While the SHRM Annual Conference just ended, the SHRM Housing Office gave attendees a sneak peek into the prices for the 2019 Conference being held in Las Vegas, June 23-26.  You, too, can make your early reservation for next year's conference (only good until 6/22...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 18 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.  I do not include taxes and fees (and Las Vegas hotels vary in their resort fees)

What do the results tell us? 


Cost of an Average SHRM-Affiliated Hotel (per night: 6/23-6/26; 1 room, 2 persons) 


San Francisco (2001): $282.47 (standard deviation of $62.35)
Chicago (2008): $281.43 (standard deviation of $32.40)
Washington DC (2016): $280.37 (sd of $32.49)
Chicago (2018): $272.47 (sd of $17.47)
San Diego (2010): $269.11 (sd of $46.32)
Chicago (2013): $265.88 (sd of $22.02)
Washington DC (2006): $254.64 (sd of $43.75)
Philadelphia (2002): $240.17 (sd of $64.21)
New Orleans (2017): $225.82 (sd of $36.27)
San Diego (2005): $226.01 (sd of $55.11)
Atlanta (2012): $216.21 (sd of $24.12)
Las Vegas (2007): $183.74 (sd of $35.41)  
Orlando(2014): $171.79 (sd of $38.23)
Las Vegas (2019): $164.15 (sd of $37.93)
Las Vegas (2015): $149.93 (sd of $24.00)
Las Vegas (2011): $141.1 (sd of $19.62)

SHRM 2019 looks to one of the cheaper options compared to previous years.   Rooms, on average, will cost approximately $108 (+ tax) LESS per night than this year's conference in Chicago.  This will be the 3rd lowest average hotel cost in the last 18 years.  Even with the resort fees, you're likely to be able to stay an extra night for the same price that you paid for 2018.

There is a bit more variation in hotel prices from the two previous years in Las Vegas.  The five number summary also bears this out:

Maximum: $229 (plus tax)
3rd Quartile: $195
Median: $157
1st Quartile: $139
Minimum: $99

Fifty (50) percent of the options are less than $157 per night.

What does this mean?  You'll be able to stay at 5-hotels at a lower rate than most of the options in Chicago this year. To me, the place to stay is the Vdara.  $125 per night is a very good price for this 5-star hotel (even with the $32/night resort fee).  It is in a very good location on the Las Vegas strip, and, for those who dislike casinos, it is casino-free.  Even better, SHRM hotel costs in Las Vegas are usually competitive even against such sites as Hotwire and Priceline.

See you in June 2019.

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.

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.

With the news that hotel reservations are now being accepted for the 2016 SHRM Annual Conference in Washington, DC, I bring you my 7th annual expose of SHRM hotel costs.

To be honest, I gasped when I saw the prices for 2016.   Is this the most expensive SHRM Annual Conference when it comes to hotels?

To examine this question, I look at selected SHRM conference brochures (i.e., the ones that I still possessed) over the past 16 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 2016, so I use an inflation calculator to adjust costs to today's dollars.  So, how does the 2016 Conference in DC compare to years past?

Cost of an Average SHRM-Affiliated Hotel (per night: 6/19-6/22; 1 room, 2 beds)
Washington DC (2016): $269.59 (standard deviation of $31.85)
Chicago (2008): $269.40 (sd of $31.01)
San Francisco (2001): $268.68 (standard deviation of $59.23)
San Diego (2010): $257.31 (sd of $44.29)
Chicago (2013): 253.46 (sd of 20.99)
Washington DC (2006): $242.42 (sd of $41.65)
Philadelphia (2002): $228.16 (sd of $61.00)
San Diego (2005): $213.84 (sd of $52.14)
Atlanta (2012): $206.29 (sd of $23.02)
Las Vegas (2007): $174.71 (sd of $33.67)
Orlando(2014): $163.69 (sd of $36.43)
Las Vegas (2015): $142.79 (sd of $22.85)
Las Vegas (2011): $135.09 (sd of $18.74)

Ugh!  My initial sticker shock was right.  SHRM 2016 looks to be the most expensive conference for hotels in 15 years.   Rooms, on average, will cost approximately $127 (+ tax) more per night than Las Vegas (though that will be somewhat tempered by no resort fees).  It is $27 more on average (in 2015 dollars) than the last time the conference was in DC (2006). 

The sticker shock is even more surprising given the sheer number of hotels listed (69); the most ever in this survey.  Of the 69 listed, only two fall below $209 per night (+ tax).  The middle 50% of hotels range from $249 (25th percentile) to $290 (75th percentile).

The cheapest listed hotel in DC ($177) is more expensive than every hotel but one ($179) in Vegas a year ago.

Also of note, many of the hotels do not provide bus transportation to the convention center (though Metro passes will be provided).  If you choose one of these hotels, be sure to build in extra time to make the morning keynotes as the Metro will be particularly crowded for rush hour.

Given the above, be sure to budget a little extra when you make your ask to your boss to attend in DC in 2016.

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

With the news  that hotel reservations are now being accepted for the 2014 SHRM Annual Conference, I bring you my 5th annual expose of SHRM hotel costs.


I look at selected SHRM conference brochures (i.e., the ones that I still possessed) over the past 14 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 2014, so I use an inflation calculator to adjust costs to today's dollars.  So, how does the 2014 Conference in Orlando compare to years past?

Cost of an Average SHRM-Affiliated Hotel (per night)
San Francisco (2001): $262.71 (standard deviation of $57.92)
Chicago (2008): $262.19 (sd of $30.18)
Chicago (2013): 248.49 (sd of 20.58)
San Diego (2010): $250.22 (sd of $43.07)
Washington DC (2006): $238.34 (sd of $40.95)
Philadelphia (2002): $223.02 (sd of $559.63)
San Diego (2005): $210.37 (sd of $51.29)
Atlanta (2012): $202.33 (sd of $22.57)
Las Vegas (2007): $171.69 (sd of $33.09)
Orlando(2014): $162.07 (sd of $36.07)
Las Vegas (2011): $132.56 (sd of $18.38)

On average, Orlando looks to be one of the best hotel bargains in years for SHRM attendees.  Half of the hotels are below the median cost of $151.50.  The first quartile is at $139, and the 3rd quartile is at $186.   The lowest price hotel is at $99 with a top price of $244.

Given that the average price of a Chicago hotel was $248.49 last year with significant hotel and food taxes, SHRM14 attendees will be saving an average of $86.42 a night...more than enough to buy a ticket to Universal Orlando or Walt Disney World.

See you in Orlando

With the news today that hotel reservations are now being accepted for the 2012 SHRM Annual Conference, I bring you my 4th annual expose of SHRM hotel costs.

I look at selected SHRM conference brochures (i.e., the ones that I still possessed) over the past 13 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 2013, so I use an inflation calculator to adjust costs to today's dollars.  So, how does the 2013 Conference in Chicago compare to years past?

Cost of an Average SHRM-Affiliated Hotel (per night)
San Francisco (2001): $258.73 (standard deviation of $57.04)
Chicago (2008): $257.38 (sd of $29.63)
CHICAGO (2013): 248.49 (sd of 20.58)
San Diego (2010): $247.86 (sd of $42.66)
Washington DC (2006): $234.27 (sd of $40.25)
Philadelphia (2002): $219.58 (sd of $58.71)
San Diego (2005): $206.89 (sd of $50.45)
Atlanta (2012): $198.36 (sd of $22.13)
Las Vegas (2007): $168.68 (sd of $32.51)
Las Vegas (2011): $130.04 (sd of $18.04)

I ran a simple one-way ANOVA (i.e., a fancy way of comparing multiple means simultaneously) to see if there was a significant difference across the means of these 10 sampled years.  The results showed a statistically significant difference overall with F = 23.58 (p=.0000) with an R-squared of 38.48% (hence, nearly 39% of the variation in hotel costs can be explained by location).  The result is not surprising, given that San Francisco and Chicago is nearly twice as expensive as Las Vegas.

I also looked at hotel minimums (i.e., what is the cheapest hotel available through SHRM).  For 2013, the cheapest hotel is $195.  This is the 2nd most expensive minimum in these 10 years of data (only Chicago in 2008 outpaced it with a minimum cost of $202.23).

Clearly, attending the SHRM Annual Conference in 2013 will be a much more expensive proposition than in 2012.   Hotel costs in Chicago are approximately $50 a night more expensive than in Atlanta (and approximately $119 a night more expensive than in Vegas 2011).  The one saving grace? Given the 2nd smallest standard deviation in the sample, you will be able to find higher quality/higher rated hotels for not much more than the overall average/median.

With the conference tagline being "Bigger!"...SHRM really meant it when it comes to hotel costs!

See you in Chicago.

With the news today that hotel reservations are now being accepted for the 2012 SHRM Annual Conference, I bring you my 3rd annual expose of SHRM hotel costs....this time, 7 months early.  In the previous two Junes, I have conducted a quick statistical analysis of the cost to attend the SHRM Annual Conference in terms of housing. 

I look at selected SHRM conference brochures (i.e., the ones that I still possessed) over the past 12 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 2012, so I use an inflation calculator to adjust costs to today's dollars.  So, how does the 2012 Conference in Atlanta compare to years past?

Cost of an Average SHRM-Affiliated Hotel (per night)
San Francisco (2001): $250.77 (standard deviation of $55.29)
Chicago (2008): $250.16 (sd of $28.80)
San Diego (2010): $238.42 (sd of $41.04)
Washington DC (2006): $226.12 (sd of $38.85)
Philadelphia (2001): $212.70 (sd of $56.90)
San Diego (2005): $199.94 (sd of $48.75)
Atlanta (2012): $198.36 (sd of $22.13)
Las Vegas (2007): $164.16 (sd of $31.64)
Las Vegas (2011): $126.25 (sd of $17.51)

I ran a simple one-way ANOVA (i.e., a fancy way of comparing multiple means simultaneously) to see if there was a significant difference across the means of these 9 sampled years.  The results showed a statistically significant difference overall with F = 21.82 (p=.0000) with an R-squared of 38.57% (hence, nearly 39% of the variation in hotel costs can be explained by location).  The result is not surprising, given that San Francisco and Chicago is nearly twice as expensive as Las Vegas.

Clearly, attending the SHRM Annual Conference in 2012 will be a much more expensive proposition than in 2011.   Hotel costs in Atlanta are approximately $72 a night more expensive than in Las Vegas.  However, hotel prices are in the lower third historically, representing a bigger bargain than in any other city than Las Vegas.   Further, given the 2nd smallest standard deviation in the sample, you will be able to find higher quality/higher rated hotels for not much more than the overall average.

But....once again, you better start saving your pennies for 2012, as the conference is returning to Chicago, amongst the more expensive cities in the group.

See you in Atlanta.

I know you come to True Faith HR for hard hitting HR analysis...and what could be more hard hitting than an analysis of SHRM Hotel costs.  Last June, I examined the cost of hotels at the 2010 SHRM Annual Conference, and found some significant differences.  Do those differences remain in 2011?

Once again, I looked at selected SHRM conference brochures (i.e., the ones that I still possessed) over the past 11 years to see what it was cost a person to book a single room on a per night average. Clearly, prices in 2001 will be different than in 2011, so I used an inflation calculator to adjust costs to 2011 dollars. So, how does Las Vegas compare to years past?

Cost of an Average SHRM-Affiliated Hotel (per night)
Using a typical Sunday-Wednesday night as a baseline:
San Francisco (2001): $251.47 (standard deviation = $55.44)
Chicago (2008): $247.23 (sd=$28.46)
San Diego (2010): $243.59 (sd=$41.93)
Washington DC (2006): $225.81 (sd=38.80)
Philadelphia (2002): $214.47 (sd=57.34)
San Diego (2005): $201.03 (sd=$49.02)
Las Vegas (2007): $162.58 (sd=$31.34)
Las Vegas (2011): $126.25 (sd=$17.51)

As expected, Las Vegas is statistically significantly cheaper than every other in the sample.  Its even statistically cheaper than 4 years ago.

Never has there been a better time than to attend the SHRM conference than today with hotel prices at their lowest prices by far.   Even adjusting for inflation, it is $36 cheaper to attend today than 4 years ago.    Once again, you'll be able to nab a 5-star hotel such as the Bellagio ($199 in 2007; $149 in 2011), Venetian ($189 in 2007; $139 in 2011) or Wynn ($215 in 2007, $139 in 2011) for a price of a hotel in the bottom quartile in San Francisco, Chicago, Washington DC, or San Diego).  

But...you better start saving your pennies for 2013, as the conference will be in Chicago, and you'll likely be paying twice as much for hotel rooms as you are today.

See you in Vegas!

An interesting conversation took place on Twitter between Jessica Miller-Merrell, Mike VanDervort, John Jorgensen, and myself on Saturday morning regarding the cost of hotels at the 2010 SHRM Annual Conference. Have hotels become more expensive?

I looked at selected SHRM conference brochures (i.e., the ones that I still possessed) over the past 10 years to see what it was cost a person to book a single room on a per night average. Clearly, prices in 2001 will be different than in 2010, so I used an inflation calculator to adjust costs to 2010 dollars. So, how does San Diego compare to years past?

Cost of an Average SHRM-Affiliated Hotel (per night)
Chicago (2008): $247.75 (standard deviation=$28.52)
San Francisco (2001): $246.79 (sd=$54.41)
San Diego (2010): $236.06 (sd=$40.63)
Washington DC (2006): $224.08 (sd=$38.50)
Philadelphia (2002): $209.30 (sd=$56.00)
San Diego (2005): $196.46 (sd=$47.90)
Las Vegas (2007): $161.15 (sd=$31.06)

Chicago was the most expensive option in this sample of the past 10 years, marked especially by the lowest standard deviation, indicating that there was very little variability in the price of hotels. You could find a high-quality hotel in Chicago for not much more than a 3-star hotel. Meanwhile, Las Vegas was the biggest bargain. But, how much of a bargain is it statistically speaking?

I ran a simple one-way ANOVA (i.e., a fancy way of comparing the means simultaneously) to see if there was a significant difference across the means of these 7 sampled years. The results showed a statistically significant difference overall with F=13.83 (p=.000). The results showed no statistically significant differences between Chicago, San Francisco, and San Diego (2010). In other words, while Chicago was the most expensive, it wasn't significantly more than San Francisco, or San Diego(2010).

Further, comparing San Diego in 2005 with San Diego in 2010 also showed a statistically significant difference (t =-3.68, p=.000). The results show that San Diego hotels today cost $40 more a night, on average, than they did 5 years ago (adjusting for inflation). San Diego is no longer the bargain it once was.

Finally, Las Vegas was statistically significantly cheaper than every other city in the sample. This is promising as the SHRM Annual Conference will be there in 2011. You'll be able to nab a 5-star hotel, such as the Bellagio or Venetian, for the price of a hotel in the bottom quartile in Chicago, or the median price of a hotel in San Diego in 2010.