<HTML>In a message dated 4/10/02 8:30:10 AM Central Daylight Time, rscott@wwnet.net writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">If any of you are driving to the Chicago Convention in June and are considering alternate hotels, here's some info that may help. The Hampton Inn on Mannheim Rd has rooms for under $60, and it is a 4 mile drive to the Hyatt where the convention is.  Self-parking at the Hyatt is $13 per day.  Perhaps some Chicago locals could comment on any drawbacks to this alternative? (besides the obvious one of the inconvenience of not having your room close at hand during the day). -Robert Scott  Detroit/Windsor Chapter </BLOCKQUOTE> Although there will be a little savings, it will probably take 15 to 20 minutes to drive that 5 miles at rush hour. But saving a few dollars, even if it is inconveneint, should not be the reasons to go to another hotel. When a convention goes to a hotel, and asks to use all of the meeting rooms, the hotel will charge us for those rooms, unless the hotel can make money in some other manner. There are two ways the hotel can make money off us. One is to sell food, the other is to sell sleeping rooms. If the hotel doesn't sell enough sleeping rooms during the convention, (and I don't know how many are needed to fulfill our contract), the hotel will charge us for the meting rooms. Then next year, the PTG will have to recoup that money by charging a higher registration fee. So, please, although it would be cheaper to spend the night in another hotel, if too many of us do that, it will cost us in the long run. Wim </HTML>