I am really torn on this purchase, but just to add some info/one data point—OFTW ran its first conference in a while this year in Philadelphia and I was genuinely shocked at the costs. Hotel plus professional conference venue plus locking you in to caterers that charge a premium… It came out at $1000/head for 1.25 days (although this also included travel, which was average $500/head). And I really truly think we couldn’t have held that conference in a cleared out office space.
That said, it is possible that something equally functional was available for cheaper, and with better optics.
I am really torn on this purchase, but just to add some info/one data point—OFTW ran its first conference in a while this year in Philadelphia and I was genuinely shocked at the costs. Hotel plus professional conference venue plus locking you in to caterers that charge a premium… It came out at $1000/head for 1.25 days (although this also included travel, which was average $500/head). And I really truly think we couldn’t have held that conference in a cleared out office space.
That said, it is possible that something equally functional was available for cheaper, and with better optics.