What it Costs to Attend A BlogHer Conference

Have you been dying to attend the annual BlogHer conference but the financial outlay is holding you back?

Since I’m super frugal and just got back from BlogHer15 in New York City (my first blogging conference — yay!), thought I’d provide a breakdown of what it cost me. (Spoiler alert: The experience was worth the money!)

Note: The conference is in a new location every year, so costs vary somewhat depending on air fares from your city to the conference city, and whether you need a rental car to get to the hotel from the airport or can use low-cost shuttle services.

Breakdown of the Cost to Attend BlogHer15:

• BlogHer conference registration fee (register early for the lowest price): $249
• Airfare from Charleston, S.C. to JFK Airport, New York (it cost less for me to buy two one-ticket tickets through Expedia from different airlines — Delta and Jet Blue — than a round-trip ticket from a single airline): $161
• Hotel (two nights at the BlogHer15 special rate): $277 a night (including all taxes and fees) x 2 = $554
• Shuttle van to and from JFK airport to the midtown Manhattan Hilton conference site (much, much cheaper than taking a taxi – but it took longer than a direct taxi ride because other people were also picked up/dropped off): $20 x 2 = $40
• Meals and food in airports and on-site, and tips: $83

Grand total: $1,087

Ways to further reduce costs:

• Share a room with a fellow blogger to cut hotel expenses.
• Make a dinner from the buffet at the Expo both nights to reduce the food expense by about $50. (I’m a small-town meat and potatoes eater, and the buffet food was a little too sophisticated for my taste.)
• Bring food from home to eat on the way to the event, and be super frugal on airport food returning home or buy something from a food market near the hotel to eat on the plane.
• Drive to the conference, if possible.

Start saving your spare change now — and plan to attend next year!

If you set aside about $3 a day beginning today, you’ll be set.

Related blog posts:

Nine Reasons Why BlogHer15 was Outstanding

An Over-50 Blogger’s Perspective on BlogHer15

————————————————————————————————————————————