I agree completely David... Astrophotography is expensive enough without worrying about time off work...
I do have to say I really liked the Idea of having the conference close to some other astro event like astrofest/IISAC/SPSP etc... That way we could learn a thing or two, then apply our new knowledge at a star party the following weekend... That would be fantastic I think... (It would give me an excuse to get to one of the southern star parties too)
hah