You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login
This is what I would like to know. NYCC does hotel booking this way, and GenCon does as well, with a waiting room. IMHO, it's the best solution. No lottery, but you actually get to pick directly from what's actually there. An immediate answer and no dark mystery of how people's selections were processed.
Got tired of waiting for the waitlist so I was looking around on the Internet and found one of those mystery deals on Priceline for a downtown hotel during the con for $205 a night. Turns out it's for the Renaissance Hotel (formerly the W). 9 blocks away from the convention center. Honestly, I think this deal is hard to beat.
Marriott.com is offering rooms at the new Residence Inn You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login and Spring Hill Suites You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login from July 20-24 for !40,000 points or $499/night. They're both located at N. Harbor and W. Broadway... so not terribly far, under 2 miles. Google says it's 1.8 miles, a 15 minute walk (depends on how fast you walk, I suppose).They are side by side. Google map for reference!!! You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login
For reference I stayed at the Wyndham which is right there as well. It's a hell of a lot further than a 15 minute walk. 1.8 miles is not 15 minutes, my work is 1.8 miles from my house and it's 30-40 minutes and I walk pretty briskly. I'm also in good shape, so take that as you will. It's a nice walk though.