X -- FACILITIES AND SERVICES FOR FALL FESTIVAL OF TRAINING CONFERENCE

Notice Date

October 19, 2000

Contracting Office

U.S. Office Of Personnel Management, 1900 E Street, NW., Room 1342, Washington, DC 20415

ZIP Code

20415

Solicitation Number

OPM-RFP-01-001088JCB

Response Due

November 17, 2000

Point of Contact

Judy Brader, (202) 606-1924

E-Mail Address

click here to contact the point of contact for this (jcbrader@opm.gov)

Description

Statement of Work General -- The annual Fall Festival of Training is a major Retirement and Insurance Service initiative. Attendees are Federal agency staff who are responsible for administering the Federal benefits program within their agencies. Last year, agency attendance was close to 240 people per day. We expect between 225-275 attendees plus 25 OPM staff per day for the Year 2001 festival. In Fall Festival 1999, we averaged 223 attendees per day with 1019 overnights for the week. The purpose of the festival is to provide a series of workshops on retirement, insurance, Social Security, Workers Compensation, and Thrift Savings Plan administration. A facility located west of the Mississippi in an area of low risk to winter storms during the festival week is preferred. The facility must offer easy airport connections to accommodate out-of-town attendees. A location near an airport that serves as a hub for at least two airlines is preferred. Direct airport shuttle service is highly desirable. Parking should be available for attendees and OPM staff. The Government=s preference is for free parking or, at a minimum, reduced rate parking. Dates: OPM will award a contract with one base period and one option year. Festival dates for the base period and the option period will always be in the month of November, the specific dates to be determined well in advance of the festival. The dates for this annual festival must be during non-holiday weeks. The Fall Festival can run either Monday through Thursday or Tuesday through Friday. However, if the week after Thanksgiving is proposed, the Festival must begin on Tuesday and run through Friday. Training classes are from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on days 1 to 4. Meeting Space Requirements : The facility must have 7 training rooms throughout the festival period with room for a speaker=s area in each room. All rooms for festival classes must be well lighted, well ventilated, free from distracting noise such as noise from traffic or other guests in corridors, and accessible to the handicapped. These rooms must comfortably seat the audience in classroom style at tables or individual seating that gives attendees a surface for a notebook and note taking. Chairs with arms are preferred, and must be comfortable for long sessions. The rooms should have separate controls for heat, air, light, and sound, and they should accommodate overhead projectors and/or computer projection system screens. The rooms should contain sound, even if microphones are used, so that other sessions are not disturbed. The tables used in the training sessions must have cloth covering. Training rooms must accommodate 45-55 person classroom style. Classrooms in the same contiguous area are preferred. The facility must have a lobby or other open area close to the festival area for registration and breaks. The facility must be willing to make the festival site non-smoking during the days that the festival is in session. Equipment needs for each training room are anticipated to be: podium with microphones; overhead projectors; screens; tables for equipment setup; easels with pads and markers; and an easel outside each room for signage. This equipment needs to be available the entire week of the festival. The exact quantity and mix of festival equipment will be supplied before the festival begins. Lodging: The facility must guarantee a block of rooms for overnight accommodations for the participants at government rates. THE FACILITY MUST BE FULLY ACCESSIBLE TO THE HANDICAPPED. The rooms must have air conditioning, private baths, telephones, etc. Guest room requirements are: 1) Overnight accommodations for estimated 250 rooms on the evenings of the day preceding day 1 and days 1, 2,and 3 for attendees, plus about 25 OPM staff and instructors. 2) Accommodations for all participants at the contractor=s facility are preferred. If sufficient guestrooms are not available at the facility, the host facility will be responsible for arranging additional rooms of comparable quality and at the same rate. It is preferred that the host facility arrange registrations for participants staying in overflow facilities. Attendees are responsible for making their own room arrangements. OPM staff and instructor accommodations and meals will be included on the master billing. If an overflow facility is used, shuttle service must be available between the contractor=s facility and hotels with overflow guests. The facility should be located near outside entertainment (restaurants, shopping, movie theaters, etc.). Meals and Breaks: Meals and breaks will be for a maximum 300. Continental breakfast will be served each morning consisting of rolls, danish, bagels, fruit juice coffee (regular and decaffeinated), and tea. mid-morning and mid-afternoon breaks should include coffee (regular and decaffeinated), hot tea, and sodas in the morning and an assortment of beverages such as hot tea, iced tea, lemonade, soda, water and a snack in the afternoon. A range of readily-available eating options at the facility or area adjacent to the facility must be available to accommodate: 1) all participants for breakfast (other than the continental breakfast) during the entire festival period; and, 2) the approximately 250 students and lecturers for lunch within the 1-hour lunch break during the festival training classes. Other than OPM staff and instructors, all participants will be responsible for paying for these meals. All meals must be able to accommodate dietary needs of attendees -- e.g., low salt, vegetarian, kosher, etc. Registration, Staff and Storage: The facility must have a registration area adjacent to the training rooms to accommodate registration for the festival participants. The area must include proper wiring for a computer, printer, and any other office equipment needed for registration. House telephones must be located at one of the registration tables and a message board must be near the telephones. The registration area must also be large enough to accommodate registration which should be composed of two six foot tables side by side and up to 4 chairs. In addition, the area must accommodate 2 additional six foot tables for displays. The tables must have cloth covering. The lobby or other open area with informal seating needs to be available where festival attendees can meet informally for networking before or after festival sessions. Rooms for OPM staff use are required as follows: 1)One room with outside phone line for use as an office during the entire week; and 2) One storage room or other room large enough to accommodate 100-150 boxes of festival materials and supplies. This room should be available 4 calendar days prior to the opening of the festival for receipt and storage of the materials. Consideration will be given to offerors who include additional services or discounts as part of this contract. PROPOSALS -- Technical Proposal: Submit an original and three copies of the proposal. Technical proposal will contain the following: (1) Dates available for years 2001 and 2002. (2) Description of property proposed and full description of the facilities. Offeror must have hosted similar training events with comparable number of attendees. Also provide layout of facilities proposed, including seating capacities, and availability of these rooms. Describe how you will meet the requirements for office space, storage and festival registration area, including telephone, data lines and electrical outlets. Include additional eating establishments for participants. The site must meet the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) standards for accessibility of meeting rooms and sleeping rooms and the requirements of the Hotel and Motel Safety Act. The property must also be available for a site survey. (3) Offeror must be willing to make the festival site non-smoking during the days that the festival is in session. The overall security of the facility is a concern and the hotel must have an adequate complement of security personnel. (4) Location of airports, train facilities and limousine and bus services to the hotel. (5) Number of sleeping rooms at the proposed property and names, locations, and number of sleeping rooms at overflow properties. Include plans for check in and check out of a high volume of people. (6) Provide a description of your on-site audiovisual services, to include the type of sound systems that will be used in each of the meeting rooms. (7) Describe how coffee/tea service would be handled for breaks, how many stations will be set up and the locations of the stations. The offeror must have a history of providing excellent food and beverage service. The overall quality and attractiveness of the specific dining facilities being offered will be a factor in the decision process. (8) Provide 3 references with name and telephone number for training events of a similar nature held within the past 3 years. (9) (a) Describe the nature and seriousness of any judgments rendered against the Offeror within the last three years, or any lawsuits currently pending, based upon alleged violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, if the lawsuits were initiated by a Government entity. (b) Provide information on any company-wide policy prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and parental status. (c) Describe the extent to which you participate in any welfare to work program. As indicated above, OPM has the responsibility to ensure compliance with merit principles in the Federal Government including the statutory requirement to maintain a discrimination-free workplace. OPM also has a responsibility to ensure that civil rights are adhered to throughout the Federal community. In order to meet the objectives of this conference and OPM's responsibilities, OPM will evaluate the nature and seriousness of any judgments rendered against the offeror within the last three years, or any lawsuits currently pending, based upon alleged violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, if the lawsuits were initiated by a Government entity. Also, OPM will provide bonus points for Offerors who have established a company-wide policy prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and parental status and who include a copy of the policy in their proposals. Finally, OPM will provide bonus points for participation in a welfare-to-work program. Cost Proposal: The cost proposal must include the proposed cost for the individual sleeping room per night, the cost for meals (and identifying the menus proposed), the cost of the conference facility, including breakout rooms, and the cost of parking. Include all other related costs, such as audio-visual and coffee break service. Finally, include a total estimated price for the entire event based on 300 attendees. Offerors must provide any special contract terms and conditions, including any specific hotel contract or agreement under which conference facilities would be provided as part of their cost proposal. PROPOSAL EVALUATION Technical Evaluation : Offerors will be evaluated in terms of the quality and relevance of information presented against the factors indicated below. These criteria are listed in descending order of importance: (NOTE: During the evaluation process, OPM may request a site visit to gain first-hand knowledge of the facilities being evaluated.) (1) Festival Facility. Consideration will be given to factors such as, but not limited to, the following: All rooms for festival classes must be well lighted, well ventilated, free from distracting noise such as noise from traffic or other guests in corridors, and accessible to the handicapped. Chairs must be comfortable for long sessions. The classrooms for festival classes need to be classroom style at tables. Higher points will be awarded for classrooms that are large enough to provide flexibility for alternative layouts. Higher points will be given for classrooms located in the same general area as opposed to being in different parts of the facility. Higher points will be given to a facility that has classrooms divided by solid walls versus air walls. The facility needs to have a lobby or other open area close to festival area for registrations and breaks. (2) Location. Higher points will be given to locations west of the Mississippi that have lower risk of winter storms during the festival week. Higher points will be awarded to locations served by a hub airport. Higher points will be given to non-airport locations. The facility offering direct airport shuttle service for out-of-town attendees will be credited higher points over facilities not offering this service. The facility located near outside entertainment (restaurants, shopping, movie theaters, etc) will be awarded higher points over locations not near these services. (3) Overnight Facilities. All rooms must be air-conditioned, private rooms with private bath, telephones, and data ports. Rooms for handicapped guests need to be available. Rooms must be clean, attractive, and in good repair. Greater credit will be given according to a facility's ability to accommodate festival participants within its own facility, as opposed to using nearby hotels. For facility that uses nearby hotels, greater credit will be given to host facility that handles all registrations. Facility needs to provide information on how it will coordinate registrations and how it will provide feedback to festival attendees about where they would be staying. Facility needs to have sufficient parking for the attendees and OPM staff. More credit will be given for free parking availability. (4) Past Performance. Offerors must include the names and telephone numbers of three references to whom they have provided essentially the same services. (5) Food Service. The facility must be able to serve festival attendees quickly, including serving lunches during festival within 1-hour lunch break. Higher points will be awarded facilities that offer a choice of selections (including a low calorie choice) for non-served meals. All meals must be able to accommodate dietary needs for attendees e.g., low salt, vegetarian, kosher, etc. Higher points will be awarded for locations offering a variety of eating establishments in the vicinity of the host facility. Morning and afternoon break service needs to provide two or three stations offering a variety of snacks and beverages to allow festival attendees to serve themselves within a 15-minute break period. 6. Judgements, Anti-Discrimination and Work Programs (a) The nature and seriousness of any judgments rendered against the offeror within the last three years, or any lawsuits currently pending, based upon alleged violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, if the lawsuits were initiated by a Government entity. (b) Company-wide policy prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and parental status. (c) Participation in a welfare to work program. COST EVALUATION: Offerors will be evaluated in terms of their total estimated cost for providing all the services described in this solicitation for 300 participants. CONTRACT AWARD A contract will be awarded to the Offeror that is determined to offer the best value to the OPM considering primarily the results of the technical evaluation and site visit (if any) and secondarily, the total estimated cost for providing all services described in this solicitation. Proposals must be received by the Office of Personnel Management no later than 3:00 PM on November 17, 2000 at the above address. POC: Judy Brader, CS (202) 606-1924.

Web Link

click here to download the combination notice and RFP (http://www.opm.gov.procure)

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20001023/XSOL004.HTM (W-293 SN5046S5)