Three Steps to the Festival
1. Get your PLACEHOLDER
now, until August 30, 2012 *
If you want to come to the Luther500 Festival, or, even better, plan to bring a group, you will need some time to invite others to join you, book flights, raise funds, etc. To be sure that your efforts are successfull and that there is a place for you and your group at the Festival, you can get a PLACEHOLDER now. A Placeholder will, well, hold your place until you can make travel arrangements and confirm the participation of your group members.
PLACEHOLDERs are available for just 10 Euro at the Festival Online Booking store. Each PLACEHOLDER reserves a spot for one person for the 2013 Festival. If you plan to bring ten people, get ten PLACEHOLDER, and you’ll have time to organize the group and investigate flights and additional travel plans before officially registering starting in April 2012. The price of the PLACEHOLDER will be deducted from your final Festival invoice. The reason for getting the PLACEHOLDER is that we’ll only be able to accommodate 500 participants at the Festival in 2013. So to be sure there is a space for everyone in your group after you explore travel plans and are ready to register, the PLACEHOLDER will, well, hold your place.
You can buy and pay PLACEHOLDERs for you and your group online in our Festival Store.
- Each PLACEHOLDER secures 1 place at the Festival 2013. Buy and paypal-pay the PLACEHOLDERS for yourself and your group.
(Paypal is used for Placeholder payments. You can use Paypal with your creditcard without having a Paypal account.) - The price of the PLACEHOLDER will be offset against your Festival registration. That is, before registration starts in May you will get a coupon code for the Festival registration, worth the amount you paid for the PLACEHOLDER.
- Each 12 festival registrations earn 1 free. The price of the free registration will be deducted with a credit note from your final Festival invoice in 2013 according to the final numbers of registrations in your group.
- Important: Always include yourself when ordering PLACEHOLDERS or (later) making reservations for hotels. If you bring 12 people in your group please buy 13 PLACEHOLDERs -12 for the group and 1 for yourself.
* We extended the date for registration to September 1, 2012 to give you a bit more time to organize your group and make travel plans. Most airline will not permit you to reserve and purchase tickets more than a year in advance of departure. So, starting in June of 2012 you can book and ticket your airfares using and airline group-travel desk, the official Lufthansa discount for the Festival, a travel agency, a tour operator, the internet, frequent-flyer miles, and so forth. Then, once you have the travel sorted out and booked for your group, you can convert your placeholder to a registration, along with your housing choice, starting on September 1, 2012 by making a non-refundable deposit on the Festival Pass.
This way you’ll have from now until June 2012 to organize your group and raise funds for the airfare, the whole summer to do the same for the Festival Passes, and then a few more months before the final balances are due for the Festival in the Spring of 2013. We hope this makes it easier for you to organize and bring a group for this life-changing experience. But…don’t forget to get your PLACEHOLDERs now!
Get started, and buy your PLACEHOLDERS at the Festival store: here
After you got the PLACEHOLDER for you and your group you have time to work on the travel details. See Travel to the Festival for more information and contact links.
2. REGISTER your group
September 1- September 30, 2012 for PLACEHOLDER owners only
October 1, 2012- February 28, 2013 for everyone
After you set up your travel plans you can turn your PLACEHOLDERs into registrations. As an owner of a PLACEHOLDER you will receive a code which enables you to log in the online booking tool which will be launched September 1. This is the time when you indicate your housing choice, additional services, and post-gathering tours. Up to September 30, 2012 this booking tool will be available for PLACEHOLDER owners only. After October 1, 2012 the online booking will be available for everyone.
The registration price for the Festival varies with the housing choice.
- Backpacker: bring your mattress and sleeping bag, and stay in a church fellowship hall or school gymnasium.
- Hostel: this is the converted section of the Castle, in the manner of a conference center with single and bunk beds (two to six in each room) and showers in room.
- Hotel: 3- 4 star hotels within walking area of the Old City, the Castle and Town Churches and the Convention Center.
In addition to housing, all registrations include the Festival pass which includes all program costs, two meals a day, and day trips (for details see “Festival Pass”)
To confirm your registration, a non-refundable deposit of 25 percent of your invoice is due. Your deposit will be balanced with later payments.
3. TUNE your registration
after March 1, 2013
You can make changes on the numbers of your housing preferences until end of February 2013 - upon availability. After March 1 we will contact you to set the final details for your group. You will get more details about the Airport Shuttles, certain Interest Centers, Day Trips, and the like. Also the final invoice is due. For every 12 people you booked the costs for 1 will be deducted with a credit on your final invoice.
Get started, and buy your PLACEHOLDERS at the Festival store: here
Become a group leader and register as a group!
Each twelve registrations in your group earn you one free registration, that is, Festival Pass. So, if you register 13 you’ll only have to pay for 12 (and have 1 free). If you register 26, you’ll pay for 24 - and have two free. When it comes to PLACEHOLDERS and accommodations, though, you’d have to purchase 13 even if one of those registrations will ultimately be free in the final invoice.
As a group leader we will also invite you for free into the Festival’s Leader Lounge where you can have a coffee and relax during the Festival. We will give you speedy access to the buffet in the food court, and treat you well with a few more benefits.
Special rates are available for kinder under 12 with a family.