There has been quite a bit of talk about the cabanas at TechEd one thing that I haven't seen mentioned much is that this year they are eliminating the speaker lounge at TechEd. That's right, last I heard they were eliminating it.
This has the interesting side effect of forcing something that I think attendees wish speakers would do on their own, hang out with the attendees. Sure most speakers will show up at an evening function, take questions after a talk or show up at some party but typically before a session and/or after a session they disappear and sequester themselves in the speaker room.
At any conference this is where you will find the majority of the speakers most of the time.
This is of course a double edged sword. Speakers do need private time to prep right before a session to get focused, etc about the topic they are about to present. However many speakers just hang out in the lounge to do email, have lunch, chat with friends, etc. All of which could be done in the public spaces of the conference.
What do other folks think? Good idea? Bad idea?