Oh, I think the organizers *were* paying the bills out of their own money. As I remember it, all staff credit cards had been maxed out and were being declined, so the hotel was refusing any more charges on their cards.

Oh, my. *sigh* I'm still pretty shocked that any convention would invite a guest and then not cover their expenses (or tell them at the last minute "oops, sorry, changed our minds" for that matter). I was raised to think of guests as, well, the ones who got the best food first, the most comfortable bed, and the hot water before the tank ran out.