Hospitality

Welcome back!! Looking forward to seeing everyone again!! Please volunteer to lend a hand—we'd truly appreciate it. We (Susan and Rhonda, the Hospitality Food Chairs) will be around for any questions, comments, and concerns.

queue

Hospitality Layout & Meal Service

Ravinia F will remain our serving area but nothing other than meal service will be located in that area. Coffee, milk, pop, snacks, ice cream, the toaster, and microwave will be located outside the serving area in various locations around the edges of Ravinia C/D (the seating area).

To minimize food waste, meals will be served cafeteria-style. Our meals are served by volunteers. Please take the time to read and familiarize yourself with the flow so meals can be served with as little wait time as possible. For the Friday night dinner, please allow attendees with children to cut in line, so they can make it to the 6:30 PM Kids Costume Parade.

Flow: WeeMsters will be required to exit Hospitality, queue up outside the serving area’s south doors (wrapping around the corner when lines are long—see the red arrows on the Westin floor plan), enter via the south doors, get served cafeteria-style, and exit the serving area to go back into Hospitality. To get seconds, one must exit Hospitality and re-enter the serving area via the south doors.

Meal lines will queue up in the hallway outside Hospitality and entry will be through the South Door only. The flow will be one way. If you would like seconds, please exit using the west facing doors and return to the line.

sensitivities

Food Sensitivities?

Please note: We are preparing food in a shared hospitality prep area, using volunteers and hotel staff, to serve meals to a large crowd. We cannot guarantee that items are free from cross contamination. Our volunteers focus on replenishing the food, snacks, and beverages and are not trained to address dietary concerns. If you have severe/life-threatening allergies, we recommend you take precautions to minimize your risk.

snacks

Snacks

We know that Mensa members love to eat…all the time, day and night. We will have snacks available 24 hours a day, including:

Drinks - milk, juice, soda, hot chocolate, coffee, hot tea, iced tea;

Salty and sweet snacks - chips, pretzels, candy, cookies, ice cream, many & more;

Salad Bar - salad, fruit, veggies, cheese, and other yummy noshy bits.

alcohol

Beer & Wine

Our Beverage Chair Dave offers a selection of beers, some boxed wines, and perhaps a few other surprises for the enjoyment of WeeM attendees.

Alcoholic beverages must remain within the confines of Ravinia (see the Westin floor plan) per our hotel contract. Generally alcohol will not be available between 2 AM and 10 AM. The Illinois minimum drinking age is 21—absolutely no exceptions on hotel property. If a WeeM official asks for your government-issued photo id, you will be required to show it, per our hotel contract.

dishes

Please Be Considerate

As a gentle reminder, please help us out by cleaning up after yourselves and your families. Remember, we do not pay hotel staff to clean up in Hospitality, nor do we want to ask volunteers to touch anyone else's waste.

warning

Important!

Meals and snacks may not be consumed anywhere outside of Hospitality. Drinks may be consumed in Hospitality and the Games Room but not elsewhere. The hotel supplies water in the speaker/meeting rooms.

Alcohol served as part of a program must be consumed in the room in which it is being served. Entry to an alcohol-related program requires a government-issued photo id per our hotel contract—including Pretentious Drinking.

No dinner on Saturday?

It’s a regional gathering tradition that Saturday is a separate meal from the RG hospitality meals and offerings. In the past, we offered a banquet on Saturday night, but by popular demand, we have shifted to this being a time when you can plan a meal or outing with friends to enjoy on-site and nearby restaurant offerings. Below is a list of links to some terrific restaurants, sorted by their proximity to the hotel. Visit the links for full menus, prices, and to find out if reservations are recommended (or required). The hotel website also includes a list of restaurants nearby.

On-Site Dining:

  • Saranello's - Italian, casual, part of the Lettuce Entertain You group

Walking Distance:

  • Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurant - Northwest US fusion, upscale, in the parking lot of the Westin
  • Spears - Bourbon, Burgers, & Beer, casual, in the parking lot (NNW) of the Westin
  • Benihana - Japanese, casual, across the street and 0.7 miles south from the Westin (a prior Chair's recommendation - Yes, it’s a well-known chain, but it's so much fun! How can you get tired of onion volcanoes?)

A Quick Drive:

  • Bob Chinn's Crab House - Steak & seafood, famous in the Chicago area for the Mai Tais and fun atmosphere, casual, 1.2 miles south from the Westin
  • Superdawg Drive-In - Classic American, casual, 1.2 miles south from the Westin

Many more nearby and farther:

Deadlines

  • Registration - Join the fun at WeeM. Register at the door if you haven’t preregistered. The deadline for online registration was October 17th.
  • Vendor space - The deadline to submit the contract was October 22nd.
  • Lodging - The deadline set by the hotel for the WeeM rate was October 9th.
  • Volunteer Now! Get involved and become a star. We have a great WeeM every year due to the many of you who sign up to help out for a few hours or more. Sign up as a volunteer and qualify for raffle tickets to win one of the gift cards. Earn the coveted WeeM pin when you volunteer for least 4 hours.
  • Room Sharing - Email us  if you’re interested in sharing a room by submitting your preferences by Wednesday, October 29th.
  • Speaker/Meet & Greet/Tournament Submissions - The deadline to submit your proposal for a program, Meet & Greet, or tournament for WeeM was Monday, September 15th.

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