OK folks, here's the nitty gritty. Convention room rates are a bit higher than regular room rates, no matter where you go. We negotiate with the host hotel for favorable room rates for our members. As was pointed out,four nights last year at the Trop would have been 296.00 while this year at the Riv those same four nights will be 280.00. Sure you can get a lower rate at another hotel but consider the travel, the inconvenience of being close to your room and not having to carry everything with you to the show, and of course supporting your club.

Now about supporting your club. The club uses the number of room nights booked to negotiate the price of the the rest of the convention expenses. If we can assure enough room nights in the host hotel booked by our members we can reduce our expenses considerably. With enough room night we can reduce, or eliminate the cost of show floor rental, meeting room rental, and some food & beverage expense and in some cases pick up some amenities that can be used to benefit the club members for drawings or raffles. At the Trop we basically had the show floor and meeting rooms at no cost last year because we were able to book enough room nights. If we didn't meet the room night minimum it could have cost the club thousands of dollars in room rentals. If we had to cover extra rental costs, the money would have come out of the club treasury or made up some way in the form of increased dues, higher convention admissions, higher dealer table costs, etc.

This year we were able to get favorable room rates for a host hotel (compared to quoted rates from other locations I checked of from 89.00 to over 159.00 plus costs for show floor rentals). When you consider the convenience, being close to the action, and backing your club, the rooms are not that much higher. Do you need to drive from another location or do you plan on carrying your binders or cases of chips? Forget something after arriving at the show? Your room in the Riv is only minutes away, you don't have to trek to the garage, travel a few flights and find your car, drive back, and then find a parking place again when you return.

Over the past years, each Convention Chairman has done the best job for the club in getting a good place for our show, based on the best rates for rooms, meeting space and food. If you could see some of the costs from the few other hotels that even bother to respond to our requests for quotes, you would be able to see how great the Riv is for our club. Even if we were able to get lower room rates, someone can always find a lower one. Want to drive back and forth to Laughlin? You can get a room there for 19.00 a night.

The Riv has been remodeling there rooms and they are very nice, probably better than most at the Trop. The hotel is bending over backwards to make our stay this year as good as it can be. If we book a lot of night this year, we can possibly negotiate for better rates next year.

Archies post explains a lot of the details also. This post is not directed at any particular member, only trying to explain what happens behind the scenes. If any member has specific questions, or suggestions to offer, please contact me. Also, if you are willing to step up and volunteer for the convention to help in any way, please let me know. Still looking for someone to handle the program book.

Thaks for reading and look forward to seeing everyone in June.

Jim Steffner
Convention Chairman