Harliquinn wrote:
Convention hotels always raise prices when a convention is in town, so comparing them may not be accurate. You also need to take into consideration costs of parking, local eateries, and other costs. I did a quick search for flights in August and from Columbus, the cheapest were around $280 round trip to Orlando. Flights to Las Vegas are around $480.
John
That didn't used to be the case (and still isn't for Origins at least). Con hotels are rack rate with a discount. For instance, the Drury in Columbus for 2016 is $20/night cheaper for Origins than normal rack. A search for a few weeks later in 2016 does show that the web discount rate is about $15/night cheaper than normal rack (so there is still a discount - just not much of one).
However, I completely believe Indy hotels raise prices for GenCon - I can't believe Indy supports $300+/night when a big con isn't in town. A quick search of looks like the JW is actually discounted slightly but the other Marriott chain hotels and Hilton chain hotels are jacked up for GenCon.