[Dave Campbell]

Our district also has strict guidelines where we can stay - cost as well as location. We qualified in a week 2 event and the only rooms available were single occupancy rooms, at least 25 miles from the venue. We have a large team, 48 students and 6 mentors. I cannot put 4 kids in a room with one double bed, nor double up our mentors and chaperones in the same situation. We would have needed over $20k in rooms from one of those Experient mandated hotels. My only choice to attend Championship event was to cut the team to bare minimum participation which was NOT an option for us.
The response I got from Experient was that the reservation system was opened on January 5 and we should have "booked our rooms at that time." I am aware of several teams that booked that early and also got rooms FAR out of the city.

Ultimately, I booked outside of Experient and found availability where we needed - at a much lower rate than we were being charged through Experient.

This is only getting worse as we pass the halfway point of the season. More teams will begin to share our frustration. Hopefully the students and teams will remain focused on the positives of earning a spot at the Championships and the fantastic work they have done this season.