Well, I decided to take a chance and book a hotel for San Diego through Hotwire. I got a room at the Sheraton Suites San Diego for less than the con rate, so that’s good. It’s farther away from the convention center than I’ve ever been though, so that’s not so good. It’s on the con shuttle route, and it looks like it should still be OK walking distance (ten blocks), though a bit too far if I just wanted to make a quick trip back during the day to drop stuff off.
Hotwire doesn’t tell you which hotel you’re in until you’ve paid for the room, and their “downtown” area extends all the way out to the far end of Harbor Island, so I could have wound up quite far away.