The survey mentioned a hotel price of $125-$150 a night. Now, that sounds like a lot (especially to those of you who are from small towns), but LA is a major city, and a major tourist area, so the decent hotels are really going up in price. We also had the situation of, the "cheap" hotels don't have meeting space for hundreds of people. (I'm talking about something like Motel 6.)
There are two concerns for those of you who'd want to stay somewhere else. As Samantha mentioned, you'd have to travel back and forth -- which would necessitate renting a car. In the area we're looking at, there aren't a huge variety of hotels, and basically nothing that's any cheaper than the hotel we're in negotiations with -- except for a couple of places that, when I looked them up on Hotels.com, honestly scared me. And I'm not even talking a LOT cheaper -- they're still $100 a night. To find a decent hotel that would be cheaper, you'd have to travel some distance, twice a day. So that's a consideration.
I'm about 99% sure there'll be room parties. When are there ever NOT room parties?
And yes, having a room at the con hotel allows you to run quickly up to your room to...
Drop off stuff you've bought in the dealers' room
Grab a sweater because the ballroom AC is kinda chilly
Grab more film or another memory stick for your camera
For the ladies, freshen up your hair and makeup
Change your shirt 'cause you got mustard on it at lunch
Take a quick nap
Check something on your laptop
Pick up your badge, 'cause you forgot it
As far as riding the bus back and forth, they do have buses out there, but...ewwww.
And it's not something you'd want to do after dark.
OK, I just did a search on Hotels.com, using Universal Studios as a landmark. It only listed 2 hotels less than 5 miles away, for under $100 a night. They're both in the heart of Hollywood, which I would not send you to if you were my worst enemy. (Unless you're fond of hookers, drug dealers, and hearing gunshots from your room.)
Anyway, gang...plans are proceeding nicely! We've gotten surveys back from 325 people, with more coming in every day. The con is really shaping up nicely, and we should be accepting volunteer applications in the next couple of months. By the end of the year, we should have full hotel info and a preliminary list of programming for you. Meanwhile, keep spreading the word!