Good luck to all in Atlanta! Observations about interviewing?

Question

First, best wishes for the new year. What better way to start it than to find a job?

If you have helpful logistical information, or complaints or praise for the organization of the jobmarket, please feel free to share.
(E.g. logistical note: there are sky bridges connecting the Marriott to the Hyatt (on level AL of the Marriott) and the Marriott to the Hilton (on level ML), so you can pass dry between them...)
Look around when you arrive, so you can find where you need to go.

And if you hear any great talks, or if your interviews yield new insights, feel free to share that too--this will be a chance to talk about your work, and hear others talk about theirs, for an intense few days.  

It can be stressful, but I hope you'll have some fun too.

Answer 1

One thing I encountered this year that I had not ever even considered- hotels can overbook too! I arrived at 11 in the evening to the hotel I had my ASSA reservation at (and had called that morning to confirm I could check in late), and was told that they were sold out, and they would have to put me in a comparable hotel for the first night. That doesn't sound so bad. But it also meant that I had to leave the conference in the middle of the day, check out from the new hotel, put my stuff in the car, go to back to the conference, and then move my stuff to the original hotel at check-in time. That could have easily translated to missing or being late to an interview if I were on the market this year!

Evidently, you can minimize the risk of this kind of fate by checking in earlier, being a rewards member, and by calling in advance the day of to confirm your reservation; more details here: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-to-avoid-being-walked_b_1855524 .

So, to those of you going on the market next year- it may pay to spend a little extra to arrive earlier, and it may also pay to open a rewards card or rewards membership at a major hotel chain, to avoid a headache in the middle of an already stressful day.