How Expensive Will #SHRM15 Hotels Be?

by Matthew Stollak on Wednesday, October 22, 2014

With the news  that hotel reservations are now being accepted for the 2015 SHRM Annual Conference, I bring you my 6th annual expose of SHRM hotel costs.
I look at selected SHRM conference brochures (i.e., the ones that I still possessed) over the past 15 years to see what it would cost a person to book a single room on a per night average.  Clearly, prices in 2001 will be different than in 2015, so I use an inflation calculator to adjust costs to today's dollars.  So, how does the 2015 Conference in Orlando compare to years past?

Cost of an Average SHRM-Affiliated Hotel (per night: 6/28-7/1)
 Chicago (2008): $267.00 (sd of $30.74)
San Francisco (2001): $266.69 (standard deviation of $58.80)
San Diego (2010): $254.95 (sd of $43.88)
Chicago (2013): 253.46 (sd of 20.99)
Washington DC (2006): $240.38 (sd of $41.30)
Philadelphia (2002): $226.45 (sd of $60.54)
San Diego (2005): $212.11 (sd of $51.72)
Atlanta (2012): $204.31 (sd of $22.80)
Las Vegas (2007): $173.20 (sd of $33.38)
Orlando(2014): $162.07 (sd of $36.07)
Las Vegas (2015): $142.79 (sd of $22.85)
Las Vegas (2011): $133.83 (sd of $18.56)

Not surprisingly, when you saw Las Vegas as the location of choice in 2015, you knew you would be able to get a hotel relatively cheaply, and the numbers don't lie.   This will be the 2nd lowest average hotel cost in the last 15 years.  Half of the hotels are below the median cost of $149.  The first quartile is at $131, and the 3rd quartile is at $1596.   The lowest price hotel is at $99 with a top price of $179.  5 star hotels such as the Bellagio ($179), Venetian ($149), or Wynn ($165) can be had for not much more than the average hotel room...just be leery of the resort fees.   Even better SHRM hotel costs in Las Vegas are usually competitive even against such sites as Hotwire and Priceline.

Just get ready to save your pennies, as more expensive hotels will be expected as Washington, DC and Chicago will be the destinations in the not too distant future.

See you in Las Vegas

One Month Until #HRevolution

by Matthew Stollak on Wednesday, October 8, 2014






On November 8, one month from today, leading HR professionals will be heading to Grapevine, TX and Symbolist HQ to have a little BBQ and discuss the latest HR issues at the 7th iteration of HRevolution.  The full agenda can be found here, but I wanted to give you a taste of what to expect from a couple of sessions.

 Bold HR with Broc Edwards


We all know what bad HR looks like. Bad HR hides behind policy, embraces mediocrity, creates bureaucratic fiefdoms, and becomes a barrier for managers and employees alike. But HR has a bigger vision for itself – we want to be recognized as a player in the business, not just an administrative check box. So we strive to be a strategic business partner with a seat at the table (whatever that all means), but we get bogged down in clichés, “best” practices, and infighting that holds the field back rather than moving it forward.

What if we tossed all that aside and just decided to be Bold?  Easier said than done. Boldness exists as a virtue in myth and legend, but in the everyday it’s easier and safer to say “no” than “yes”. It’s more prudent to replicate the past than create the future. We choose safe over meaningful, stable over fulfilling, secure over interesting, known over opportunity, and comfort over making a difference. And it’s keeping us trapped in mediocre sameness. Enough.

In this highly interactive session we’ll take a look at what Bold HR is and what it isn’t. We’ll explore what it would mean for our employees and managers, for our companies, and for us if we drew a line and started practicing Bold HR. And we’ll come away with practical ideas and plans to put into action when we get back to the office on Monday.

HR Half-Baked Ideas with Matt Stollak & Sir William Tincup

The problem - everyone loves having an office refrigerator to store their drinks and food, and a microwave to cook their meal.  It's both a cost and a time saver for those constantly on the go.  However, after a few weeks, no one wants to open up that brown bag containing a mystery meat with a fresh coating of mold, or clean the crusted tomato sauce off of the roof of the microwave from an unprotected Lean Cuisine.

The Half-Baked Idea: "Mom's Got This," a company that will come in once a month to clean the refrigerator and microwave. 

That's a HR Half-Baked Idea....an idea that is not quite complete.   Will "Mom's Got This" work?  Is it a viable business?  Come to the session to find out this, and 20+ other half-baked ideas, as well as bring your own.

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If these kind of sessions appeal to you, the planning team of Steve Boese, Ben Eubanks, Trish McFarlane, and Matt Stollak would love to have you attend.

Good tickets are still available here.

Thank you to all our sponsors for helping us make the dream a reality. With the help of Mercer, Symbolist, Small Improvements and personal contribution from Lois and Ross Melbourne, this will be a great event.

Hope to see you in a month.