

It is time to make our next big decision and we need YOUR help.
What will be the LOCATION of the YearlyKos Convention? If you are not yet familiar with YearlyKos, please check out our
inaugural Newsletter. It is a great place to start understanding the progress made toward bringing together our Community and Progressives everywhere - live and in person.
Planning this event is a Community effort. And just like we asked you to tell us Your Agenda (we need more!), now we want your input on the Convention Location. How did we narrow the choices? With lots of help. Many of you had great suggestions and we evaluated the numerous Community polls on the Convention location. After getting feedback, much of which came from those of you with professional experience, we narrowed it down to 6 Convention friendly cities. From there, we sent out three rounds of RFPs (Request for Proposal), continuing to filter out Venues based on price, size, and availability. We analyzed the results of this process based on a number of factors, including the cost to YOU and our ability to raise funds. On to the finalists!



Having started this process in January, we are ready to present some concrete data for the Community and get your
vote, feedback, and input.
There are two venues/cities that meet all of our diverse requirements. Please have a look at their offerings and facilities. |  | The Riviera Hotel Las Vegas | The Hyatt Regency Chicago |  |
|
Although these two cities consistently rate in the top three of all Community polls, we understand these locations might not be everyone's first or second choice. But after analyzing all the factors and requirements, these are the two most
well-rounded and price-effective choices for this Community.
(Important factors & requirements: Hotel Price, Travel Length/Cost, Entertainment Value/Recruitment, Convention Friendly City, WiFi, Dem Stronghold, etc - click here for a detailed explanation) Before we go any further, many thanks to Anika Culici and Nolan Treadway,
our Event Planning Team, for their work on this. You can view some of the finalists
here and the
form we used to gather information.
To help you evaluate which venue/city is best for you when placing your vote, please see the comprehensive list of numbers we put together below.



GETTING THERE - Below are some example Airfares. Rates for June 2006 are not yet available. These are based on current rates, quoted with a 3-month lead-time from only major carriers, listing the lowest NON-STOP, ROUND-TRIP rates. This is just a comparison to give you a better idea of costs. You will have other alternatives including: A "group rate" deal we will be offering very soon, discount carriers, and last minute deals for the procrastinators.
AIRFARE | Seattle, W.A. | Los Angeles, C.A. | Miami, F.L. | New York, N.Y. | Memphis, T.N. | Las Vegas | $247 | $138 | $307 | $307 | $416 | Chicago | $243 | $249 | $196 | $220 | $312 |
|
There might not be an advantage here to either location, this is subjective depending on where you live.
STAYING THERE - Below is a side by side comparison of the prices and features of the two location finalists. These are prices YOU will incur depending on your travel needs and which venue/city you ultimately decide to vote for, these are the actual numbers you will be paying.
HOTEL/FEES |
The Hyatt in Chicago |
The Riviera in Las Vegas |
Location |
Within 1 mile of downtown. |
On the Las Vegas Strip |
Room Rate |
$129 per night |
$110 per night |
Occ. Tax |
14.9% | 9% |
Parking |
$24 per day | FREE |
Public Transit |
Bus, commuter (non-local) train. Apprx. $5-$10 cab to downtown. |
Las Vegas Monorail attached to hotel, taxis are also available. |
Airport Taxi |
$20 one way |
$15 one way |
Union Hotel |
yes | yes |
|
If we evaluate the Hotels strictly on price, Las Vegas gets the advantage. Evaluating the location (Vegas Strip or close to downtown Chicago) is subjective, depending on your closely held moral values :)
CONVENTION COSTS - Below are expenses the YearlyKos Convention will incur. This includes the Food & Berverages (F&B) we WANT to purchase, however we may offer less free food to keep costs down. Other expenses below include our Audio/Video(A/V) needs, Sales Tax, Rooms for the Speakers, and other expenses. This money will have to be raised by us, thank you Markos, and will impact your actual cost. Please keep this in mind when voting.
OUR COSTS | F&B & Service Charge | A/V & Service Charge | Sales Tax | Speaker's Rooms | TOTAL | The Riviera Las Vegas | $143,531 | $7,860 | $12,233 | $8,609 | $172,233 | The Hyatt Chicago | $199,826 | $18,030 | $19,062 | $10,050 | $246,968 |
|
These costs are the majority of the Convention's expenditures and include everything we hope to offer (lunch, breakfast, snacks, etc), some subtractions may occur. These numbers are actual but not final, and consistent with a 1,000 person event.
If we evaluate the venues strictly on our costs, Las Vegas gets the advantage again. However, if we evaluate on quality, the Chicago Hyatt is superior and gets the advantage in that area. Also consider, Las Vegas is the preeminent Convention city, allowing us more flexibility to meet our collective needs.
ENTERTAINMENT / TOURISM - Some of you may want continue to stay after the Convention. For those of you inclined to cast your vote based on the entertainment value of each city, here is some information from their respective tourism offices. The Chicago Tourism Bureau and The Official LV Tourism Website.



As stated, this event is a Community effort, and your vote will COUNT in this election, helping to shape where we choose to hold this Convention! Make sure you tell your dKos buddies to check it out, we want as much input as possible. With your careful consideration and participation, we can illustrate what Open-Source Grassroots Democracy looks like in action.
We will be posting a diary that announces the final location of the YearlyKos Convention once we have compiled these results, analyzed the final contract offer, and alerted the Advisory Board to our recommendation. Before we vote, we just want to say thank you Markos, and don't forget to fill out Your Agenda and Pre-Register.
Now please... Vote on the YearlyKos Convention Location.