The White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) 2024 Conference Hotel Contract

Amendment 0001, Dated February 2, 2024:  The Department of Education is amending the solicitation to make the following changes:

1. Preferred dates – expanded to include “any combination of dates from September 15-29, 2024”.
2. Change Attrition clause to “Attrition clauses must be 80% or less”.
3. Clarify past Food and Beverage Revenue: “Food and Beverage Revenue: Over $145K which included per diem rate menus.”
4. Update Meeting Space Requirements to make some space Optional, etc.
5. Quotes due 2/12 @ 10am

Interested parties should review the revised RFQ and Appendix I files uploaded to the notice.  Changes should be quickly idendifiable using the Track Changes feature.  See the requirement for submission of an acknowledgement of receipt of Amendment 0001.

End of Amendment 0001.

Original Solicitation

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice.  The solicitation for commercial services is being conducted under FAR Part 12 in conjunction with FAR Part 13.5. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. Solicitation HBCU-EMAP2024-Q-02 is issued as a request for quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2023-06. The NAICS Code is 721110, Hotels (Not Casino) and Motels, and small business size standard is $40M.

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has a requirement to obtain meeting space and hotel guest room accommodations for a conference hosted by The White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) in September 2024. The preferred program dates are September 15-19, 2024, but ED will consider September 22-26, 2024.

AREA OF CONSIDERATION:  Meeting space and hotel guest room accommodations in downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS:  Large hotels in the downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area that can offer 500 or more sleeping rooms on peak nights, plus meeting space that can accommodate a minimum of 1100 attendees in rounds, and 8-10 break-out rooms accommodating a minimum of 100 in theater seating per room, will be considered. We prefer to have the lodging and conference rooms at the same location. However, we will consider proposals with partnering arrangements with sites within one city block or 5-minute walk.

The entity selected to receive an offer from ED is required to register in the System for Award Management (SAM) and to maintain active registration during the life of the purchase order. SAM can be accessed at https://www.sam.gov. Quoters shall include their SAM Unique Entity ID (UEI) number in their quote. If the quoter does not have a UEI, it should contact the entity designated at www.sam.gov for UEI establishment directly to obtain one. The quoter should indicate that it is an offeror for a government contract when contacting the entity designated at www.sam.gov for establishing the UEI. The quoter selected for an offer from the Department will need to provide Offeror Representations and Certifications prior to any award.

All interested, responsible sources may submit a quote directly to the U.S. Department of Education. Any quote from a source other than the hotel or lodging venue itself must include written evidence that the quoter is currently authorized to submit binding quotes on behalf of the venue whose accommodations and/or facility are being offered. Evidence shall include a signed agreement between the vendor and the quoter. Quotes that fail to provide such evidence shall be deemed technically unacceptable and will not be considered for award. See additional subcontract-related requirements and instructions below.

CLARIFICATION QUESTIONS:  Submit all clarification questions concerning this solicitation in writing via E-Mail to Anya Hook at anya.hook@ed.gov and Gary Weaver at Gary.Weaver@ed.gov. ED will accept clarification questions until 12:00 pm EST, Thursday, January 11, 2024. After this date ED does not guarantee that a response will be given.

QUOTE DUE DATE:  Quotes are due by 10:00 am EST, Monday, January 22, 2024, to Gary Weaver, Contracting Officer, at Gary.Weaver@ed.gov. The Department will make an award decision as soon as possible after the quote due date so that a room block, space, etc. can be locked in.

PLEASE SEE THE FULL RFQ, INCLUDING TWO APPENDICES, UPLOADED AS SEPARATE DOCUMENTS FOR COMPLETE REQUIREMENTS, BASIS FOR AWARD, AND COMPLETE QUOTE INSTRUCTIONS.