When I travel, I don't like to spend a lot of money. I also don't like skimping on comfort or location. With my family, I usually look for a flat or an apartment that is available for short-term rental. Usually a quick Google search will unearth several options for such rentals.

A couple of summers ago, my wife found a flat in Sydney Australia for $500 USD a week with a kitchen, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a combo living room/dining room. This past summer we stayed Edinburgh for roughly $750 USD per week.

In the autumn, I found a flat for a group of us at pingVision in Barcelona at the last minute that was reasonably priced and was close to city transportation.

Before you start looking at hotels for Boston--think about looking for an apartment. They are usually very competitive in price, have a kitchen, and are comfortable. The place I found for "pingVision one", was discovered through http://www.vrbo.com and is costing each of us, for the week, about the same as one night in a hotel and is within walking distance of the conference centre.

Good luck! I'm looking forward to seeing everybody in Boston in just a few weeks.