If you scored a badge in Returning Registration and you want to spare yourself from entering the hellmouth that is the SDCC hotel sale - then you'll be happy to hear the Early Bird sale is on.
What it is: your chance to book a room now at the hotel of your choosing. The catch: the hotels are not downtown. Most are on the shuttle route and they tend to be reasonably priced, though, so this is a good option if you're not aiming for the Hilton Bayfront. The other catch: you have to pay upfront and it's non-refundable.
I know a lot of you don't have a badge yet, or you're hoping to upgrade in Open Reg - so you don't know if you should jump on this or not. One option is to split the reservation with someone and book just the weekend or Weds/Thurs; then you can still come down, do the outside events if you don't get a badge, and not waste a lot of money. If you do get a full badge, you can look for a downtown hotel for the other days. Or you can book all 4 days and find someone to take over your reservation for you if you get lucky elsewhere.
We all know the hotel sale has become increasingly hellish each year - so don't write this off. I know we all want to stay at the Marriott Marquis, but it's an option for only a tiny percentage of us. If you don't have the stomach for the horror of Hotel Day - Early Bird is your best bet.
ETA: Early Bird typically lasts a few weeks. With Open Reg in early April, it'll probably still be live then, end shortly after the badge sale and be followed by Hotel Day a week or so later. Just my theory.
We've always stayed at the Doubletree by the Hazard Center.
ReplyDeletePros: Nice hotel, walking distance to starbucks & lots of restaurants - cheap & nice both, complementary breakfast is a great $$ saver. Trolley and Shuttle access both available.
Cons: Furthest away, last stop on the shuttle so if you want to get to a 10 am panel, you may encounter full shuttle buses. Bummer to have to take a 25-30 minute trip back at the end of a long day.
How are the rooms / restaurant availability / parking at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina? What am I getting for my extra $14/night (plus breakfast costs!), other than shorter shuttle ride?
The rooms are decent; the breakfast buffet was amazing when I stayed there. It's on the water and they have a nice area out back. But the main selling point for Early Bird is the proximity to the convention center.
DeleteMy question is why are hotel's harder to,get then before? We have more hotel's and the same number of people.
ReplyDeleteA couple of reasons. There's been an ongoing issue with CCI trying to get local hotels to agree to making a certain number of rooms available at the discounted rate; the hotels know they can charge and get way more. You may remember a few years ago when the hotel reservation page had a link to book prime hotels like Marriott Marquis and Hilton Bayfront at full price. CCI has done a good job of cutting deals with the hotels but it's still an issue.
DeleteAlso, while the number of attendees has stayed the same, the number of people involved in the show has grown quite a bit over the years in terms of company staffers, PR people, even media. And there are way more people involved in outside events, as well as people who won't go to the Con proper but just want to make the scene. We do have newish hotels like Hotel Z and the Pendry but they can't offset the total increase in demand, unfortunately.
Some of my friends who you'd think would have more clout, given their roles in the industry, have a hard time getting hotel rooms too. It's not just attendees who are suffering.
Just want to point out that this year Early Bird reservations are non-transferable. This is up on the CCI website. Also, most hotels have a 3-4 night minimum for booking. Don't book an early bird reservation unless you KNOW you are going to the con (badge or no).
ReplyDeleteGood point. But you can hand the reservation off to someone if you trust them - you just have to check in.
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