[S. cerevisiae]

The rates that you are seeing are non-conference rates.  GSA rates are not conference rates. 

[rjharper]

The rates that you are seeing are non-conference rates.  GSA rates are not conference rates.

I realize that so I've got my fingers crossed. In my industry, I've rarely ever seen event rates beat GSA rates, since GSA is normally about as low as hotels are willing to go. GSA was cheaper than NHC in San Diego this year.

[denny]

This thread and the BN COTY one are making me totally at ease with my decision to not go to Baltimore. I'm pretty sure I'll wait for when it's in Portland and just drive down for pro night and call it good.

IMO, big mistake.  You should decide for yourself, not let other people's opinions sway you.  Personally, I thought it was all great.  Sure, club night beers were hot or miss, but they always are.

[dbeechum]

NHC will need to be in Asheville soon.

Going to have to figure out where in Asheville to put 3000-4000 people and how to get them in/out since the Asheville airport is not exactly a hustling hub.

[S. cerevisiae]

I realize that so I've got my fingers crossed. In my industry, I've rarely ever seen event rates beat GSA rates, since GSA is normally about as low as hotels are willing to go. GSA was cheaper than NHC in San Diego this year.

I would also like to add that the hotels near the Baltimore Convention Center are mostly national hotel chains, many of which are high-end brands.  Due to its proximately to the Inner Harbor, this area contains some of the most expensive commercial real estate in Baltimore.  Compare the rates at these hotels with comparable hotels and locations in California, and you will find that the Maryland hotels are quite a bit cheaper. 

With that said, I would gladly pay $50.00 to $75.00 more per night if it meant not having to stay in a fleabag hotel.  I have never stayed in a hotel that was as poorly maintained as the Town and Country.  My first room in the Royal Palm Tower was really nasty.  I checked in on Monday night and was ready to check out by Tuesday evening.  I would have checked out had I been able to book a room at a hotel that was on the shuttle route; however, I waited too long to do so.  I do not know if the hotel room situation in the hotels on the shuttle route changed on Wednesday because I had been moved to a room that I could endure for the remainder of my stay. 

[S. cerevisiae]

Going to have to figure out where in Asheville to put 3000-4000 people and how to get them in/out since the Asheville airport is not exactly a hustling hub.

Asheville has a logistics problem.

[theDarkSide]

NHC will need to be in Asheville soon.

Going to have to figure out where in Asheville to put 3000-4000 people and how to get them in/out since the Asheville airport is not exactly a hustling hub.

Drew,

A little off topic but do you know why the NHC is almost always the 2nd week in June?  Is it just because that's the way it's been done in the past, easier to get a conference rate at hotels before the summer season really kicks in, or the membership has indicated later would conflict with other summer plans?  I know Philly was a special situation, but it was great to roll a couple extra days in there through 4th of July and not conflict with the kid's school activities.

Mostly just curious if the AHA has ever investigated this.  I'm sure, like everything else, some would love it...others would hate it.

Thanks.

[hopfenundmalz]

NHC will need to be in Asheville soon.

Going to have to figure out where in Asheville to put 3000-4000 people and how to get them in/out since the Asheville airport is not exactly a hustling hub.

Drew,

A little off topic but do you know why the NHC is almost always the 2nd week in June?  Is it just because that's the way it's been done in the past, easier to get a conference rate at hotels before the summer season really kicks in, or the membership has indicated later would conflict with other summer plans?  I know Philly was a special situation, but it was great to roll a couple extra days in there through 4th of July and not conflict with the kid's school activities.

Mostly just curious if the AHA has ever investigated this.  I'm sure, like everything else, some would love it...others would hate it.

Thanks.

I can't say exactly why, but the conf. centers need to have an opening when then the AHA starts looking for a location. Some cities are booked far in advanced for conferences that always happen there at that time.

Early June has problems for those with kids that are still in school or are educators in some states. In Michigan schools don' t start until after Labor Day (state law to help the tourist industry up north), so getting in the required number of school days makes the school calendars run into June. Make up snow days push the last day farther into June. Did anyone notice that Joe and Andy Hudecek were not at the conference for the first time since 2003? Joe is a High School Chemestry teacher.

Asheville has a lot going for it, but flights would be a problem for many. The AHA questionnaire has cities that one would consider going to. I have not filled mine out yet, is Asheville on it? Let the AHA know there is interest if it is not.

[smkranz]

My room at the Town & Country was fine, as it was 4 years ago.  I didn't sleep great, but that had more to do with the time change and the volume of beer consumed, than the bed.  It was not in one of the towers, but was a pretty fair walk from the main action.  Would have liked a 'fridge and a microwave.  Because there also was no in-room safe, I left the "do not disturb" sign in my key slot for the entire stay (Tues thru Sun), since it was just me, there were four sets of towels.  The lunch buffet in the Trellis restaurant (about $24 with tax) was badly priced but it was convenient, so I used that option twice.

Had another good time re-taking the tasting exam on Wednesday, and judging on Thursday.  Both events went smoothly.  The only things I wanted to do but missed, were the BJCP reception and members meeting.

Holding Club Night outdoors was good except for the spotty lighting.  It was crowded, but I was pretty much always able to find beer and a place to park as needed.  Maybe because I was pacing myself, and didn't have as many homebrews as some other folks in this thread, I didn't have many beers that weren't at least decent.

Our club has participated in many Club Nights in distant towns, but we didn't have enough people going cross country this year to pull it off.  Next year in Baltimore we'll be there in full force.  We have also never told someone that their beer wasn't worthy to put on...no better way to generate ill will and hurt feelings among friends than to tell someone that the beer they thought was pretty good is in fact dog piss.  So maybe we've just been lucky so far.  A few years ago (Minneapolis maybe) a guy came up to our booth at the end of the evening for last call, and told one of our members that his beer was the first one he had tasted, and it was so good that he wanted it to be the last one he tasted.  That was a good feeling.

Come to Baltimore next year.

[ethinson]

I'm way late to this party, but after reading through them all I figured I'd add my 2 cents for what it's worth.

First off, I had an absolute blast at the conference.  I joined the AHA for the sole purpose of going to the conference.  Totally worth it.

I liked the seminars some better than others.  Some were too technical for a beginning brewer (which is on me, not the presenters, so no fault to them).  The only one I didn't like was the Intro to Experimentation one.  And the caveat is I loved the ideas they presented, I hated the WAY they presented it, joking off each other, comedy show, circus side show.  Not what I expected from a seminar, but apparently it is those two guys personalities.

Club Night was lackluster to me as well, but in all honesty I wasn't that excited about club night.  I know it's a homebrew conference, but I was excited to try all the San Diego local beers that we can't get even as close as Oregon, like Modern Times, Lost Abbey, Pizza Port etc etc.  Walking around Club Night and it seems like every other beer is a Rhubarb and Pluot Imperial Sour Saison with Brett at 12% ABV and it's like "What the....."  Plus being the night after the night before, I called it pretty early on Club Night.

The food choices AT the conference were abysmal.  We ventured out into the city and found some stuff that was incredible, like a steak and shrimp burrito that was only 6 bucks.  Also, that place was a freaking maze, having never been there and for the first day I couldn't find anything.  Finally figured it out the second and third day. I stayed at the Best Western across the street, which was surprisingly nice and 50$ a night cheaper than at the town and country.  I would have been loathe to pay that much for what sounds like an awful room.  I'd love to have the conference in San Diego again, but maybe a different location this time?

I loved the banquet, I thought the food was great and the beer was good, even if it didn't "pair".  Although I rather enjoyed the dessert with the espresso stout.  I thought it was good. When I was registering I didn't want to pay the extra 75$ for the banquet, but when it came down to it, my club had members in the finals, and most everyone else was going so it was another good chance to hang out with my club members.  Only one of our guys took home a medal, but that was OK. 

I won't make it to Baltimore due to other plans, but I will be excited to see where the 2017 Conference ends up, and those of us here in Oregon are already working hard to bring 2018 to Portland, so hopefully that happens too!

[klickitat jim]

I'm way late to this party, but after reading through them all I figured I'd add my 2 cents for what it's worth.

First off, I had an absolute blast at the conference.  I joined the AHA for the sole purpose of going to the conference.  Totally worth it.

I liked the seminars some better than others.  Some were too technical for a beginning brewer (which is on me, not the presenters, so no fault to them).  The only one I didn't like was the Intro to Experimentation one.  And the caveat is I loved the ideas they presented, I hated the WAY they presented it, joking off each other, comedy show, circus side show.  Not what I expected from a seminar, but apparently it is those two guys personalities.

Club Night was lackluster to me as well, but in all honesty I wasn't that excited about club night.  I know it's a homebrew conference, but I was excited to try all the San Diego local beers that we can't get even as close as Oregon, like Modern Times, Lost Abbey, Pizza Port etc etc.  Walking around Club Night and it seems like every other beer is a Rhubarb and Pluot Imperial Sour Saison with Brett at 12% ABV and it's like "What the....."  Plus being the night after the night before, I called it pretty early on Club Night.

The food choices AT the conference were abysmal.  We ventured out into the city and found some stuff that was incredible, like a steak and shrimp burrito that was only 6 bucks.  Also, that place was a freaking maze, having never been there and for the first day I couldn't find anything.  Finally figured it out the second and third day. I stayed at the Best Western across the street, which was surprisingly nice and 50$ a night cheaper than at the town and country.  I would have been loathe to pay that much for what sounds like an awful room.  I'd love to have the conference in San Diego again, but maybe a different location this time?

I loved the banquet, I thought the food was great and the beer was good, even if it didn't "pair".  Although I rather enjoyed the dessert with the espresso stout.  I thought it was good. When I was registering I didn't want to pay the extra 75$ for the banquet, but when it came down to it, my club had members in the finals, and most everyone else was going so it was another good chance to hang out with my club members.  Only one of our guys took home a medal, but that was OK. 

I won't make it to Baltimore due to other plans, but I will be excited to see where the 2017 Conference ends up, and those of us here in Oregon are already working hard to bring 2018 to Portland, so hopefully that happens too!

Portland would be awesome! Good luck with that, seriously

[reverseapachemaster]

Portland would be great. So much to do in the city and you can drive a few hours and get to other great locations around Oregon (and Washington).

[yso191]

The crowd begins chanting "Portland, Portland..."

[theDarkSide]

The crowd begins chanting "Portland, Portland..."

Can only hope someday this will be the chant for Portland, ME.  Breweries all over Maine, NH, MA, even VT is doable.  I just don't know if we have the homebrew club organization to get it done.

[a10t2]

Does the original Portland even have enough convention hotel rooms for 5,000 people?