Showing posts with label Hotels. Show all posts

How Expensive Will #SHRM18 Hotels Be?

by Matthew Stollak on Thursday, June 22, 2017






While the SHRM Annual Conference just ended, the SHRM Housing Office gave attendees a sneak peek into the prices for the 2018 Conference being held in Chicago, IL, June 17-20.  You, too, can make your early reservation for next year's conference (only good until 6/23...otherwise you'll have to wait until November) by clicking here. 

So, how expensive will hotels cost and how does it relate to previous years? To examine this question, I look at selected SHRM conference brochures (i.e., the ones that I still possessed) over the past 17 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 2018, so I use an inflation calculator to adjust costs to today's dollars.  

What do the results tell us? 


Cost of an Average SHRM-Affiliated Hotel (per night: 6/17-6/20; 1 room, 2 persons) 


San Francisco (2001): $276.64 (standard deviation of $60.99)
Chicago (2008): $276.62 (standard deviation of $31.85)
Washington DC (2016): $274.99 (standard deviation of $32.49)
Chicago (2018): $272.47 (sd of $17.47)
San Diego (2010): $264.39 (sd of $45.41)
Chicago (2013): $260.91 (sd of $21.61)
Washington DC (2006): $250.57 (sd of $43.05)
Philadelphia (2002): $235.02 (sd of $62.84)
New Orleans (2017): $221.39 (sd of $35.56)
San Diego (2005): $220.80 (sd of $53.84)
Atlanta (2012): $212.25 (sd of $23.68)
Las Vegas (2007): $180.73 (sd of $34.83)  
Orlando(2014): $168.55 (sd of $37.51)
Las Vegas (2015): $147.07 (sd of $23.54)
Las Vegas (2011): $138.8 (sd of $19.26)

SHRM 2018 looks to one of the more expensive options compared to previous years.   Rooms, on average, will cost approximately $51 (+ tax) MORE per night than this year's conference in New Orleans.  Add in the expensive hotel tax rate, and that's about the cost of two large Deep Dish pizzas at Gino's East per night you could have had as an alternative.   

Complicating matters is the very low standard deviation (out of 53 hotel options).  This means there is not a lot of variation in hotel prices from that average, regardless of hotel quality. There are not bargains to be had currently (there could be more hotels added in November).  The five number summary also bears this out:

Maximum: $305 (plus tax)
3rd Quartile: $285
Median: $274
1st Quartile: $264.75
Minimum: $235

Seventy-five (75) percent of the options are more that $264.75.

What does this mean?  Start saving your pennies.  The silver lining?  SHRM is in Las Vegas in 2019, and as the list above demonstrates, three of the four cheapest hotel options are located there.  You'll be able to stay at 5-hotels at a lower rate than most of the options in Chicago next year.

See you in June 2019.


How Expensive Will #SHRM17 Hotels Be?

by Matthew Stollak on Wednesday, November 16, 2016




With the news that hotel reservations are now being accepted for the 2017 SHRM Annual Conference in New Orleans, LA, I bring you my 8th annual look at SHRM hotel costs.

After the most expensive SHRM Conference hotel cost in 16 years in Washington, DC (though inflation has made it 3rd most expensive, relatively speaking, has there been a return to "normalcy" in the price of hotels?

To examine this question, I look at selected SHRM conference brochures (i.e., the ones that I still possessed) over the past 17 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 2017, so I use an inflation calculator to adjust costs to today's dollars.  So, how does the 2017 Conference in New Orleans compare to years past?

Cost of an Average SHRM-Affiliated Hotel (per night: 6/18-6/21; 1 room, 2 beds)Chicago (2008): $271.81 (sd of $31.29)
San Francisco (2001): $270.67 (standard deviation of $59.67)
Washington DC (2016): $269.59 (standard deviation of $31.85)
San Diego (2010): $259.67 (sd of $44.69) Chicago (2013): 255.94 (sd of $21.20)
Washington DC (2006): $244.45(sd of $42.00)
Philadelphia (2002): $229.88 (sd of $61.46)
New Orleans (2017): $221.39 (sd of $35.56)
San Diego (2005): $215.58 (sd of $52.58)
Atlanta (2012): $208.28 (sd of $23.24)
Las Vegas (2007): $176.21 (sd of $33.96) Orlando(2014): $163.69 (sd of $36.43) Las Vegas (2015): $144.22 (sd of $23.08)
Las Vegas (2011): $136.35 (sd of $18.91)

SHRM 2017 looks to be around the middle of the pack compared to other years.   Rooms, on average, will cost approximately $46 (+ tax) less per night than DC.  over the course of the conference, that'll be enough to cover a good meal at Emeril's or Commander's Palace.

Fortunately, with so many hotels to choose from (n=69), there are plenty of options available.  The median hotel cost is $223.50.  Twenty-four (24) hotels have a price below $200 + tax (compared to only two(2) below 209 + tax the year before), and the middle 50% cost between $193.50 and $259.

Given the above, it seems that New Orleans will be one of the more reasonably priced SHRM Annual Conferences to attend. 

See you in June.

3 Quick Book Reviews (featuring @incblot @sepinwall) #popHR

by Matthew Stollak on Wednesday, November 28, 2012

"You're Not That Great" by Dr. Daniel Crosby


 In "That's Interesting: Towards a Phenomenology of Sociology and a Sociology of Phenomenology (1971)," Murray Davis distinguishes between two types of theories: "Interesting theories deny certain assumptions of their audience, while non-interesting theories affirm certain assumptions of their audience."

 Building off his well-received TEDxHunstville talk (see below), Crosby takes the former approach to theory-building by taking on traditional assumptions about our daily lives with catchy chapter titles such as "You Are Not That Special," and "Your Ideas Aren't All That Original."  Similarly, Crosby discusses many psychological biases with well-placed examples and anecdotes that make the often abstract material accessible.  Highly recommended before you make your New Year's resolutions.

"Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality" by Jacob Tomsky

I always enjoy a peek into other people's jobs, and Jacob Tomsky's memoir provides an interesting look at the job of a hotel employee.  In "Heads in Beds," Tomsky describes what it is like to be a hotel valet, and a front line check-in clerk, as well as the inevitable run-ins with management figures, both the good and bad.  While he does give some pretty unethical advice about getting out of paying for your hotel movies and that minibar raid, the bottom-line, as with most service employees, is treat them well, and you will be treated well in return.

"The Revolution Was Televised: The Cops, Crooks, Slingers, and Slayers Who Changed TV Drama Forever" by Alan Sepinwall

 I'm an avid TV watcher....enough so that I often like reading recaps/reviews of the episodes soon after they appear.  The one TV critic I turn to most frequently is Alan Sepinwall, who posts his reviews at Hitfix.com.  So, when I read he had published a book, I knew it was a must grab...and it doesn't disappoint.  In "The Revolution Was Televised," Sepinwall examines 12  shows, such as "The Wire," The Sopranos," "Breaking Bad," and " "Battlestar Galactica," that have transformed television over the past 15 or so years.  What makes the book stand out is the behind-the-scenes look at the origins and evolution of each of the shows.  Check out this excerpt about the origins of "Lost."

 The library is now closed.