<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> Friends, I hope I'm not being too redundant; I didn't read all the "convention" posts.  Gary Neie, next year's director, mentioned that next year in Dallas the rooms will be under $100, and there is much better access to other eateries. Usually a little sleuthing will turn up less expensive alternatives for meals.  At Chicago, having arrived late in the evening, I ate breakfast at the hotel buffet the next morning, but at $13 plus tip even once was too often.  The next morning I ate at the cafeteria across the street -- two eggs, home fries, bacon and toast for under $4.  And that evening I walked 15 minutes to the MacDonalds -- OK,  not my favorite, but I'm not that picky, either.  Even within the Hyatt, a lunchtime salad or sandwich was $5 and really filled me up.  I can live with that. Another hint -- sell enough Dampp-Chaser systems, get invited to the complimentary Saturday morning breakfast.  Thank you, Gail!  :-) Regards, Clyde Hollinger, RPT Lititz, PA, USA Tom Servinsky wrote: <blockquote TYPE=CITE>The cost of the our convention room rates is cheap in comparison to just about any other hotel you can think of. Anything under $100 per night for a hotel like the Hyatt is a deal anyway you slice it.  My pet peeve, however, is not the cost of the room but rather how convention sites are strategically  placed and run.  Generally they are conveniently located to the airport, but beyond that, that make things like buying food a high priced commodity. Come on....$9.25 for 2 eggs and a glass of juice. It's bit of the "gotcha".  I think the convention hotels are so geared towards attracting companies/conventions with unlimited expense accounts that the "extras" don't hit home like they do when we, the basically self-employed worker, have to swallow some of the ridiculous stuff.</blockquote> </body> </html>