Ed Lamoureux wrote:

I would add one a comment about a general factor that is usually in play in US . . . <snip>

However, as many of you know, one trades off HUGE differences in airfare.

So while NY, Chi, LA, Boston, DC, Atlanta, etc., charge high room rates, the air costs for tickets to and fro (esp. international fares) are so much lower that in the long run, attendees save $ in the bigger cities.

Speaking of which, for those of you living in/near cities served by Southwest Airlines, they are currently running a fare sale, which includes Chicago. I just found a round-trip ticket from Manchester, NH (Boston area) to Chicago (Midway) for $185 including tax, which was better than anything available from Logan. As a graduate student, I can certainly sympathize with the high costs of attending conferences, however, as someone who has organized and worked on a number of conferences and workshops in both large and small cities, I would second the idea that larger cities on balance offer a better trade-off between costs and options. Putting together conferences is an expensive undertaking, and I think that for an organization with a limited budget, AoIR does a great job in providing us with reasonable conference fees and accommodations. -Kris M. -- ********** ********** ********** ********** Kris M. Markman, M.A., Ph.D. Candidate Communication Studies The University of Texas at Austin Email: jho-kmm@mail.utexas.edu https://webspace.utexas.edu/~kris3198 ********** ********** ********** **********