Can you beat $175/night?

Was it just three years ago that I attended my first annual conference? It feels longer . . . back then, I was freshly graduated from college and just a month into my job at Jenkins Arboretum—traveling to Chicago on a rather limited budget, as you can imagine. Thanks to the generosity of the Association and Jenkins, nearly all of my costs to attend were covered, excepting incidentals like my deep dish from the original Pizzeria Uno's.

Back then there was, as usual, the conference hotel, but also arranged and advertised by the diligent conference organizers was what they called "alternative lodging," which came to us in the form of dorm rooms at a local university. If you were willing to do without air conditioning and the ability to commute to the meeting via elevator, you could save hundreds on accommodations. At $60/night, my vinyl twin mattress overlooking the elevated train was as good as a featherbed with an ocean view.

Three years later, the degree has changed but I am again a student conferencegoer, this time supported by the APGA and sponsored by the Horticulture department of Cornell University. There are no "official" "alternative" hotels this time around, but if you, like me, could benefit yourself or your organization by saving a few hundred dollars, read on for a few suggestions.


View Larger Map

On the map above, I've placed a red pin at the conference hotel and a blue pin at the Westin, the "overflow" hotel. Nearby are bubbles for other inns listing rates at or below $100 per night. The bubble with the dot, The Pasadena Inn, is my pick: Priceline.com has bookings for $80 per night, placing you just 1 mile from the Westin and just under 2 miles from the Langham. Those are true walking distances, not as the crow flies. Click on the map and bubbles for a bit more information on rates and addresses. You may be able to save a bit more by booking your flight and hotel at the same time.

As Fiacre pointed out in his post below, you'll have some travel issues to work out, but these are not as difficult as they may initially seem. The Langham is fairly isolated from rival hotels, it is true, but now that we are spilling over into the Westin and running a shuttle directly from there to the conference, we have access to a number of lodging options in its immediate area, within about a mile. A local friend of mine informs me that it's easy to get to the area by public transit from LAX:

The Pasadena Inn is in a good place to be reached by public transportation. From the airport, you can take the FlyAway bus to Union Station. It runs every 1/2 hour and costs $4 each way. From Union Station, you can take the Gold Line to Pasadena and get off at Del Mar station, which is at the corner of the Pasadena Inn's block.

See you at the conference, or en route!

Finding a Close-Enough Hotel

Where should I stay? I am usually a fan of staying at a the conference hotel: it makes everything so easy. But I was sluggish of the registration bat, so I need to admit defeat and stay somewhere else. I'm not eager to to pay taxi fees, so the free shuttle between the Westin Pasadena and the Langham makes it seem like a good choice, and I have a week or two before the cut off of June 2nd. However, I'm also interested in paying as little as possible: we're all on budgets, and I feel like doing due diligence means looking a little longer and considering other hotels.



And now I see that the Westin's online reservation site says that the group rate is available until... May 21st? When did that change? It said June 2nd, but I oughtn't to be surprised: may 21st was a month in advance. Hurriedly I check the internet: Google has a list of ten or so hotels. Hotels.com, Travelocity, Expedia all have a range of prices and locations. So there's bound to be someplace! Only once have I truly been out of a place to stay...


Ten years ago I remember arriving in a hotel to discover they had given away my reservation by accident. I next discovered I was visiting a city that was well and truly out of hotel rooms. After my third hour of no success, a clerk took pity on me. He'd arrange for a cot to be pulled out into one of the meeting rooms... Just as soon as the night's party was over. I agreed to this, but shortly after 1:00 a.m., I regretted the deal because the party-ers hadn't seen eachother in 20 years and were still catching up. I snuck quietly through the room as the revelers jawed away, pulled my cot behind a pillar, and sacked out. I woke up to peace, quiet and a new confidence in my ability to improvise while traveling.


Now, I frown at the screen. Where are these places? I'm not afraid of hoofing it sometimes: you just start early, put on your walking shoes and go. And I've been on foot in Pasadena: I remember sidewalk-botanizing on one early morning walk to the regional AABGA conference a few years back. I don't think I'll have much trouble if I plan well. I just need to measure the distance between these available hotels and the Langham. Or the Westin, and catch the shuttle, but I still want to save on price. Now, the work goes to checking each listing one by one. (To be continued...)

Welcome to the Hotel California

There has been much debate about which of many hotels in Southern California was the original "Hotel California" from the Eagles song. The Langham Huntington Hotel, the conference hotel for APGA 2008, is one that is oft thrown out as a contender.

None of that really matters though, because if you haven't booked a hotel room for the conference, it seems that your choices are quickly running out. The Langham had filled up some time ago, and according to this recent dispatch from APGA HQ:

Please be aware that the cut off date for the Westin Hotel, Pasadena is on May 23rd, this means that after midnight on May 22nd, you will no longer be able to receive the APGA group rate, you may reserve rooms if available at the standard rate.

I'm not sure what the standard rate at the Westin is, but it could be one of those "if you have to ask..." situations.

However, there is hope. It seems that Sharon Malgire and Madeline Quigley have been working overtime just trying to secure hotel rooms for all of us in Pasadena. From the same dispatch:

Additional lodging may be found at The Arroyo Vista Inn in South Pasadena, CA. It is an historical Craftsman building with 10 rooms, all of which have private bathrooms. They will honor the conference rate of $175 per night.

In looking at their website, this might be the "greenest" option for those staying in Southern California. But, unlike staying at the Westin where there will be shuttle service, the fact that there will be no shuttle service from this B & B to the conference hotel more than 2 miles away would seem to be a tick mark in the "con" category.

That said, regardless of where you're staying, unless it's The Langham, you'll need to keep transportation to the conference hotel in mind, because of it's location.

The Big Pitcher

I stand corrected.

I just received my May 2008 issue of the APGA Newsletter. As I predicted, the Host Committee put together the obligatory "Top Ten Reasons to Attend" the Annual Conference. But I also predicted that they would have overlooked the best tasting water as a reason to attend. But, according to the authors:

Number 8...
To sample L.A.'s tap water, recently rated the best in the world. (Really. We could have named the conference, "The Big Pitcher.")

I'm not happy that they and I came up with the same play on words, but there probably aren't that many original ways of saying such things.

Kudos to the Host Committee for a great top 10 list, and what continues to look like a great meeting.

Come Fly With Me

I don't think any other metropolitan area has more choices when it comes to air travel than the greater Los Angeles area. One of the most important decisions you could make regarding APGA 2008, besides deciding to attend in the first place, would be which airport you choose to fly into.

The 800-pound gorilla is certainly LAX. The airport is the largest and the busiest in the region. Name an airline, and it goes through LAX. But with size comes some challenges. Car rental is WAY off site. You absolutely must arrive 2 hours before your flight because of the size of the airport, the number of people, and the security issues. And going to the airport, as well as coming from, there are the issues of LA traffic.

The closest airport to the conference hotel is the Bob Hope Airport, aka Glendale Burbank Pasadena Airport. You deplane directly onto the tarmac and the baggage pickup is outside. And yet a number of airlines fly in with their jet service. You'll probably pay a bit more for your ticket, but you can't beat the convenience.

Depending on your preferred airline, and how much you want to avoid LAX, you might also look at LA/Ontario Airport and Long Beach Airport. Both are smaller airports with plenty of convenience to recommend them both.

Unless you are planning on spending time in Orange County at the beginning or end of your trip, it would be hard to recommend John Wayne Airport. It's really too far away and not that convenient to the Annual Meeting location.

Regardless of how you fly in, and how challenging you flight might have been, I can guarantee that once you get to the Langham, all your travel frustrations will be quickly forgotten.

Water, Water Everywhere

And LA's is the best to drink.

I'm pretty certain that the Host Committee for APGA 2008 will have some sort of "Top 10" list in the upcoming APGA Newsletter as a final pitch to get people to attend the meeting. It seems to be a tradition among the Host Committees, and I'm sure this SoCal group won't let us down.

Among the reasons to attend that they may have missed is something rather surprising...Los Angeles has the best tasting municipal water in the country. Yes, the city with the least breathable air won the award at the 18th Annual Berkley Springs International Water Tasting.

So there is no excuse this year folks. Bring a reusable water bottle to the meeting this year. It's about the only way you can be assured to always be drinking the best water in North America during The Big Pitcher...er...um...Picture.

The Big Tease

Few people have had the privilege of seeing the complete trailer for APGA 2008.

At the Washington DC meeting, the 2008 Host Committee took the stage to premier the preview of the Pasadena meeting. Bespectacled in their best sunglasses, Mark Wourms of The LA County Arboretum, Jim Folsom from The Huntington, David Brown from Descanso Gardens, and Patrick Larkin of Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden invited the delegates to join them next June in Southern California.

Cue the film!

From the outset the presentation was beset with technological glitches reminiscent of the San Francisco meeting preview or any Terry Gilliam production. Perhaps California is just cursed!

At first the audio track couldn't be heard. Then what looked like insufficient memory on the computer playing the video caused the presentation to freeze. In an attempt to avoid a complete fiasco, the dejected delegation marched off stage waving to the crowd prior to the end of the video.

But now, rescued from being shelved permanently, you can watch the teaser for The Big Picture as many times as you want, from the comfort of your office or home. Enjoy the sights and sounds the Southern California will offer to this year's Annual Meeting.

Kick-Off

Good afternoon and Happy Seis de Mayo!

Welcome to The Big Picture Blog. For those of you who aren't familiar with The Big Picture, or the APGA Annual Meeting, this Blog will hopefully get you up to speed, and give you behind the scenes access to the planning and the conference itself.

For those of you who are familiar with attending Annual Meetings, we'll give you insider tips for getting the most out of the meeting.

In the coming days, weeks, and months, we hope to look under the hood, so to speak; to get at the essence of the conference.

We'll report on the stories behind the sessions. We'll take you behind the scenes and show you the side of the conference that doesn't always make it into the newsletters, emails, or website of APGA.

Whether or not you're joining us for the meeting in June, we hope you'll tune in regularly to learn about what's going on as we prepare for our close-up.