Information for Participants

About Vancouver

From June — August, temperatures are generally warm, ranging from 20-28°C (approximately 78-90°F). Lots of sunshine can be expected. Daylight hours are approximately 6:00 am – 9:00 pm. Currently (as of March 19th), one Canadian dollar (CAD) is equal to .70€ or $0.75.

Conference Venue

ACL 2017 will be held from July 30th through August 4th, 2017 at the Westin Bayshore Hotel in downtown Vancouver:

1601 Bayshore Drive
Vancouver, BC V6G 2V4
Tel:  +1-604-682-3377
http://www.westinbayshore.com/

All parts of the conference will take place at the Westin Bayshore Hotel on the first and second floors. Precise room assignments will be made closer to the conference.

Things to Do & See

Enjoy views of the coastline, distant mountains, and Stanley Park, plus easy access to all of the best things to do in Vancouver. Boasting one of the most spectacular coastal locations in the world, the snowcapped mountains and the Pacific Ocean come together to create a truly magnificent setting. In addition, you are moments from shopping at Robson Street and Pacific Centre Mall, and attractions like the Vancouver Aquarium and Granville Island. Find even more things to do in Vancouver at www.tourismvancouver.com or visit the hotel’s website.

In addition, here is a list of kid-friendly things to do in Vancouver (these can be reached with public transit, but it is more convenient if you have a car):

1. The aquarium, train ride, horse drawn tour in Stanley park.

2. Go to top of Grouse Mountain to see the bears.

3. Granville Island has some fun stuff for kids

4. Maritime museum (if they are a little older)

5. The planetarium (for older kids)

6. Jericho beach and the Spanish banks

7. A little further out from downtown: Play land and the PNE

8. A little more further out: Burnaby Central Railway in Confederation Park has these amazing tiny working trains that one can ride on.

Presenter Information

Oral Presentations

Due to the overwhelming number of high quality papers, we have needed to shorten oral presentation timings.

Long paper talks are given 14 minutes plus 4 minutes for questions Short papers are given 10 minutes plus 2 minutes for questions The session chairs will moderate the sessions and ensure timing is adhered to. Papers are spaced apart with a 1 minute interval to provide some time for transitioning between presenters.

Please test your presentations in the break before your session by connecting with the chair for your session. The conference rooms will include 2 screens, projects, an audio system and lighting. There will be no shared computer available to use for presentations so please bring your own laptops. Most screens will have a display ratio of either 16:9 (for most presentations) or 13:7 (for smaller tutorials and workshops). The display connectors for the screens are mostly HDMI with VGA connections being somewhat rare. Please bring any display adapters you might need to connect your laptops to the screens and any audio connectors if you have a non-standard audio-out port.

We have hired a professional videographer to record all of the oral presentations at ACL once again this year. We will make the videos available online after the conference. Our goal is to improve the dissemination of the scientific materials that are generated for the conference.

Beyond creating a great presentation that you will be proud to have other people watch, you don’t need to take any further action. The copyright agreement for the final submission of your paper granted ACL permissions to record your talk and distribute it under a Creative Commons Attribution License. Please do check that the images that you use in your presentations are cleared for dissemination and have been attributed, where possible and applicable.

To simplify the logistics, all talks will be recorded. If you want to opt out after the conference or have any other feedback, you can contact Chris Callison-Burch.

Posters

We are using the same provider as in previous years (e.g., at NAACL 2016).

Poster boards are 4 by 8 feet (121 x 242 cm) in size, and they can accommodate 2’ x 3’ or A0 sized posters in both landscape and portrait formats, or 4’x6’ in landscape format.

The extra space on the side of the poster is intended for the audience to listen to the poster presenter). There will be one poster per side of the board. Posters are likely to be arranged by subject area, so presenters may be co-located near other posters on similar topics.

There’s a local poster printing option for people who want to print their posters in Vancouver, rather than traveling with them. The FedEx office at 779 W Pender St, Vancouver will take your print order remotely and deliver to the hotel. Details of the services are available here.

Live Captioning

This year, in addition to recording all sessions, ACL is also providing live captions for each of the sessions. Participants to ACL can have the captions, with translations if so desired, transmitted to their local devices (phones, computers, etc.). The speech recognition being used for ACL has been customized to papers submitted to the conference, ensuring higher quality recognition, especially of much of the technical vocabulary used at the conference. Live captions are provided using the Microsoft Translator live service and model adaptation by the Microsoft CRIS service.

To access the captions, use the following links (notices will also be posted on the doors for each session):

• Session 1 (Monday/Tuesday: Salons B/C, Wednesday: Salons A/B/C, Tuesday/Wednesday: Invited Talks)
• Session 2 (Monday/Tuesday: Salons E/F, Wednesday: Salons D/E/F)
• Session 3 (Monday/Tuesday: Salon D)
• Session 4 (Monday/Tuesday: Salon 1)
• Session 5 (Monday/Tuesday: Salons 2/3)

Conference App

This year, we are also experimenting with building a smartphone guide for the conference using the GuideBook platform. The guide is designed to be an attendee’s companion during the conference. Although the guide presents some of the same information on the website, its primary advantage is that, once downloaded, it can be used without an internet connection. It also has the following additional features:

• A “Schedule” section which shows all of the sessions.
• “Papers” and “Posters” section which lists all of the papers/posters along with their abstracts.
• An “Authors” section which lists all of presenting authors.
• All of the above sections are searchable and, most importantly, they are all linked appropriately. That is, if you click on a paper session, it shows you all of the papers that will be presented in that session. If you click on a paper, it shows you the session it will be presented in and its authors. And if you click on an author, it shows you all of their papers.
• A “Floorplan” section showing the conference floor plan.
• A “My Schedule” section to which you can add sessions you want to attend. Note: Unfortunately, GuideBook doesn’t allow individual papers to be selected. This is a clear disadvantage of the guide compared to the ACL website which — for the first time – allows users to generate and print their own custom schedules down to individual papers and posters!
• A “My Notes” section where users can jot down notes on any paper/session etc.
• A “My To-Do” section where users can add to-do action items on any paper/session etc.
• Social sections showing all tweets with the hashtag #acl2017nlp and from the official twitter account @acl2017, and a communal photo album.

To use the guide, you need to download the GuideBook app first and then download the “ACL 2017” guide from within that app. If you already have the GuideBook app installed on your smartphone, you can simply scan the QR code below to download the ACL 2017 guide.

Regular Accommodation

EVERYTHING SOLD OUT

We have secured accommodation for regular participants at ACL discounted rates at three conveniently located hotels in Vancouver: Westin Bayshore Vancouver (the conference hotel, with the largest block of rooms), the Marriott Vancouver Pinnacle Downtown (a spillover hotel with 50 guest rooms), and the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre (another spillover hotel with 60 guest rooms).

Links to reservation pages and more details for each of the hotels are provided below.

Westin Bayshore Vancouver

SOLD OUT

• 1601 Bayshore Drive, Vancouver, BC V6G 2V4; +1-604-682-3377
• Conference Hotel.
• Located 9.2 miles (14.8 km) from Vancouver International Airport.
• Complimentary wifi in all guest rooms.
• Single/Double Room: $279 CAD, Triple Room: $309 CAD, Quad Room: $339 CAD.
• Self Parking: $38 CAD per night, Valet Parking: $42 CAD per night. Prices include taxes.
• ACL discounted rates are available through Friday, July 7, 2017 at 5pm local time SOLD OUT.

Marriott Vancouver Pinnacle Downtown

SOLD OUT

• 1128 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC V6E 4R5; +1-604-684-1128
• Located 9.3 miles NE of the airport. This hotel does not provide shuttle service.
• Single/Double Room: $309 CAD.
• ACL discounted rates are available through Thursday, June 15, 2017 at 5pm local time SOLD OUT.

Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre

SOLD OUT

• 1088 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC V6Z 2R9; +1-604-331-1000
• Complimentary wifi in all guest rooms.
• Single/Double Traditional Room: $289 CAD, Single/Double View Room: $344 CAD.
• Valet and self-parking are available.
• ACL discounted rates are available through Friday, June 9, 2017 at 5pm local time SOLD OUT.

Student Accommodation

EVERYTHING SOLD OUT

We also have booked a small number of rooms specifically for students at super-discounted rates: Westin Bayshore Vancouver (the conference hotel, with 10 rooms), the Georgian Court Hotel (with 20 rooms), and the YWCA Hotel (with 20 rooms). To the extent possible, we encourage students to share rooms.

The ACL Office will accept your reservation request and make the reservations on your behalf. Room sharing is recommended since only a limited number of rooms are available at the discounted rates. If you would like to share, you will need to specify the total number of people who will be sharing the room including yourself (i.e., yourself plus 1 to 3 others). Please be aware that rooms typically come with two beds so any more than two people may have to share a bed.

Please complete this form (SOLD OUT) to make your reservation request. We will do our best to honor your preferred hotel from the list below on a first-come first served basis. All requests must be received no later than Thursday, June 1, 2017 by the ACL Office.

The Georgian Court Hotel and YWCA Hotel are conveniently located in the same block, which makes it easier to share costs when traveling to the Conference Hotel if you do not care to walk. These hotels are about 2.09km (1.3 miles) — a 15-20 minute walk — from the Conference Hotel.

Westin Bayshore Vancouver

SOLD OUT

• 1601 Bayshore Drive, Vancouver, BC V6G 2V4; +1-604-682-3377
• Conference Hotel.
• Located 9.2 miles (14.8 km) from Vancouver International Airport.
• Complimentary wifi in all guest rooms.
• Single/Double Room: $199 CAD.

Georgian Court Hotel

SOLD OUT

• 773 Beatty Street (at Robson St.) Vancouver, BC V6B 2M4; +1-604-682-5555; +1-800-663-1155 (toll-free)
• Single/Double Room: $199 CAD.
• $30 CAD surcharge for each person beyond double (4 people maximum).
• Valet parking offered at the hotel.
• Free airport shuttle that runs from the hotel. 
• Complimentary wifi and daily bottled water in all guest rooms.

YWCA Hotel

SOLD OUT

• 733 Beatty Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 2M4; +1-604-895-5830

Extra persons can only be accommodated in the Double;Double w/Private Bath at $15 CAD per night per person with a maximum of 4 people. Wifi, linens, and towels included.

Transportation

Transportation to the Westin Bayshore Hotel, the Marriott Vancouver Pinnacle Downtown, and the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre is available from the Vancouver Internation Airport (YVR; +1 604 207 7077). Prices are as follows:

• Limousine: $60 CAD (one way; prices may vary). A reservation is required.
• Bus: $8.75 CAD (one way)
• Subway: $ 8.75 CAD (one way)
• Taxi: $35 CAD (one way; prices may vary)

Public transit to downtown

Take the Canada Line to Waterfront. It takes 25 mins (12 stops). Get off at the Waterfront Station. Walk south on Granville (away from the North Shore mountains) to the corner of Granville and Pender. Take Bus 19 (use the same ticket you bought at the airport). Get off at the corner of Georgia St and Cardero St. (6 mins, 5 stops). It is a short walk from that intersection (5 mins, 190 metres) to the hotel going north.

Other downtown hotels are similarly close by from the Waterfront station. Depending on your hotel you might have to take a taxi from Waterfront (see the section below about hailing a taxi in

You can also take the Canada Line train from the airport to downtown.

Taxis to downtown

Taxis and wheelchair-accessible vehicles are available at taxi stands located on Level 2 of the Domestic and International Arrivals Area at YVR. There is a fixed fare from the airport depending on the zone you travel to. The conference hotel will cost either Cdn $31 or Cdn $35 (it falls in between two zones). For more info about taking a taxi from the airport, see here.

Note that there is no Uber or Lyft in Vancouver as yet.

Hailing taxis in Vancouver

It is often difficult to hail a taxi in Vancouver by just walking out on the street and raising your hand. You will have to call the taxi company on the phone and tell them your address. Here is one such taxi company’s phone number: Vancouver-Taxi 604-871-1111.

You can also install the eCab app which will let you hail a taxi from multiple vendors.

Walking around the Conference Hotel

The hotel is very close to Stanley Park. Head north from the hotel and take the walking / running / cycling path to the sea wall at Stanley Park. It is an excellent place to walk, jog, run or cycle. The Vancouver Aquarium is also in Stanley Park and is a 20 minute walk from the hotel.

If you come in on the weekend and are looking for a place to eat that you can walk to. Walk south up Cardero St until you get to Robson St (6 mins, 650 metres) and there are many restaurants to choose from along Robson and along the walk to Robson St.

Social Event

The social event is included with your registration. We will also offer additional admissions for people accompanying participants (see registration form for pricing details).

The Social event follows the poster session and dinner.

Date: Tuesday Evening, August 1st, 2017
Time: 7:30pm – 10:30pm
Location: Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre
Address: 845 Avison Way, Vancouver BC, V6G 3E2; +1-604-659-3456

With over 50,000 amazing aquatic creatures, the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre provides a beautiful backdrop for our event with unforgettable galleries filled with aquatic life, plus expansive outdoor spaces.

The Vancouver Aquarium is a self-supporting, non-profit society dedicated to effecting the conservation of aquatic life through display and interpretation, education, research and direct action. Our event will help to achieve a positive effect on the marine world and directly contribute to their conservation, research and education programs.

On-site Childcare

For the first time ever, ACL will be offering on-site childcare at the conference hotel. We have hired a professional childcare service, KiddieCorp, which has experience providing childcare at conventions. Childcare will be available from 9 AM until 5 PM on the tutorial and workshop days, and from 8 AM until 6 PM during the main conference. The childcare room will be located close to the conference rooms, and has space for up to 23 children. We will also have a room available for nursing, or for mothers who need to pump.

The cost of the childcare is partially subsidized by the ACL. The cost for general registrants will be $10.00 USD per hour per child. For students registrants the cost will be $5.00 USD per hour per child. Availability is limited, so we encourage you to sign up soon. The childcare registration is being handled by KiddieCorp. For more information, and to sign up for childcare services, please use this form.

Conference Map

The following Google Map shows all of the hotels mentioned above along with the Aquarium.

Visa Information

Since visa applications can take 1–4 months to be approved, we advise that you apply well in advance. If you require an invitation letter for your visa application, please click on the button below to fill out a request form.