Hackers have one
Geeks have one
Gamers have one
No, I’m not talking about pocket protectors! I’m talking about conventions! Imagine what a convention might look like for a bunch of responsible personal finance bloggers like us.
Planning:
We’d all have to plan way in advance and map out how much we would allocate for the trip and how much time we’d need to save the money. Logistically, to gain enough attendees, we’d have to start planning now, and have the first convention in 3-5 years.
Airfare:
We’d all be flying in at 2:00am because the cheapest ticket had us leaving our home town at midnight. The number of frequent flyer miles that would be accrued for everyone as a whole would be mindblowing! (think double miles on your latest 0% credit card, plus the actual miles accrued).
Transportation:
More than a few taxis would break down due to the sheer weight of as many of us as possible cramming in to it and making the trip from the hotel to the convention. (We must average the cost down) We would be overcome with guilt and all agree to tip an extra $1.00 for the taxi drivers trouble.
Credit Cards:
You would be able to hear the grinding of the credit card company machines as they processed everyone’s payment IN FULL at the end of the billing period. We’d have a few scuffles as some of us would lobby to put the bill on our card so that we could get the extra miles. (RISK: The guy paying the tab and collecting from others is at high risk of getting stuck paying a little extra. No one leaves the table until we get it settled)
Restaurants:
The impact to restaurants would be devastating as we all shared our “two for one” dinner special coupons. Water would be in short supply as we passed on the expensive mixed drinks and stuck to ice water.
Hotels:
The hotels would have to stock up on extra mini soaps and shampoos, as we’d all “USE” the whole thing each day…. (hint hint). It’s safe to say that no one would be paying the “rack rate” at any of the hotels we stayed in. The “deal finders” among use would stay at the 4 star hotels because they figured out a way to get rock bottom prices. Of course they’d have to jump from hotel to hotel while they were in town because the rates were only good for one night. The rest of us would stay at a nice “Extended Stay” hotel with the kitchenette so that we could run to the grocery store and buy some bulk items to cook while we were in town.
Surprise Visitors:
While it would be great to know who all was coming ahead of time, there would always be that group of surprise folks. You know who they are. They’d wait until the last minute and then browse every travel site on the web looking for last minute, “barn burner” tickets. If they find one, they’re in. If not, well, we’ll see them next time!
The Event:
Of course we’d pick a nice part of the country that hits 75 degrees in February and we’d book a nice public park to hold the event. No need to rent chairs and tents. I’m sure we could all bring a chair, or find one at a garage sale ahead of time and then sell it on Ebay for a $1 profit after the event. We would have the most popular bloggers give speeches and presentations (they aren’t expensive to book) and we’d all bask in the sun while soaking up all of the great words of wisdom from our speakers.
The Farewell:
Many tears would be shed at the end of the event because we’d all know that none of us are crazy enough to do this EVERY year.
Did I miss anything? :)