Macworld hotel booking under the magnifying glass

Are you planning on attending Macworld Expo in January? If you are, you might want to start the process of booking a hotel room (if you have not already) so that you can ensure close proximity to the Moscone Center and (theoretically) better rates.

Today on Twitter, @MacworldExpo tweeted the following message:

Beware of imposters. IDG World Expo is the only company authorized to contract with hotels for rooms for Macworld. http://tinyurl.com/5emlye

That link goes to the Macworld Expo Hotel site, where you can review the approved show hotels and rates. While we think that attendees should certainly be warned about "imposters" or "fraudulent" booking companies, there is something about the underlying message that just doesn't sit right with us.
IDG, the company that sponsors Macworld Expo (and publishes Macworld magazine), encourages attendees to register hotels using its site. Presumably, IDG receives some sort of booking commission. Over the years, Macworld hotel rates have increased dramatically due to the popularity of the conference. However, because of the current economic climate, we're hearing that some hotels are having a hard time booking rooms. Rather than simply lower rates, the tactic seems to be to subversively advertise and promote their hotels using Macworld Expo's social network.

About a week and a half ago, a reliable source tipped us to this Macworld Expo Ning user profile. This user, "Intheknow" purports to help attendees find the best deals on hotels at Macworld. What "Intheknow" does not disclose, is that he or she is an IDG employee. Representing yourself as an independent contributor on a social site, while actually shilling for a brand or vendor, is a form of astroturfing, and it's troublesome.

According to our source, because hotels are having problems filling rooms for MWE, "Intheknow" is promoting rates and offers for those hotels in an effort to drum up more business. In and of itself, there is nothing wrong with any of this. It is perfectly legitimate for Macworld Expo to encourage booking through its site and to promote partner hotels. What bothers us, is the lack of transparency -- especially in light of "imposter" allegations.

Really though, what concerns us the most is that some of these preferred hotels are not in the nicest parts of town, the Good Hotel and the Best Western Americana in particular. This isn't to say you are not perfectly safe staying in one of those hotels, but the surround area is not great. As a woman, I wouldn't feel safe walking back at night, let's put it that way.

While we don't have any SF natives in the office, frequent visitor Steve Sande offers these observations:

1) The Parc 55 is OK, but pretty expensive for what you get -- $229 -- and not terribly close. No free internet the last couple of years, although they claim to have it.
2) The Hotel Monaco is great! $209 a night, nice place, free internet.
3) Courtyard by Marriott -- relatively new, fairly close to Moscone, free internet, $221, and I think I remember a free breakfast, too.
4) Westin Market Street -- close to Moscone, $229 a night, rather boring, $15/day for internet.
5) Hotel Palomar -- expensive ($259) but really cool place. Close to Moscone, free internet, pet-friendly (and you can get a goldfish as a companion for free!). One of the best places I've stayed in SFO, just too pricey!

We contacted some local San Francisco friends, who offered up these suggestions:

If money is not a huge object, I would avoid Best Western, Carriage Inn, The Good Hotel, and any South of Market hotels near 6th or 7th. Avoid Golden Gateway or Van Ness area hotels. I think Triton looks cool from the outside, great location right at Chinatown gate. The Pickwick is reasonable. Other than that, I think anything near Union Square is fine.

Despite our discomfort with its own lack of transparency, Macworld Expo still offers good advice: be wary of any booking service that is promoting Macworld bundles. The service might ultimately be completely safe, but check them out first and make sure you have confirmation with the hotel before paying any money.

Alternatively, you can use Macworld's hotel site to narrow down hotel choices, and then use a service like Expedia or Priceline to try to get a better rate. Calling the hotels directly might be an option as well -- if booking is on the decline, you might be able to score an unpublished price.

Thanks Dan Z. and Mollena for hotel recommendations.
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