How to Register for HGS Events

Making Reservations for Yourself

There are several ways to make reservations for HGS events (aka "registering for events"). We recommend that you make your own reservations and that you make them on line - after logging into the HGS Website. That will assure that you:

1. Are charged the proper price,
2. Have easy access to your reservation records if you decide later to either cancel one or, perhaps, to pre-pay a reservation, and
3. Have a permanent on-line record of events you have attended or for which you have entered reservations for someone else.

There are two easy ways to make reservations in your own name. You can go to the calendar and click on the event. Or, if you know the event number, you can go to your personal record and use "Event Speed Registration."

Registering Yourself From the Calendar

The easiest way to register yourself is simply to log on and choose an event from the calendar. Then click on "Register for this event!" at the top of the page. That takes you to a page that is pre-filled-in with your name and member status. (The data is taken from your log-on record.) If there is no charge for the event, you must next click "Add Registrant" and then confirm your registration. Your reservation is not recorded until all of these steps are complete.

If there is a charge associated with your event, you confirm by making a choice between "Pay Online" and "Pay at the Door." "Pay Online" takes you to a secure site where you can enter your credit card information. The HGS doesn't see that detail and has no record of your credit-card number. All the HGS knows is that you did or did not successfully pay for the event, how much you paid, and the invoice and payment numbers involved.

"Event Speed Registration" from "My Information"

You can see your personal record by clicking on "My Information" in the navigation bar. This brings up your "Users View" and all the personal information the HGS Website has saved about you. Only you and the system administrators can see this screen. Note that you can click on "Registered Events" near the top of the screen and see your reservations and payment history. You can also pay for an event for which you previously made a reservation and this is where you can cancel a reservation - provided you cancel before the reservation deadline.

To register for an event from this screen, you need to know the Event ID number. The easiest place to find that number is to go to the event page and look at the URL. For example, the February HGS Dinner at http://www.hgs.org/en/cev/?89 is Event 89. Enter the Event ID where shown and click "Submit." Then make the "Pay Online " or "Pay at Event" decision as mentioned before.

Obviously, this second method is cumbersome compared to making your reservation from the calendar. But it is the easiest way to make a reservation for someone else. See below for more on that.

Making Reservations for Someone Else

On occasion you may need to make a reservation for someone else. He or she may be your guest or perhaps you are making reservations for several co-workers. How you do that depends on whether or not that person is already registered on the HGS web site. And please note that YOU must be registered on the HGS Website, but you need not be registered for any events, in order to make a reservation for someone else.

"Event Speed Registration" for an HGS Member

If the people you want to register for an event are current members of the HGS, it's easy to make their reservations and get the member price for them. All you need to know is the event number(s) for the events they plan to attend. As previously mentioned, the easiest place to find that number is to go to the event page and look at thelast few digitss in the URL.

First, look them up in the Membership Directory at http://www.hgs.org/en/users/search.asp? If you can't find that person, they are not current members and not eligible for member pricing. If you find them, look in their record for "Event Speed Registration" and enter the event ID. Click on "Submit" and make the same decisions you make otherwise such as "Pay Online" or "Pay at Event." That's all there is to it.

Pricing

You should automatically be given the proper price when you register for an event. That is, if you are logged on as a member whose dues are current, not as a self-registered non-member, you will get the member price. If you do not, please contact Dave Crane.

Emeritus members, speakers, and others who may get special pricing, will not see their special price reflected in the on-line reservation. If it is not represented properly, they should not pre-pay. Their price will be adjusted at the door to the event.

We do not currently have any special event pricing for students.

Making Reservations for a Non-Member

You can't see the registration records of non-members or past members, even though they are in the system. In fact, both past HGS and past GSH members are there, in addition to people who have simply registered themselves on the Website. So, before you attempt to make a reservation for anyone, you should try to discover the e-mail address they use on the HGS Website. It isn't mandatory, you can fill in your own e-mail address. But that's how you can tie their reservation to their Website record. It's also how the system sends notifications to them about their reservations, payments, and cancellations. Also, when you make a reservation for someone else, a copy of that reservation is attached to your record, as well as to theirs. That way, either of you can make future modifications to it.

In general, it's very important that the HGS know how to contact every registrant in the unlikely event that a meeting is cancelled or a speaker can't make it.

To make a reservation for someone who is not a current member of the HGS, proceed as though you are making a reservation for yourself. When the screen comes up showing all of your personal data, click below the Submit block where it says "Clear Form Defaults (useful if you are registering someone besides yourself)." That clears the form and allows you to enter the necessary information for someone else. The mandatory fields are noted with an asterisk (*). Once again, this is for making reservations for non-members only.

To register a member and get member pricing for them, use Speed Registration. First, find the event number(s). The easiest way is to go to the event and look at the URL. For example, the February 17, 2004 Northsider event is described at http://www.hgs.org/en/cev/?58. It is therefore event number 58. Then look up the member in the Member Directory. Searching by last name is easiest. Once found, enter the event number in their speed registration block and proceed as usual to complete the reservation. All fields will be filled in for you automatically and he or she will get the member price. If they are not listed as current members, they are not eligible for the member price.

Paying by Credit Card on the Website

After you have added a registrant to an event, you are given the choices to "Pay Online" or "Pay at Event." You must choose one of them or the reservation is simply an "estimate" and is not completed. Choosing Pay Online takes you to the Chase Bank's interface. They use LinkPointCentral's "Your Pay Connect." At this point you are no longer on the HGS Website. Any details you enter are encrypted and safe from strangers. They are not available to the HGS.

You will see a screen containing the billing information that the HGS Website has passed to LinkPoint. You must verify that this is an address known to your credit card company. The ZIP Code is intentionally left blank and you must fill it in by way of confirming the address is correct.

Some credit cards require you to add a code from their card that only the person holding the card is likely to know. The location of that code varies, so look at the credit card illustrations on the AAPG Website if you are uncertain where to look for the code.

If you complete the credit card payment successfully, you will be told so and returned to the HGS website. You will also get an e-mail confirming payment. If you get an error code that you don't understand, contact the HGS Webmaster. One pecularity of the LinkPoint site is that if you attempt to make two payments within the same five-minute period, the second invoice is flagged as "potentially fraudulent" and you will not be allowed to pay it.

Making Reservations by E-mail, Fax or Telephone

If you do not have browser access to the Internet, or if you just can't get the hang of it, you can make and cancel reservations and pay for them by e-mail or telephone to the HGS office. We prefer you NOT do this because our staff is busy enough. If you must have help making reservations, the preferred method is by e-mail or fax. office@hgs.org, 713-463-9160 (Fax) or 713-463-9476 (V). Please provide the following information to the HGS office:

1. The event name and date.
2. Attendee's name and, if a current or past HGS or GSH member, their member number.
3. Attendee's e-mail address (or a contact phone number if you don't know the e-mail address).
4. Your credit card number if you want to pre-pay. Or you may pay at the door.

Refunds

If you make a reservation, pay for it, and later decide to cancel it before the reservation deadline, you can apply for a refund through the HGS Office. office@hgs.org, 713-463-9160 (Fax) or 713-463-9476 (V). Include the credit-card number that you used to pay for the reservation and the confirmation e-mail you received when you paid. If you have lost that e-mail, send as much information as you can about the name and date of the event, the date that you paid, and how much you paid.

Refunds cannot be made for reservations that were paid for, but not cancelled before the reservations deadline. When that happens, you are considered a no-show.

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Notice: No-shows will be billed! If you make a reservation for yourself or someone else, you are on record as being the person who made it. If we can't find them to send the no-show bill to them, you will get the bill.

Note also that you can only make reservations for HGS events. However, not all HGS events allow on-line registration. The annual Shrimp Peel, for example, is usually sold via tickets that are available a number of places. We don't record the names of participants. Similarly, the HGA takes care of their own reservations.

Created December 09, 2003. Modified February 24, 2004.