How to Not Go Broke While You’re at ISTE

Breakfast, Day 1

Y’all know I don’t usually take pics of my food, but this totally doesn’t count because I was working on a blog post and collecting evidence.

Over the years, I have spent hundreds of dollars I didn’t need to during ISTE. It’s already expensive to travel, get a hotel, and attend. This year, I was determined to make it work on a budget because I’m saving up to make a major money move (details coming later). Here are a few things I tried this year that worked out for me. Hopefully, I’ll remember to reshare before ISTE25, but these tips can work for any conference in a major city. I present to you 8 Tips to Not Go Broke.

1. Book a hotel with free breakfast (and a kitchen). I learned this year that you can book through ISTE, and those are reasonably priced and near the convention center. Make sure your hotel offers a free breakfast and has a fridge and microwave. This way, you can stock up on essentials and save on meals. I DoorDashed exactly one time to get General Tso’s Tofu and dumplings, which lasted for two days.
2. Buy groceries for lunch. Hopefully, you are better than me. I meant to pre-order some stuff on Amazon and get it sent to the hotel, but never got around to it (hence the DoorDash). But if you can, make a run to the nearest grocery store and grab some grub and maybe some snacks.
3. Bring a small amount of cash. Although you can have a bunch of fun at all of the vendor-sponsored events for no additional cost, it would be wise to bring a small amount of cash for shenanigans. In years past, I would bring my credit or debit card, then be shocked later at how much I spent. Cash can help you to control this. I brought $100, which I used on karaoke, happy hour, and airport food. There will be some situations where using your card may be unavoidable (see Step 6), but this year I was able to keep it to a minimum.
4. Take advantage of the free breakfast. Eat the hotel breakfast and prioritize protein so you stay full for longer. Again, do as I say, not as I do. From the picture, I had good intentions of getting protein in, but the options were not that great. Also, as my friends on Facebook told me, take some stuff for later.
5. Attend parties. See Step 3. There are often lots of parties happening, and most of them are catered. Use this to your advantage. Also, note that some parties have only appetizers, so this is where Step 2 is also important. The last thing you want to do is use drink tickets, not eat enough, and end up sick. Enjoy responsibly, and remember to eat and hydrate.
6. Use bikes, scooters, or walk. In major cities, bikes and scooters are increasingly available for rent. I prefer these to using Lyft and Uber cars to get around. You can also just walk and get some exercise. This year, I liked the scooters better than the bikes as I found them easier to park and more controllable, but I have been known to be a bicycle menace on the streets of Philadelphia and Chicago.
7. Embrace minimalism. Riffing off Step 6, originally, I was carting a courier bag around with me with my laptop, water bottles, etc., in tow. Eventually, I pared down to only what I could comfortably carry on a scooter. Having followed Rule 1, my hotel was only two blocks from the convention center, so I was able to go back and forth pretty frequently. This is also thanks to my rule not to overbook myself at the conference and allow as much downtime as I could.
8. Stay hydrated. This year, ISTE was in Denver, which is also dubbed “the mile-high city.” It was so important to stay hydrated, so one thing I did was bring a reusable water bottle, which I refilled whenever possible. Depending on your hotel, you may get free water as a reward member. Anytime you can get your hands on free water (on the plane, at a company party, in a water dispenser, etc.), just pour it into your water bottle. Not a water drinker? I like Sunkist flavor packets. Yum yum.

I used ChatGPT as a thought partner to help me order the steps, but the blog content was mine. (See, it’s not so bad lol…this blog post almost didn’t happen.)

Hopefully, these takeaways will help you the next time you go to ISTE or any other conference. If you have any tips or tricks, please drop them in the comments below. Have a great one!