Brian,

At $64 per night for a Wed thru Sat stay you are saving $24.00. The club uses the number of rooms booked thru their block of rooms to negotiate the contract for each convention. Where we may be able to get the showroom at a very low rate, if we didn't book a certain number of rooms, next year the rate might be a lot higher, if we could get the space at all.

The hotels count on a certain number of rooms for each convention. This keeps the convention registration rates, dealer table rates, and even your club dues at a minimum.

Many conventions charge 10 to 20 times what we chage for admission. I've seen dealer spaces go for $1000 per table for a two day event.

The $64 rate you are getting could also put you in an older room in a front section of the hotel. Our block of rooms will be close to the convention floor. Saves a lot of walking also.

Go ahead and shop for a lower rate, stay at another hotel, but don't complain if your dues go up to $30 or $40, and the dealer tables rates double, and you pay higher prices because the dealers have to recoup their expense, and don't forget how you may feel if the admission for the convention hits $50 to $75. All of this is hypothetical of course because we have many, many members who recognise the benefits of booking in the club room block, and support their club by doing so.

Jim Steffner
Convention Chairman