So, counting up the votes in the poll as well as the secondary votes that people have mentioned in their posts, it looks like the following ranking is coming out?

1. April 11-13 (10) - basketball game
2. April 18-20 (9) - baseball game, Japan Do conflict
3. June 20-22 (9)
4. May 2-5 (8) - baseball game, Cinco de Mayo, MCI Do conflict
5. June 6-8 (4)
6. Other (4)

I just woke up here in Stockholm however and am drinking coffee so might be helpful if someone else can check my math

Maybe April 11-13 and June 20-22 are the front runners, with the April date slightly ahead? April might be fun also because of the game�

I'm certainly leaning towards Cinco De Mayo, and the dates in April. Sorry I've been a bit MIA lately as Ive done a big round of job interviews this week. Hopefully good news will be had soon.

Hoprfully we can settle on a date within the next 7 days.

As far as hotels, I believe that as long as everyone is in the downtown and South Beach areas...You guys can stay pretty much where ever. I tend to lean Starwood but if anything, I'd rather try my luck with a nice condo through AirBnB

SPG is surprisingly expensive on the 11-13 weekend unless you want to stay at MIA airport or up in Fort Lauderdale. Aloft Brickell wants almost $300 per night including taxes. I might take my chances with AirBnB as well.

Not very surprising at all, gentlemen. Apr 11-13 is one of the "last hurrah" weekends of "The Season" down here which will tail off after that since Easter, the nominal end, comes so late this year.

For affordability, start with the last weekend of April when the hotel (and airfare) rates will have dropped like stones.

Surprising to me, but I guess it goes from when the leaves have fallen off the trees up here (mid-October) to when they mostly return (about mid-April). Other than Miami, I do all I can to avoid Florida as a general rule .

Diversify and go low end; CC, IHG and MR all have decent promos that end in April, I'll likely hotel hop for deals and promo completion, we (since we can track each other down offline) could even do a deal where I book two hotels for a night or two and we split the cost of the one you use.

It sounds like April 11-13 near MIA will work for enough people, maybe also doing May or June in LAS is the next logical question.

Yes, can figure it out. SPG's promo is junk anyway.

Not to steal from elsewhere, but .

I am (we are) working on securing a few tours near/at MIA once we have a date set. Possibly with AA and/or Airbus. So I am not completely dismissing the possibility of staying at an airport hotel.

If that is confirmed, I'd try to arrange something with SPG or the Eurobuilding people (EB hotel on 36/41st). Have heard (surprisingly) great things of the property and the Venezuelan connection may come in handy as we bring them a bunch of new clients (if they can give us a good enough rate for us to forego points with the usual chains).

If at the end nothing is possible with AA/Airbus, I am almost positive I could arrange a group rate at the Intercontinental in Bayside. Recently renovated and pretty awesome now. Even a tour may be possible too. However, we need dates ASAP and a head count before I can approach them.

Actually, we may as well do the IC regardless of the airport happening or not.

Come on, vecina. Let's adapt. Some of us non-royalty are considering Airbnb because an Aloft is too expensive and you're gonna offer us the Mandarin, JW and Epic and Viceroy?

Hola vecino. It was safer for me to go to the higher end than the lower end for our distinguished FTers

Do not know what type of accommodations are usually in order at DO's. Doral area has some economic options too. Well it's Miami, easier to find good price accommodations than other cities.

Usually a mid-range hotel (read Sheraton/Hilton/Hyatt Regency, maybe a Grand Hyatt) is chosen for much larger DOs. 95% of the time it is a points earning hotel in a major program, so that people can either earn points, or burn points. I'm open to anything, but I always check SPG first. Best thing to do is to pick a hotel in an area with a lot of hotels, and let anyone coming pick where they want. Of course, Bachovas if you end up needing some sort of minimum number of people, that can change things.

I have no problem paying, I'm just not paying almost $300 for an Aloft in Brickell . If I pay $300 a night, I personally want at least a 4.5-5 star place. The SPG hotels other than the MIA airport ones are far too much for what I want to pay for them, so I'm quite willing to look elsewhere. I personally like Mandarin Orientals, almost stayed in the one in KUL, and wish I had after I had dinner with someone there. IC would be nice as well.

I might stay at the Sanctuary South Beach. I ate at their restaurant a couple years ago and really liked it. It struck me as a nice boutique hotel and it's going for $189/night for 4/11-4/13.

Ok so April 11-13 is looking promising? Agreed that movement toward a group plan or booking might be helpful.

Nice to earn or burn points on the hotel but happy for those of you who know/care more about hotels to decide for me

If there are events at the airport, then the IC Doral might be a good value as it's $135 per night at the moment (via AAA or advance purchase). Perhaps they might offer an even better group rate, which might be hard to beat for a 4-5 star property?

Both interviews went well with the two prospective employers. I should have job offers from hopefully both before the 12th. Once I get those in, I'll be locking in the date. I'm leaning towards April 11th at this point as well.

Could I please get a tentative head count if it were to occur on either of the April dates?

Thanks.