Tech conference season is hitting San Francisco harder than a startup’s first funding round, and Dreamforce is about to turn hotel pricing into a capitalist fever dream.

With 45,000 attendees descending on the city, hotels are going absolutely bonkers with pricing that would make even venture capitalists wince. The cheapest room? A Holiday Inn near Oakland for a cool $500 per night. Want luxury? The St. Regis is charging a whopping $5,000, and the Four Seasons Presidential Suite will set you back a mind-blowing $20,000.

The Tech Conference Gold Rush

Salesforce’s annual tech extravaganza isn’t just about customer relationship management software - it’s a full-blown spectacle featuring CEOs from Google and Starbucks, plus A-list celebrities like America Ferrera and Jesse Eisenberg. Even Metallica is performing to raise funds for local children’s hospitals.

Airbnb: The Budget Savior

For those not wanting to sell a kidney for accommodations, Airbnb hosts are offering slightly more reasonable rates. Local host Peter Kwan notes most Dreamforce attendees get reimbursed anyway, so a $220 room beats a $1,400 Marriott any day.

The Economic Impact

Despite the eye-watering prices, Dreamforce brings serious economic juice to San Francisco. Last year, the conference generated $130 million in revenue - proving that tech conferences are basically the city’s financial superhero.

Welcome to San Francisco, where even budget hotels cost more than a Silicon Valley engineer’s monthly rent, and tech conferences are our economic lifeline.