Travel and Expenses

1) Flights

Most of our participants will require flight reservations to attend the summit. Round trip economy class airfare arriving into and/or departing from San Francisco Airport (SFO) or San Jose Airport (SJC) will be reserved through our partner - American Express Travel Agency - at no direct cost to our participants.

The first steps to booking flights is to provide your flight preferences during the registration process. Some travel deviations, upgrade requests and up to (1) companion ticket can be arranged by American Express Travel, provided that the traveler will directly pay any additional costs between their requested itinerary and the lowest available economy class airfare. It is required that the Product Expert pay the full cost of a companion ticket if they choose to travel with a guest.

Please Note: International travelers that need a visa to enter the U.S.A. will be required to enter their visa number or ESTA information on this website before our travel agency can begin the process of reserving flights.

See the travel documents section for more information on visas.

2) Public Transport

Some participants from the USA may prefer train, boat or bus tickets instead of flights. These ticket reservations should be arranged and paid for in advance directly by participants. The ticket costs will be reimbursed by Google during the summit. See the reimbursement section for more information. 

3) Car

Some participants from the USA will prefer to drive instead of booking a flight. Any costs associated with rental cars, taxis, rideshares or mileage on your personally owned vehicle should be arranged and paid for directly by the traveler in advance. The costs will be reimbursed by Google during the summit. See the reimbursement section for more information.

Participants that do not require flight reservations may be eligible to expense their transportation via bus, taxi or rental car. Please contact the customer support team for more information.

Round trip bus transfers from San Francisco Airport (SFO) or San Jose Airport (SJC) to the Santa Clara Marriott Hotel will be arranged and provided by Google at no cost to the traveler on October 31, November 1 and November 2 as needed and in keeping with your real-time flight arrival / departure times. Approximate transfer time from San Francisco Airport (SFO): 40-80 minutes . Approximate transfer time from San Jose Airport (SJC): 15-40 minutes.

Round trip bus transfers from the Santa Clara Marriott Hotel to the Google Event Center will also be arranged and provided on November 1 and November 2 by Google at no cost to the traveler. Approximate transfer time: 10-25 minutes.

Participants are responsible for securing the appropriate travel documentation including passports and visas. Please schedule your appointments early to avoid any logistical roadblocks.

Visa Support Letters
For those who require a visa and/or passport to travel to the United States - please schedule your appointments early to avoid any logistical roadblocks. If you will be needing a visa, please fill out this form. We will use this information to prepare a visa letter for your visa application. When asked to provide a "Host Email Address" please write in "chriswong@google.com". When asked to provide a "Hotel" please write in "Santa Clara Marriott, 2700 Mission College Blvd, Santa Clara, CA 95054”. If you are uncertain if you require a visa to travel, please consult your local U.S.A. embassy or consulate. You should receive an email with a .pdf version of the visa support letter from Google within 5-10 days of completing the form. We are not able to mail hard copies of the visa letters.

Visa Fees
Due to recent policy changes we are unable to cover the cost of passport/visa fees. Travelers with financial hardships that may prevent them from attending summit may request an exception by contacting their Community Manager directly.

ESTA
The Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) is an automated system used to determine the eligibility of visitors to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) and whether such travel poses any law enforcement or security risk. All eligible international travelers who wish to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program must apply for authorization. Please visit the ESTA website to start a new application, check on the status of an existing application or get more information.

Who You Are:

• You are a citizen or eligible national of a Visa Waiver Program country.
• You are currently not in possession of a visitor's visa.
• Your travel is for 90 days or less.
• You plan to travel to the United States for business or pleasure.
• You want to apply for a new authorization for one person or a group of applications for two or more persons.

What You Need:

• Valid passport from a Visa Waiver Program country
• Valid credit card (MasterCard, VISA, American Express, and Discover (JCB, Diners Club) or PayPal) to pay the US $14 per application.
• Your contact information.
• Your most recent employment information, if applicable.To start a new application or check on an existing application click here. 

Google has secured a block of hotel sleeping rooms for the nights of October 31 and November 1 at the Santa Clara Marriott Hotel. We offer these sleeping room nights at no direct cost to participants. We will make your reservation based on the check in/check out dates provided during the summit registration process. If you wish to change your hotel check in or check out dates after completing your registration, then please contact our customer service team. Do not contact the hotel directly.

Participants are encouraged, but not required, to stay in the rooms reserved at the Santa Clara Marriott Hotel. Google will not reimburse for the cost of any sleeping room accommodations that are booked outside of the Santa Clara Marriott or outside of the nights of October 31 and November 1.

To check in to the hotel you will need a photo ID. For your convenience, your confirmed check in/check out dates will be included in the final confirmation email to be sent approximately two weeks before the summit.

Cancellation
If you need to cancel your sleeping room for any reason please contact our customer support team before August 20, 2018 to help us avoid cancellation fees. Do not contact the hotel directly.

Additional Sleeping Room Nights
For participants wishing to extend their stay at the Santa Clara Marriott Hotel before or after the summit, additional nights can be reserved on your behalf, pending room availability.

These additional costs are the responsibility of the participant and will not be paid for, or reimbursed by, Google. The cost per night of $290.24 USD is guaranteed from October 28 - November 4 and includes all taxes and fees. A credit card will be required at hotel check in for anyone who has requested additional sleeping room nights.

Visa Fees
Due to recent policy changes we are not able to cover the cost of passport/visa fees. Travelers with financial hardships may request an exception by contacting their Community Manager directly. 

Travel
Participants that do not require flight reservations may be eligible to expense their transportation via bus, taxi or rental car. Please contact Customer Support for more information.

Participants who require flights reservations will not be reimbursed for the following costs:

• Costs associated with travel in the travelers city of origin including ground transfers to/from your local airport or airport parking fees.
• Ground transportation costs to/from SFO or SJO airports. These transfers will be pre-arranged by Google based on your flight arrival/departure.
• Airline Fees including baggage fees, seat upgrades, in-flight wifi, meals, movies or other miscellaneous travel costs 

Hotel
Participants who are staying at the Santa Clara Marriott Hotel will not be reimbursed for incidental expenses charged to sleeping rooms including room service meals, movies, spa treatments other amenities.

The nightly cost of the sleeping rooms will be paid for in advance by Google. We offer this convenience so that no credit card will be required during the hotel check in process. We kindly request that participants pay for any personal incidental charges on their sleeping room bill during hotel check out.

Cancellation 
If you need to cancel your sleeping room for any reason please contact our customer support team before August 20, 2018 to help us avoid cancellation fees. Do not contact the hotel directly.