Okay, hang on a sec. What the hell happened here today? We seemed to be moving on pretty smoothly, and suddenly...

But:

Can we please argue about some of this stuff after we get some information and aren't just speaking in generalities? And can we not declare any one single item 100% written in stone? Some of us don't actually care about internet in every single room, for example. Or maybe we do, but other things are also up there. The people doing the research knew what things were important to us. So why not trust them to say "this one doesn't have quite everything, but I know we'd love it" or "this is a bit higher than we planned, but I think it would be delightful" yadda yadda.

I agree with brenda.

brenda, I thought we were moving along smoothly, too. In fact, I'm pretty sure of it.

Recapping for me - and this is where I need to get off and get some work done, so yeah, I'm testy - is the root of my original question.

It's a question of time.

As it stands, I have a list of requirements; I have a price range. If the requirements meet that definition - not negotiable without upsetting a lot of potential attendees - then I carve out the time, call the hotel, get their Events coordinator, spend half an hour on the phone with them, have them email me, send them the IFB. But before I proceed to the next chunk of time spent with that particular hotel, I ask the second question, the one that actually presumably has some leeway attached to it: quanto, combien, how much money?

Now, I've already done that, and eliminated seven hotels from the SF Convention and Visitors Bureau's helpful list. Nothing suitable as a hospitality suite? Thanks, and moving on, because that's obviously not negotiable. Hi, got your name from the SFC&VB, we're looking for (insert stuff) - oh, you don't have the rooms available that weekend? Thanks, and moving on, etc.

So if there's a hard top-line limitation on the hotel cost, as well, I wanted to know that. Because I really don't need to spend an extra ten - no exaggeration, believe me - hours of time talking to dead ends.

I have also submitted IFB-ish type inquiries to the Tropicana and lasvegas.com

Ok. Well, I must be off (I'm seeing Buffistas tonight!). Please no violence (not that it seems like we're on the verge of it). Any imput people have, please share.

Nope - no violence over here, ma'am. Literally, just wanting to not have to waste time on stuff that isn't negotiable.

Any imput people have, please share.

As a coordination-work averse person, my feeling is to just give the point people the requirements (non-monetary) and let them come back with what they come back with. They know price is an issue. I trust them enough to assume they know the best places in their cities for what we're looking for, and capable of negotiating for places they'd actually sleep without pretreating with flea powder, and eat in, without taking anti-biotics.

If their proposals don't appeal, people won't vote for them. If what they come back with appeals, people will vote for them.

Bless you, Cindy. Wise woman, and to the point.

That's certainly where I'm coming from, anyway - I won't rec the Motel Roaachtrap and I won't rec the bridal suite at the Mark Hopkins, either.

All I'm asking is to not be expected to spend five hours on the phone with either of those, on the off-chance that they might be able to meet three of five bulleted points.

Have been at the beach for 4 days; serial:

I'd lovelovelove to visit Phoenix and bring a large F2F to Erika. During the Winter months.

Yes! As one whose parents were "snowbirds" in Phoenix for umpty-ump decades, a really wonderful time to go is around the Oakland A's spring training. [eta: March] The weather is perfect, the desert wildflowers are blooming, and it's just gloriously lovely. A bonus would be going to ball games, which, even as a team-sports-averse person, I found to be lots of fun to go to with friends who are into the game.

Taliesin West is right there, for Frank Lloyd Wright fans, and Sedona is about a 2 hour drive north, as someone pointed out, though Sedona is quite high elevation-wise and it's probably best to go there later in the year.

As for other hotels in SF, the Chestnut Street / Marina / Chrissy Field / Fort Mason / Presidio / Cow Hollow area are all in walking distance of the many Lombard Street motels. Some of them look to be quite nice, some look to be noisy and awful. I think there's a Holiday Inn on Van Ness near where it meets Lombard?

Thanks, Java. I'd actually already rang up and spoken with three in that area - they don't meet the requirements list, unfortunately. I'm a fan of Cow Hollow, myself, but they simply don't fit the criteria as stated by the group. And the hotel at Fort Mason isn't a hotel, it's a hostel.

I think there's a Holiday Inn on Van Ness near where it meets Lombard?

No. It's actually a different chain; they were one of the first places I checked. Group rate for that weekend was very high, and they were very slow about providing anything resembling a bid. The Holiday Inn on Van Ness is the Golden Gateway, and it's actually closer to the mid-srea than north. Also, the bid from the Holiday Inn covered comparisons of all four of their SF properties, and the Civic Center is by far the best deal they can offer.

IOW, they have a nice organised office that balances all their branches against the needs of the client. They took a good long look at the IFB, and put together the $99 bid at the Civic Center that is the main one I'm going to present.