Some fellow travel bloggers and I have been working on putting together a miles/points conference over the last few months. It’s actually been a year in the making, but due to various issues we had to delay it. Today, however, we’re excited to announce TravelCon OC, a new miles/points event that will take place on February 28th, 2015 at the Embassy Suites Anaheim – South hotel just a few steps away from Disneyland.
The goal of the program is not only to teach through sessions, but also to encourage attendees to connect with each other to create groups of people to bounce ideas off of. We want to stress the social aspect of the event, since that’s where many of today’s travel deals come from!
Another goal for us was to line up a diverse group of speakers that are experts in a given field. I feel like we were able to do that to ensure attendees will truly benefit from each session. Here’s our current lineup:
- Greg, Frequent Miler (tentative)
- Tahsir (AKA Bengali Miles Guru), Travel Codex (formerly Hack My Trip)
- Omar, Travel Summary (that’s me!)
- Fabio, Passageiro de Primeira (Brazil)
- Matt, Saverocity
- Jamison, Points Summary
- More to be announced!
Sessions will be structured such that each speaker will discuss a particular topic in depth, including manufactured spending, airline award bookings, hotel programs, and more. We plan to provide a more detailed breakdown of each session in the coming weeks and months.
Tickets are now on sale but will increase in price quickly, so be sure to get your tickets ASAP if you’re interested. Sales will be conducted with the following prices:
- Early-bird special: $119 per person (limited number available)
- Regular sale price: $129 per person.
- Last chance: $139 per person.
All tickets will include lunch on the day of the event, and attendees who choose to stay at the Embassy Suites Anaheim – South hotel will also enjoy a free breakfast buffet for each night they stay. In addition, the hotel will offer free daytime parking for all attendees, while attendees staying at the hotel will be charged ~$13/night for overnight parking.
We tried to secure a special room rate at the host hotel, but unfortunately we couldn’t find anything to make it worthwhile for attendees. Thankfully there are literally a dozen other chain hotels within walking distance (Sheraton, Marriott Suites, Wyndham, Hyatt Regency, Doubletree all just steps away) so there will be plenty of options.
The host hotel is a Hilton Category 5, with rooms at 40K points per night. Rooms are spacious like other Embassy Suites hotels, so it’ll be a great place to stay if you bring the family. Speaking of family…did I mention Disneyland is a 15 minute walk from the hotel?
There are only 125 tickets for sale, so make sure you get yours early before prices increase to the next tier. I look forward to seeing everyone there!
Note: Unfortunately no one will be allowed entry without a ticket. Significant issues have arisen in previous conferences because of non-ticketed drop-ins, so we’ll be checking tickets and ID at the door and will hand out special tickets for lunch.
Sounds fun but that’s the same weekend as the Austin MegaDo
Sorry to miss you! I’m sure both events will be great.
Sounds awesome!
I guess I have to go to this, since it is in my own backyard. See you guys there!
It’ll be great to have you there Grant!
I’m sure this will be a great event, but I’m not sure yet whether I’ll be able to come. Can you add “tentative” next to my name on this post? Thanks!
Thanks Greg – I’ve updated the post to note tentative. It would be great if you can join us!
Omar – Did you guys reserve some rooms at the Embassy Suites for attendees to release later? It’s showing sold out already… Also – Kings vs. Ducks on the 27th. I’m up for getting a group together to go. I’ll buy you a beer at the game…
Mark – that sounds like a great idea! I know I’ll have a lot of last-minute planning and set-up for this conference so I can’t commit just yet, but man that sounds like a great get-together. I’ll try my best to confirm this because I’d really like to go!