Great idea and I'll be sure to check into it. Getting people to stay at the host hotel is extremely important to the financial success of the convention. If one looks hard enough, you can probably get rooms cheaper elsewhere but we are given the convention space free based on the number of rooms "sold". If room use drops below a certain level, we have to pay for the convention space and that ain't cheap which might mean a substantial increase in the entry fee. Plus, think of all the benefits of staying at the host hotel in terms of convenience, additional opportunites to trade with others, no time wasted in travel, etc.