(The Hampton is undergoing renovations and they needed the conference rooms for storage.) 

I suppose its the same reason that I have home defense guns.

But if you're considering major real estate transactions in the near future and narrowed down your search to a couple of the top-notch experts, and those experts are somehow not available for a phone/video conference (I would not consider those, if it was me) - then maybe flying out to meet them passes the test.

I'm interested in going but I've already allocated most of my conference budget for 2024 so if someone is going and you have a 2nd (free) ticket you're not going to use, I'd love to have it.  

Conferences, masterminds, meetups, books, podcasts can often suffice for the latter.  

@Keenen DonatelliOne suggestion would be for you to attend MF Investing Conferences of which are plentiful.

Because they will get defensive if they feel you are pressuring them.

Good ideas to consider.With respect to American Bath and Kitchen Refinishers in the Seattle area, if anyone has used them (meet them at a vendor conference at a REAPs meeting) for rentals, I would appreciate that input as well.

Hope to see you at Northstar real estate conference. 

I may have time to network/socialize during the conference if there is interest.