially reduce the cancellation fee. The hotel was unwilling to meet our request. The cost of cancellation, well in excess of $600,000, was felt by the SPA Executive Committee and Board of Directors to be unaffordable. However, we were able to negotiate a reduced room block in the event that a significant number of members are unable to attend the meeting because of its location.

Going forward, the SPA Board of Directors will take into consideration current legislation in states, but there is little that can be done when legislation is passed after we have signed a contract. We sincerely appreciate your understanding as we try to find satisfactory future meeting sites. We will continue to offer virtual options for our future meetings for those unable to attend or who choose not to travel.