Reflections on ISTE part 2
First off, I had this desire to go to ISTE, but like many schools that we all work in, PD funds are hard to come by. I was going to do ISTE on the cheap. I just happened to have some airline tickets from stepping off an oversold flight a while back. This got me to San Antonio. I hit up AirBnB and got a sweet little room at a semi-nearby home for $60 a night. Then I reached out to a few vendors that I know and was able to score a free “Floor only” pass. All boxes checked I was ready to go. Had the floor pass, now just needed some innovation on the the Tech side and some parties.
Having done a number of conferences myself and knowing the value of Eventbrite for doing tickets for an event, I headed there and did a search for ISTE. Sure enough, over 20 parties popped up that I could get tickets for.
I was all set. I had a nice walk from my AirBnB house and spent the next two and half days, streaming the keynotes (periscope to the rescue), walking the floor, talking with vendors, attending workshops and evening events. I had a great time, learned some new things, met some great people and yup, you guessed it, never stood in a line. So, about next year…..
Dan
2 thoughts on “Reflections on ISTE part 2”
Dan, my wife and I will be having our first Airbnb experience in about three weeks. How have you found using it?
I have to say that I really really like the AirBnB experience. I have used it on the Oregon coast, in Texas and also in Portland, OR. I have stayed at “apartments” that are detached from a home as well as bedrooms in a home. Although it can be a little unnerving to walk into someones home with the intention of staying with them, for me and my wife it has always been a positive experience. In Portland, my daughter was graduating from the University of Portland, so happened that the airBnB couple we were staying with, one was a professional photographer, so we got some sweet photos of her.
In San Antonio we ended up in a neighborhood that we would have probably not visited had we not had the AirBnB. It was great to experience the local flavor. It was much cheaper than a hotel and created a unique experience. In Austin we have a nice place above a garage, although we never saw the host in 5 days, we communicated and had a wonderful stay. Lots of local recommendations and we were out of the “tourist” areas.
So, far so good. I was hesitant going in, and my wife is was a bit more nervous than me, but one year gone, we are both all in. Good luck in your travels. One note, after the stay, the host rates you and you rate the host so ratings become important.
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