Those numbers were just made up by me. I knew that wouldn't clarify.

The thing with specific information is that it can easily become overwhelming. I know that if we have full porposals from 4 different hotels in 3 cities, I'm going to get confused. What I am in favor of is the point people (who will have much specific information) presenting only the essential information to the rest of us, not everything they know.

And maybe that is totally wrongheaded and not what we should do at all. I don't know.

Like, hotels in range 109-129 rather than listing each hotel and its rates.

That wouldn't be enough information for me.

Travel is a big part of the cost for most. Hotel is the second big factor. And most of us are at least a little concerned with bang-for-the-buck. Having the hotel information, in some level of detail - cost for rooms, cost for suite, link to hotel, various hotel amenities - comes as close as we can get to giving everyone the information they need to make the final calculation on which city they'd prefer. Right? So I can add T + H + A(menities) + C(ity I like for nebulous reasons) and come up with my vote = That one! (Thac one?)

does anyone have webspace where they could host a spreadsheet (is it laura who hosts the F2F page) The spreadsheet could contain info such as location, price, hospitality suite pricing, internet, website, etc. Then, each person could look at as much or as little info as they wanted.

If I had my druther's, I'd like to see (at some point) one post for each city with say three hotel options with bullet point level of detail. If those were compiled and posted in Press, I don't think it would be too much hardship to keep up with.

So I can add T + H + A(menities) + C(ity I like for nebulous reasons) and come up with my vote = That one! (Thac one?)

I love brenda's THAC calculation and is exactly the one I use. Of course, I'm not articulate or mathy enough to write it out like that, but it's what I do all nicely put.

That being said, May 20th was one of my can't do it weekends, so unless the other plans fall through, I probably can't go.

Bullet points I could deal with.

Every proposal from every hotel in every city I could not.

I like brenda's breakdown.

I mean, the bullet point breakdown she's proposing to post, not that she should or would, you know, break down herself. 'Cause that would be unfortunate. Sad-making, bad, and unhelpful.

But yes, I want to see firm financial and amenity-providing details from two or three hotels in each prospective city before I choose a city. I can look for travel costs to each of those cities on my own, and do the math.

Bullet points I could deal with.

Every proposal from every hotel in every city I could not.

Lord, I don't think our point people have the time or energy to get proposals from more than 2 or 3 hotels.

Lord, I don't think our point people have the time or energy to get proposals from more than 2 or 3 hotels.

Again, with the What Teppy Said.

I might concievably get five basic proposals, but I would whittle those down to eliminate the obviously less favourable - and I have always counted hotel staff and management cooperation during the planning stages as a major factor. I certainly would present no more than three.

There's another thing that's making the "let's keep the hotel and city information general" seem bizarre to me.

This group has been pretty specific about what it wants for its hotel buck. Hospitality suite, with hotel agreement that we can put our own food in there. Prom on the premises, with a dance floor. Internet access available on demand in every room. The ability to have a bar at prom. A very specific price range.

Well - okay. That's all doable. But it would be good to recognise that these are very specific requirements. If it isn't down to the molecular "the band requires three bowls of M&Ms with the orange ones removed in the Green Room" level, it aint all that far off.

With reqs that specific, I'm not asking vague questions.