Cheapest U.S. City to Hold a Conference for about 75
 

I am a member of an organization that has a yearly meeting (US Based). Each year they have the meeting in a different location. The group is pretty much a grassroots gathering, so there is little budget. Likewise, the people attending usually have very small travel budgets, so cost is of the essence.

They are planning for their 2017 meeting, and are asking about suggestions of location. I figured I would ask here - what city (it can be pretty small) would most likely be the cheapest for everyone to fly to from across the country, and would have cheap hotel rates to boot, during the late winter/early spring?

Sounds like a job for....

Vegas!

Seriously, there are good hotel rates there, often decent airfares from many places. Not likely to have any weather issues.

Yeah, we're holding a big event and we settled for Vegas since it's has a large room supply on short notice (three months out and over 500 people, in our case).

No one really wanted it to be there, but made the most sense.

I've found New Orleans to have good prices.

I've look at hosting a few conferences there but we needed lots of rooms which spread everyone out too much. But for a smaller number of people New Orleans can allow for lots of interesting options. For winter/early spring the weather should be good compared to say Minneapolis or Toronto.

Also great food and entertainment.

When thinking about destinations, you really have to ask yourself, "Is this a place people flock to at this time of year?" Optimally, you want to pick a destination with an abundance of hotel rooms and high vacancy rates at the time of year you're traveling.

So, for example, Florida in July or September is likely to be cheaper than Florida in December or March. New Orleans during Mardis Gras is more expensive than New Orleans in August. The fact that you're looking for winter/early spring is tough since warm weather destinations are popular and you have Christmas/President's Day/Easter/Spring Break holidays when a lot of people travel. But the flip side of that is that cold-weather destinations during these months also tend to be bigger cities which have less price flexibility in their rates if big conventions historically flock there during off season.

Is the time of year fixed in stone? I belong to an organization where members travel on their own dime and they've had a lot of luck with Memorial Day weekend in Dallas, Houston, Phoenix/Chandler, Atlanta and Los Angeles.

I hear Juarez is pretty cheap. ;)

I'd normally say Tucson, but I think they have some Spring training going on.

Cheapest City to Hold a Conference
 

Omaha

Just got back from a conference in OMA and one in TPA the week before. TPA hotel prices and flights were much cheaper. OMA wasn't bad with the Old Market area, but TPA was nicer overall. Like a previous poster said, location and date matter. The prices for TPA will increase dramatically during winter.

It'sa fairly small - I would say 75 people. It's not like I am part of the planning committee, they just asked people's opinions, so I figured I would ask here.

Usually we are able to find a place to meet. We are a pretty ingenious group - we should be, that is what we are all about. I think the big issue is finding a city that has cheap airfares from a variety of places, has a few good technical colleges (although these are usually Community Colleges), and has some cheaper places to stay. In the past they have been smaller cities like Tulsa and Racine, but they get expensive to get to.

I like the idea of Florida myself - even though prices gfo up they are still not bad. But New Orleans - there was an idea I never thought of.

I think sometimes the organizers focus too much on hotel prices and don't think about how expensive it is to fly to Bumfook, Arkansas or some other out of the way place. In places like Vegas people can also get by without rental cars, another annoying expense.

I agree with LAS (my hometown). Depending on the dates - low cost airfare (WN hub), low cost rooms, no need to rent a car, great dining options. For a conference for 500 people shop around for a good deal. For a group of that size take a look at Tropicana, Orleans, Westgate and The Plaza (Downtown) for low cost. Most people do not think of these four properties (especially The Plaza) when booking small conventions/conferences/meetings. Think outside the box. All four I mention would love to host your event. Pit them with the bigger/nicer facilities. Make them fight for your business. Good luck!

Almost any of the larger cities in the midwest, plus Vegas.

Would be surprised if anyone can beat Vegas on price, unless you're going opposite CES, Comdex or one of the handful of shows large enough to affect hotel rates. There's a lot of overcapacity in that city most of the time.

OTOH, there's a bit of stigma, especially fed by those who haven't actually been there. So it gets the junket label attached or somehow gets taken less seriously, and they lose a lot of booking on just that image alone. Something like Omaha, OTOH, screams austerity and the life of a monk, especially in winter.

Or you can try something like Phoenix or Boca Raton in late July. AS rusty says above, go someplace that it is slow. Sort of opposite when people want to be there. As an upside, when it is slow like this in a tourist area, the staff is actually nicer.

2014
How many visitors come to Las Vegas?
Last year was 41,126,512

How many convention delegates visit?
2014 saw 5,169,054 attendees.

How many conventions are held per year?
22,103 were held last year.

What is Clark County's gaming revenue?
In 2014 it was $9.6 Billion.

What is Las Vegas Strip's gaming revenue?
Last year was $6.4 Billion.

SOURCE: http://www.lvcva.com/stats-and-facts...-of-las-vegas/

LAS is the number one place in the World to hold a convention, by far. The numbers prove it. No thanks to the Presidents comments a few years ago that we all felt living in Las Vegas saying "don't blow your money in LAS" or on Super Bowl tickets - Brilliant statement. I will leave it at that, as I do not want this to hit OMNI.

That is just convention numbers. Add in the meetings, weddings, conferences and that number is even higher. Much higher. :)

I can tell you as a fact (depending on dates) the four properties I listed above will give the OP a bid and you can use that bid to shoot for other properties and hardball them on price. If they do not agree, go with one of the four properties. Three more picks are GVR, Lake Las Vegas or Texas Station. They can handle 500+ people, easy.

Most of the properties will fly 2 people to check it out, well in advance of the conference and try to win the bid.

Good luck OP! Las Vegas is the place. Low airfare (from almost anywhere), low hotel cost, some of the finest selections of Restaurants in the World.

I do live in LAS and in no way am I profiting by stating these facts.