Booked

[kevin_standlee]

Chicon 7 Hotel Reservations are now open. I booked my room, arriving Tuesday, August 28 and departing Tuesday, September 4. (Times are driven by our arrival on the California Zephyr and departure on the Texas Eagle.) That's $1200 in hotel room. Ow. I could save two nights by booking a couple of nights at one of the Holiday Inns in the area using points, but then we'd still have to change hotel rooms, and I really don't like doing that in the middle of a convention stay; it wastes hours of your day. And I really prefer to stay in the main convention hotel whenever possible. I also volunteer to be in the party block, as a favor to the convention and a help to my fellow fans. Besides, I know that hotel and would prefer to not have to go down to the ground to go back up to the parties at night, which is almost certainly what would happen if I booked into the "quiet" block.

Comments

[alicebentley]

I got our reservation in too. Bit of sticker shock there - $145 a night, while most of the conventions I've been booking for have stayed pretty close to $105 or so. I know, I know, downtown Chicago, still during tourist season. But it was still (as you pointed out) quite the chunk of change to commit to.

[drplokta]

It's not $145 a night, I'm afraid, it's $167. American hotels may not include the tax in their quoted prices, but you still have to pay it.

[alicebentley]

Living in the land of Let's Add More Tax, upping the end cost comes automatically to me. Sales tax here is 9.5% after all, and hotel or entertainment venues can range as high as 16%. The hotel's quoted rate is what's used for comparison most places, so that's what I use for talking about it.

Our transportation costs are still likely to overtop the hotel costs. One of several inconveniences from having moved to the Seattle area.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

In our case, it's only the fact that we're cashing all my Amtrak points and taking the train that makes it financially feasible at all. Next year we're probably going to drive to San Antonio (Lisa avoids flying whenever possible), in which case the Priority Club points will come in to play, although it means our trip itinerary will be mostly dictated by where there are Holiday Inn-chain hotels.

[rono-60103.livejournal.com]

I booked our room for check in on Wednesday, figuring I can move it earlier if needed. We'll probably fly out on Saturday (assuming Tara's mom can get here by then), but will either be in Rockford or the suburbs prior to that.