All Hands/2015 Orlando

What is it? -- Multiple work weeks, happening in the same city, at the same time + some opportunity to get together as one big group as well as with other teams as it makes sense. Then, on the last day, we have a fun social event for all, Mozilla-style!

Dates, Location and Weather

Monday, December 7 - Friday, December 11, 2015 (travel days are Monday & Saturday*) in Orlando, Florida, USA at The Swan & Dolphin Resort.

*For those countries where rest time is required on weekends (vs. work travel), Mozilla will cover a return on the next available work day, if you choose. This needs to pre-approved and pre-arranged.

Weather

Averages temperatures range from lows of 54 Fahrenheit (12 Celsius) to 74 Fahrenheit (23 Celsius). Layers recommended for evenings.

Forecast

Registration

This is an invite only event.

Booking Air Travel via Egencia

Travel booking for full time staff will be announced soon. Please do not book travel or call the hotel directly.

All paid staff and Elancers (MoCo only [1], exceptions below [2]) will be booking their air travel to Orlando (MCO) through Egencia. You will receive an email when the Orlando Meeting is set up and ready. Please do not book prior to or outside of the meeting section, as it ensures we can meaningfully balance 1,200 of us to booking our own flights with a need to be mindful of budget.

• [1] Mozilla Foundation employees - Angela Plohman is your coordinator.
• [2] Employees from our Japan office will use a local agency and Yuka Takagi is your coordinator.
• [2] Employees from our Taipei office: Process is being determined, please do not book air travel until directed by Bella Su or Justine Cho.

New Hires

We have a process to identify new hires each week and will invite them to book travel (and register, once that’s live) on a steady basis. No action necessary from managers other than to let them know about the event.

Not paid staff?

If you are a vendor (paid by a company other than Mozilla or Elance), contractor, or seasonal staff, your manager must confirm your participation before you will be able to book travel. We will be reaching out to managers for this confirmation in August and will alert you know when you may book your travel.

Volunteers -- Participation will be coordinated by Brian King, Francisco Picolini and George Roter. They will be reaching out to each team soon, please get in touch with them.

Partners -- Invitations will be considered on a case by case basis. Please send those requests to mdouglass@mozilla.com for review.

Air Travel Guidelines

Our standard travel guidelines apply (pre-populated in Egencia and here for reference) when booking with a few additional budget constraints. Anything booked outside of them will require approval.

Most people will arrive on Monday, December 7th and leave on Saturday, December 12th. Here are some exceptions:

• Anyone who must endure more than an eight-hour time change travelling to Orlando may arrive on Sunday. If this is you, please let bmark@mozilla.com know so she can approve in Egencia.
• If you live in a country where work travel is prohibited on weekends, you may travel on Friday, December 4th and Monday, December 14th, if you’d prefer (not required).
• If you plan to spend some extra time in Orlando, choosing to arrive before Monday, December 7th or depart after Saturday, December 12th, you are responsible for any additional costs for this +/- $100 USD. Please send copies of the standard itinerary and the custom itinerary to Brianna Mark for approval.

Booking travel if you have family joining you

To book travel for family, whether they will accompany you on your flight or join us later, please call Egencia (vs. booking via the link above). You can pay for your family directly (including the Egencia booking fees) and coordinate with your own travel (which can be billed to Mozilla).

Air Travel Fine Print

Change fees will be covered by Mozilla for business reasons only. If you need a change and have manager approval, email bmark@mozilla.com prior to requesting the change with Egencia. Once you have approval, call Egencia to make the change at +1 (877) 264-1622 (note this will not be possible without prior approval so be sure to get that by way of an email from your manager to Brianna Mark). If you are changing for personal reasons, the change in airfare, change fee and Egencia fee is your responsibility.

Booking "Extra Nights" at The Swan & Dolphin

If you plan to arrive on December 7th and depart on December 12th (i.e. you’re not planning to spend any extra time in Orlando), you do not need to book your hotel room now -- we’ll take care of it for you, paying and booking -- as part of registration.

If you’re planning a lovely, pre/post work week vacation in Disney and would like to reserve extra nights at the Swan & Dolphin at our reduced, event rate -- $159 per night plus $20 resort fee and taxes* -- you may do that from here.

• *There is an additional per-person fee per night of $25 (>one). Also, the $159 rate goes up after November 13th so book soon if you’re serious about this.
• *The first night's deposit + resort service package + tax will be charged to your credit card upon confirmation of your reservation.

Hotel Fine Print Mozilla will cover the hotel, resort fee and taxes for arrival on Monday, December 7th - departure on Saturday, December 12th. If you choose to arrive early, depart late and/or have anyone join you, you will be responsible for the additional fees.

Ground Transportation in Orlando

Nothing Special about your Trip?

If you plan to arrive on Monday, December 7th (MCO) and depart on Saturday, December 12th from the hotel to MCO, and have no guests joining you, no action necessary (transportation will be arranged for you).

Bringing family?

If you are bringing family and are all arriving on Monday, December 7th and departing Saturday, December 12th, you may all use our company-arranged transportation provided you request it ahead of time (for your guests). You will do this during registration - no action now - which will happen closer in September.

Arriving early and/or leaving late (w/ or w/out family)?

If you arrive earlier than December 7th or depart later than December 12th, with or without guests, you will have to cover and arrange your own ground transportation, to and from MCO, including rental cars and parking. Some help is here:

• Transportation Information (airport and parks) http://swananddolphin.com/aboutus/transportation.html
• Transportation FAQ: http://swananddolphin.com/feedback/transportation.html
• Transportation booking (via Swan & Dolphin): http://swandolphinconcierge.com/public/login.cfm

Families and loved ones at work weeks

As a general principle, when organizing our work weeks, we look to design an experience that accommodates a variety of individual situations and requirements while also ensuring we have a productive and focused event.

Because of our size and varied space requirements (we require 3x the breakout space of most corporate meetings), it's cheaper to book our work weeks in holiday locations -- or cities like Portland -- during off-seasons. This approach means we can get the best rates and these cities typically already have great transportation infrastructure, resources for meals and social event, proximity to a major airport, have ample hotels, etc.

As part of planning, we work with hotels to ensure our employees, at their own expense, are able to extend their stay before or after our event, at our negotiated group rates. This makes it easier for anyone wanting to organize a getaway at the work week destination with their family and/or other Mozillians. Please note that in Orlando, there is a fee for additional people in the guestrooms, and this cost is yours to cover.

Specifics

• Staff do need to book through Egencia for airfare. You will have the option to book guests with you at your expense and will require calling Egencia.

• Our group discount rates apply for least three nights before and three night after our events. Reservations for those rooms are based on availability and are at your expense.

• Before you decide to invite your partner or family (thinking kids or parents, not cousins or uncles) to join you for the full week, make sure they know what is expect of you. That for the majority of the time, your attention, focus and presence will need to be on your team and on Mozilla. Meals for families will be at your expense too. We will try to accommodate guests for Friday night (only) and will announce as it out once we can.

• We will have access to advance and discounted Disney park passes for your and your family. Please wait to purchase anything until we have shared the link out.

Meeting Space & Internet

Internet in your guestroom is provided by the hotel and the standard hotel network. It is free, use it. Do not connect to the meeting network while in your room.

Internet in the meeting spaces: YES, we'll have it. Check back for log in information.

Food & Drink

All meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) will be provided and paid for centrally. Any other food or drink expenses (including room service and in-room minibar charges) will be the responsibility of the attendee.

• Allergies: We will ensure that all food/environmental allergies are taken into consideration and will always have gluten-free and vegan options (and gfv options). If you have severe allergies that we need to know about; you can indicate in registration.

Out of Pocket Expenses

The intention of our work weeks are to centrally organize a structure within which teams can come together to work on deliverables and plans, to socialize, to meet and share with other teams, and generally come together as one Mozilla family, two times each year. The central organization includes meals (three/day + snacks), transportation, accommodations, and some number of social events.

Because of that, we’d expect a very limited number, if any, of work week-related expenses for food or social events (this includes team events, room service, mini-bar charges, and food/drink costs above the vouched amounts). Any social events that are not part of our central plan will generally be self-organized and funded by participants. This is a modified policy from Portland. For specifics on meals, please go to the Food & Drink section (above). If you have questions about any of this, please reach out to bmark@mozilla.com

Volunteer Reimbursement via Reps

Volunteers attending this event may submit for visa and U.S. travel/health insurance- related costs (and other incidentals) via Mozilla Reps:

Mozilla Reps attending this event may submit for reimbursement through the standard process. Mozillians who are not Mozilla Reps should contact a local Rep and the Rep will help them get reimbursed. The process is as follows:

Step 1: contact a Rep in your country*

Step 2: once the Rep has accepted to process your reimbursement, give them an estimate of what your costs will be. If you need the funds beforehand, be sure to say that

Step 3: after the event, send him/her all your scanned receipts and bank details/paypal account

Step 4: inform the Rep once you have successfully received the funds

FAQ

Anything not covered here, please add to this and we'll answer.

Extra Curriculars

If you have one to propose, add it here with a sign up link. Note that these things are self-organized and self-funded.