Drupalcon Austin is in 5 months and I'd like to get some preparations out of the way before all of the good deals for hotels and whatnot disappear. Some people have suggested sharing hotel rooms, others have suggested renting a party bus with wifi for the trip down. What are some other ideas?
Getting there. I don't know anything about the party bus or if I'd be able to join in for that, but that sounds awesome. Does anyone know how that would work or how much it would cost per person?
Hotels. I'd be up for sharing a room and Priceline currently has some deals that could get us a 3 star hotel downtown with free breakfast, internet, parking and a pool. $82/night for a king bed + sofa sleeper, or $112 for a two bedroom two story with a king bed and a double bed and a fireplace (because Austin won't be hot enough by May).
Getting around. I don't think Austin has a great public transit system, our chances of being close to the convention center are slim, and taxis are fairly expensive. Any ideas? I was thinking of renting a Silvercar, since I'll also occasionally be needing to go outside of town to visit family (https://www.silvercar.com).
Any other thoughts?
Comments
The CHEAP route
I have started working my own arrangements, but would love to collaborate if possible!
Airfare
Flying into Dallas is way cheaper than Austin, the fares I found were about half as much, but you have to get yourself from Dallas to Austin and back. There is Megabus service for $25 each way, so there are options, albeit not the must pleasant. If you have time and little money, there you go.
Accommodations
There are lots of Couchsurfers in Austin. I reached out to a few people already, and it looks good to find a place for the week.
Another option would be a bunch of us renting a place through AirBNB or other rental service. I would be game for that if we can get a committed group.
Transportation
There are bike rentals available from Barton Spring, http://www.bartonspringsbikerental.com/bike-rentals.htm. Depending on location, this could be good basic connections for the week at $135.
Wow, way cheaper to Dallas,
Wow, way cheaper to Dallas, thanks for the tip. Not sure I'd do it or not, but good to know.
Dan Moriarty
www.electriccitizen.com
Thanks Wilbur
Wow, that is a lot cheaper. I don't know if it will be worthwhile for me, since my wife and I are arriving early and spending most of our time down near San Antonio (not to mention hauling a baby)... but it's cheap enough that it's worth some serious consideration. Thanks Wilbur!
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David Needham
Team Lead of Training at Datadog
Transportation & Housing
In regards to transportation... yeah, I rented bikes whenever I visited here TCDC in the summer, but Austin in the summer? I'm not hardcore enough for that.
I'd be up for sharing something on airbnb or couchsurfing. Though a hotel for $82 with 2-3 people in a room doesn't sound too pricey either.
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David Needham
Team Lead of Training at Datadog
Bus - ballpark numbers
The bus to Chicago was a blast. Austin is a bit of a haul, though -- Google is putting it at ~17 hours, which is a long time on a bus, even a comfy, nice one. However, I'm certainly open to the idea.
In terms of finances, I looked back and the cost for a 56 person bus both directions (and use while in Chicago because the driver had to stay as well) was about $8500. We figured we needed to subsidize costs to make it less than airfare, so we looked for about $7k in sponsorships and charged $75 a person. We had 28 people ride and even managed to do some sprinting -- although the keg cut into productivity pretty quickly. ;)
Looks like the old discussion / announcement is at https://groups.drupal.org/node/120989. We still do have the site & twitter too - so the namespace is ours to keep! http://drupalbus.tcdrupal.org/
That sounds fun. Do you think
That sounds fun. Do you think there would be people between here and there that would be interested? At the very least, maybe going in on a bus between Dallas and Austin might be more reasonable.
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David Needham
Team Lead of Training at Datadog