San Diego Con Hotel reservations

Stan Sakai · Post by **Stan Sakai** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 10:19 -0700

The travel desk for the SD Con is open.

If you are even thinking of going, make you reservations now!

www.comic-con.org

Stan Sakai · Post by **Stan Sakai** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 11:09 -0700

Too Late.

It's only been an hour, and it's nearly all sold out. The nearest convention hotel with rooms is 13 blocks away.

It's better to make reservations on your own now, rather than trying to book through the con.

Post by **Mayhem** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 12:08 -0700

Well I booked a hotel that wasn't right next door simply because of the cost. Depends if we (that's myself and Kris) will be there for all four days or just two, but we'll see and decide.

Still, I'm not surprised at the rate of takeup as the website ground to a slow halt for part of myself trying to book

Usagi · Post by **Usagi** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 13:51 -0700

Thank god for my firend who Lives In San Diago..I wanna go so bad ^_^- I just might depending on what goes down!

Post by **Todd Shogun** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 19:52 -0700

I never book through the Con. I always get my rooms right after the previous con. Plus booking through the con, you actually pay a lot more.

Usagi · Post by **Usagi** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 5:41 -0700

Really?... Well yea, I can see that happening....I think thats a ripp though XD! (Well who wouldent)- Good thinkin Todd!

Post by **Mayhem** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 7:40 -0700

Only Q I have about that is, how do you know when the Con is going to be the next year, or are they publishing those details so far in advance at the time?

Usagi · Post by **Usagi** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 8:34 -0700

Mayhem wrote:Only Q I have about that is, how do you know when the Con is going to be the next year, or are they publishing those details so far in advance at the time?

Well, for my example, like when I got to Anime Weekend Atlanta, it is Always on a spacific weekend (and has been for years)- The dates just dont change every year, and the people who would most likely be in charge of the convention plan a head. So like say- you can book your hotel (etc) the day right after the con-

I would think, depending on your location, Cons would get probis like on TV or billboards, but most people know that the con has a website and its fuctiond that way ^_^-- Hope this helps- currect me if Im wrong LoL!

Leonardo-san · Post by **Leonardo-san** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 9:06 -0700

Every 4th year, I think it is, San D Con changes it's dates to the first weekend of August. That is due to the political convention that uses the same weekend SDC usually is on. I don't know if that will happen again, or not. But that pattern has been going on since I first went to San D Con in the early 90s.
Usually by the end of the Con, they have published their dates for next year, and start preselling really early registration badges onsite. So you could find out that way while you are at the Con.

I've heard others try to book rooms a year ahead, and often been told the hotels would not let them do it for SDC, or they had to prove they were an Exhibitor. Maybe it depends on the hotel's policy.

Hotel rooms can be like airline ticket prices, but from what I know of the published room rates on the doors and some AAA looking, it seems the Con actually does get some discounts on the rooms if you book through their site. However, if you have other alternatives to getting good deals on rooms, you could try that. The Con will have a certain number of rooms set up for this event, but the hotels will have rooms that aren't part the event, and you might be able to get into those by some other means.

As for the website?
I'd say keep watching!
I have a feeling the site got overloaded, and they started to list everything as booked up, until they could sort it all through. They also take reservations by phone and mail, too, so maybe when they confirm what they have, they'll reopen what actually is still available.
This happens with some websites that do limited edition orders, like Sideshow has been doing with their Star Wars collectables. They had to beef up their website after the number of orders for their first 12" limited edition figures crashed their site. San D Con may not have expected that huge a hit on their website right off, and the same thing may have happened. Last year, it was by the end of the day that some of the more popular hotels booked up, and a few days before they all were.

Also, my group of friends (we'll probably be over 15 of us this year) booked up rooms at two hotels. This is because our first choice closed up, so it was a scramble to book together at the second choice. The outcome was we have 1 room at the one we wanted, and we think 4 rooms at another. We're waiting to be sure we have all the confirmation emails "in hand". So we're hoping others may have done the same thing, and then there'll be cancellations of extra rooms. We'd rather switch into our preferred hotel, but if it can't happen by the June deadline when they charge you, we'll drop the extra rooms.
So that's another good time to check, is right before that June deadline. Anyone who changed their mind about going, will ditch their rooms by then.

Best wishes to everyone going!! And hope to meet you there!

Post by **Mayhem** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 10:19 -0700

All I have to worry about is how much "ouch" my credit card will take for the air fare... in other words, it's not looking very cheap so far!

(best I can see so far is about 550 GBP to and from the US, and about another 100-150 within the US to and from San Diego)

Stan Sakai · Post by **Stan Sakai** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 12:01 -0700

We like to stay at one of the convention hotels. I looked into making reservations on my own last year, and found prices to be about $150-200 higher than the convention rates. When you multiply that over 7 days, it really adds up.