I attend a lot of conventions, but I also spend a lot less than you’d think to attend them.
Minimizing Travel Costs
Cheap Flights. Flying at weird times on weird days can usually be a lot cheaper than flying on the weekend. This isn’t something everyone can do for sure, but if you can change around your schedule, you can literally save hundreds of dollars. I usually end up flying on Tuesdays or Wednesdays and almost all of my flights cost between $40-200, even when I go out of the country.
Credit Card with airline miles. Depending on where you are and if there’s a good airline that goes places, you can get a credit card that will help you wrack up miles and get free flights.
Car pooling. If you’re driving to a convention, you can make the travel portion a lot cheaper and more fun by getting friends to drive with you. Not only does that mean you might get to drive less, but you can split the cost of gas, as well.
Necessities
Bring food! I tend to bring popcorn and oatmeal to conventions, as I can make them in the microwave and they’re warm. You can bring a variety of snacks as well, so you can get at least one meal where you don’t have to eat out each day. Going grocery shopping and using the hotel fridge can also save a lot, depending on how available this is. There’s also different services where you can get groceries delivered for relatively cheap, especially considering how much eating out repeatedly can cost. (Plus, there’s all the time saved where you can game EVEN MORE!)
Bring a water bottle. There’s usually a place to fill up your water and it definitely saves money over time by not buying a few sodas everyday.
Free Badges
Talk at a panel or get a press badge. If you can get a press badge, definitely try to do so! They’re usually free and can save you that entry fee. You can also get a badge by talking at a panel. While being a bit nerve-wracking, talking on panels is usually a great way to meet other great panelists and to get yourself a bit more well-known.
If you can’t get a free badge from being on a panel or being press, there’s always volunteering to consider! For the conventions with an exhibit hall, you can contact the exhibitors to try to get a badge in exchange for working for a few hours. You can also sometimes get your room paid for, some meals, and get some free games, depending on the exhibitor. It’s especially easy to do this if you are already a fan of a company’s games and you know how to teach them; just reach out and if you do so with enough time before a convention, you’ll usually be able to find a company that needs help! I know I’m almost always looking for booth and demo help for the bigger conventions.
There’s also volunteering for the convention itself or volunteering for Double Exposure. Double Exposure is great to work with, as you can become part of their team and they organize you getting a badge, hotel, and free games. I haven’t volunteered for them, but I have worked with their volunteers and they’re usually really fantastic people.
Cheap Lodging
Share with a friend. When choosing my convention schedule, there’s a lot of conventions you can choose from and choosing to go to one where you can either stay at a friend’s house or stay with a friend and split the bill is a great way to save.
Make a friend to share a place with. I’ve stayed with people I don’t know, though I did make sure to verify that the person in question wasn’t a terrible person by asking around. It was actually really fun when I did try this, as I got to make a new friend! You can find someone to share a room with by posting either on BGG or by finding a facebook group for the convention and posting there.
Not Staying at the Con Hotel can be cheaper. Staying in an AirBNB can also get the costs down, if you can find a place that’s close enough to the convention. There’s sometimes also hotels within walking distance that are a bit cheaper than the convention hotel.
If you can manage to keep travel, food, and lodging down, you can either use that money to attend more conventions or buy more games. Or be a reasonable adult and fix your car when it breaks. Whatever you choose to do, just make sure to stay hydrated while you do it!
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