Off the wall question since I have no idea where to ask this!

[ndbprr]

The Chicago chapter of the PRRT&HS is investigating the possibility of hosting the PRR National Convention in Chicago in May of 2009.  I am looking for a hotel/motel complex that can provide a minimum of 250 rooms, about 12,000 sq ft of meeting space in three to four rooms, has adequate eating facilities at or near the complex ( meaning fast food and reasonable priced restaurants near the complex) and is in the vicinity of $100 per night.  Obviously with that last caveat downtown is out so we are looking at the suburbs.  Have already contacted the Holiday Express in Tinley and Matteson and the Raddison Star Plaza in Merrilville, IN.  Any others possibilities or leads greatly appreciated.

[artpeterson]

Try the area around Rosemont/O'Hare - $100 per night might be tough to attain, but perhaps by danlging the possibility of a lot of business in front of the hotel/motel, you might be able to get a better rate than normal.  Most all the major chains have hotels in and around O'Hare.  The other advantage of  this area is that not everyone would have to drive to Chicago or rent a car, as the "L"/buses serve Rosemont ("L" station is at River Road/I-190) and the chains usually have courtesy vans that can do pick-ups/drop-offs from the airport or to other area locations.

There are a lot of restaurants around the hotels near the "L", as well as over by the Allstate Arena (essentially, Mannheim & Touhy) - Steak-n-Shake, etc.

Another possibility would be out along I-88 in the Naperville area.  The Prototype Model RRs group has met at a Holiday Inn out there for several years running now.  However, Naperville's not particularly close to O'Hare or Midway.  It has Metra-BNSF access, but that is somewhat remote from where the Holiday Inn is located.

Hope this helps!

[ndbprr]

I'll check out the area.  We are already looking at Napreville.  Surprsingly not many places have more than 200 rooms.  Thanks

[allisonking]

If you check with the Chicago Visitors and Convention Bureau (I guess there are actually a bunch of different ones based on the area you are looking for... North, South, East, West, etc) they should be able to hunt out leads for you. You just tell them what you are looking for, and they have hotels put packages together informing you of the best rates they can offer, as well as their amenities and meeting space options. You should get a few quality options to choose from, and then you don't have to do the leg work. Speaking as a past hotel employee I would definitely recommend checking out your top 2 or 3 options, as things may look great on paper but the amenities/meeting space/location may not be so great in real life.