If you haven’t planned your travel to Chicago for Web Content 2007, it’s time to get on it.  One way to make it easier to search for your flights, hotels and car rentals might be through Kayak.com.  This site searches all the major travel sites for the best deals. So instead of looking at Hotels.com, Travelocity.com, CheapTickets.com, or individual airlines, Kayak does all that for you. It’s a search engine, so the information comes to you. You don’t have to go find it.  Smart, eh?

Flying to/from Chicago
While you are researching, keep in mind there are two airports in Chicago, O’Hare International and Chicago Midway. Both are owned and operated by the City of Chicago, and both offer multiple flights from major cities. Just make sure you are going to and from the right airport. 

Both are about the same amount of time (about 45-60 minutes during rush hour and 30 minutes mid-day and evenings) and distance from downtown. A cab ride will cost you about 25-50 bucks depending on traffic and actual commute time. The Gary/Chicago airport also supports Chicago, but be prepared for a longer drive and a fair amount of construction going in to the city from there. Count on using O’Hare or Midway if possible.

Hotels
As you probably know by now, the Conference is at the USB Tower Conference Center and the designated Conference hotel is just two blocks away.  Hotel Allegro (pet friendly) has rooms starting about $239 a night for a standard queen room. Looking for rooms on Kayak.com with a check-in date of June 17 and check-out date of June 20, we found the hotel offered the best price when compared to Orbitz and Cheaptickets on Kayak.

Another recommend nearby hotel is Hotel Monaco. The same is true. The hotel is offering the best rates at about $269 for a king deluxe room. The Hyatt Regency Chicago is located just down the street at Wacker and Michigan, but the rooms are a little steeper, about $239 for Sunday night before the conference, but jump up to around $430 Monday and Tuesday nights.  All have wireless internet in rooms and throughout the hotel. All have nice TV’s (Shame on you if you watch TV while staying in one of the greatest cities in the US.), hairdryers, irons, all the usual stuff. But bonus amenities vary from fuzzy robes, to spas, to Aveda products in the baths.

In the one-mile area surrounding the USB Conference Center, Kayak lists eight other hotels, all ranging from about $240 to $400 dollars per night.  So choose carefully to find the best deal with the amenities you desire. 

Use this Special Values Card, offered through the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau, to see if you can get discounts on hotels, restaurants and other things while in town.  Just check out the list of discounts or ask when you book your room, rent your car or sit down to dine. But most of all, have fun while in town and learn all you can while you have a chance to hear what’s on the minds of the web content experts at the conference.