Since you didn't try the conference code how do you know it wasn't the higher-speed option? For all you know it could have been higher than the paid high-speed choice (I would expect a "conference" centric service to have more bandwidth available especially at night than one for general use). There are many possibilities here. This property may very well be trying to pull something, but we just don't have enough facts at this point.
Although there are exceptions, I find people tend to go with the crowd when given a choice. Knowing the secret entrances and the such takes knowledge or someone to guide you. Hence, why FT exists.