Another possible strategy is to make reservations in hotels which are not on the list the trade show promoter provides to you. This requires you do a little more homework, but can often pay off in dramatically lower rates. As important as are planning your travel itinerary and lodging, they pale beside the need to plan your attack on the resources of the trade show itself. You can easily waste three full days at a convention, if you don't figure out in advance why you're there and what you want to accomplish. Your agenda may include any or all of these, but you should know ahead of time which are your priorities and try to arrange your schedule to maximize the return you expect on the investment you're making in time and money.
Some trade shows have a lot more to offer in the way of direct education than do others.
In general, sessions presented by vendors offer more hype and less usable information than do those presented by independent experts and consultants. In my own experience, Microsoft is one of the worst offenders in this regard. With very few exceptions, Microsoft seminars I have attended have been almost purely marketing events and their actual technical content has been low to non-existent. On the other hand, the single worst session I ever attended consisted of nearly undiluted technical information. The room was dark and the acoustics were terrible, and what started out as a full room was practically deserted by the time the poor dweeb turned off the overhead projector.