Nov 14 2008
Early Planning - Convention Travel
Booking in advance makes all the difference in convention/event travel. It can mean the difference between getting a ticket or room or not. If you live in the same town as your favorite event, go you! For all the rest of us there is planning to do. Even if you live in the same town as the event, sometimes it’s fun to stay at the convention and if you book early there are usually discounted rates.
Last year Anime Expo moved to downtown LA. There are very few hotels in downtown LA. I booked early and got a pimp room at the official hotel. I decided not to go and cancelled but my cancellation made someone’s miracle happen.
Comic Con has plenty of nearby hotels but they all sell out. They usually sell out for miles in every direction. One year we decided to call their bluff and thought there was no way every single room was taken. We were sort of right; there was one $250 suite available in some random town about 40 minutes out of downtown San Diego. Everything else was booked so we stayed over an hour or two north in Irvine. Even that hotel sucked. It was a La Quinta Inn built on some historical railroad station. I don’t care if it’s historic or not, it’s a train station!!! Rumble, rumble, CHOO CHOOOOOO!!! Last year there was some offroad event the same weekend which made matters worse. For some reason something inside me still says there’s a room available somewhere… Will I ever learn?
So seriously, I’ve been there done that for you so take my word for it. It sucks no matter how it pans out. Book early. Have relatives in that city. Something! Just don’t be an optomist like me in this situation because it doesn’t work. It’s not hard to book online or call up the hotel, then be sure to confirm as the time nears. If you heed these words, good times should be had by all.
